Oblivion:Unfriendly Competition

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Contents 1 Quick Walkthrough 2 Detailed Walkthrough 2.1 The Merchants Problem 2.2 Unfriendly Competition 2.3 Eavesdrop on a Conversation 2.4 Agarmir's House 2.5 Mausoleum 2.6 Reward 3 Notes 4 Bugs 5 Journal Entries

A newly opened shop run by Thoronir is selling goods below cost, causing big problems for the other merchants. edit Quest Giver: Jensine, Tertullian Verus, Claudette Perrick or Ogier Georick at Imperial City Market District Location(s): Imperial City, Market District, Trentius Family Mausoleum Reward: Weatherward Circlet and level-dependent amount of gold ID: MS29

The Trentius Family Mausoleum, where the final confrontation takes place

[edit] Quick Walkthrough

1. Learn of the unfriendly competition.
2. Speak with Thoronir and learn about his inventory. When he leaves, follow him.
3. Eavesdrop on the conversation then follow Agarmir to his house.
4. Find the Macabre Manifest in the basement and confront Thoronir with it.
5. Head to the Mausoleum and deal with "the competition."
6. Go back to Thoronir and collect your reward, then visit Jensine for an additional amount of gold.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] The Merchants Problem

At the Imperial City Market District speak to some of the merchants. Upon speaking to the merchants (either Tertullian Verus, Claudette Perrick or Ogier Georick) you will learn of a new merchant in town - Thoronir, who the other merchants don't trust. They will tell you to speak to Jensine for more information.

[edit] Unfriendly Competition

Speak with Jensine at Jensine's "Good as New" Merchandise in the Imperial City Market District. Volunteer to help the Society of Concerned Merchants deal with 'Unfriendly Competition' from Thoronir at The Copious Coinpurse.

[edit] Eavesdrop on a Conversation

Speak with Thoronir and learn about his inventory (your journal will suggest waiting outside the shop.) If you tell Thoronir you like his inventory he'll like you better, so maximize his disposition first, and then use this conversation option to be able to get better deals at his shop. Wait outside the shop until after 8pm, and then follow Thoronir. Don't let him see you. He will either wander the city for several hours, or go drinking in an Inn for the same duration - before eventually making his way to a small garden in the Market District just before 1am. Agarmir slips into the garden soon after, and if you use the bushes to sneak up close to the conversation they reveal unsavory business. When they have finished talking, your journal will suggests you need to follow Agarmir now, so do that.

[edit] Agarmir's House

Agarmir will lead you to his own house located near Talos Plaza, but you will need to wait until he leaves it again to enter his house and find evidence. You may have to wait until around 6pm for him to leave (there is a hotel around the corner, where you can sleep the time away if you have the price of a bed). Make sure he doesn't see you watching the house. Once he leaves, pick the lock or (if brave and quick) pickpocket Agarmir for the key to gain entry to the house. There is another lock to pick to get into the basement, so make sure you have plenty of lockpicks. Note the basement's muddy shovel (but don't take it). Look around, and take the book called "Macabre Manifest" - it's on his desk. Go back to Thoronir and confront him with the book. He'll want to make amends and make sure Agarmir gets caught, and will suggest you go to the location of the last entry in the manifest (the Trentius' Family Mausoleum) to gather more evidence.

[edit] Mausoleum

Go to the Mausoleum, which is among the gravestones in the Palace District, and confront Agarmir. Be very careful not to attack Agarmir or his hireling, Rolgarel, until they have first attacked you. Sneak attacks (or any other crimes) will lead to you getting a bounty, and are very likely to trigger a bug that makes it impossible to finish this quest.

Once you have killed them both, collect any loot in the mausoleum. To get out of the mausoleum you need to get the Trentius Mausoleum Key from Agarmir's corpse. To complete the quest, you need to be sure to take the muddy shovel as evidence. In addition, there is some valuable loot (that can be more worthwhile than the quests's official rewards). Agarmir carries a leveled, enchanted sword, Debaser, which drains Willpower and Endurance. Hidden behind the grave of Calliben Trentius (jump nearby, and grab it as you fall back to the ground), you will find Rolgarel's stashed fallback weapon - the unique weapon Calliben's Grim Retort, an enchanted mace that absorbs Strength, absorbs blunt, and deals Frost Damage.

[edit] Reward

Return to Thoronir with the evidence and he will tell you he has made amends and joined the Society. He will also reward you with the Weatherward Circlet, a leveled ring with Resist Frost and Resist Fire enchantments. Lastly, return to Jensine for a leveled reward of 100 to 600 gold. When talking to Jensine, you need to choose the topic "Thoronir"; this topic can often be too far down Jensine's list of topics to be apparent when you first start talking to Jensine. Be sure to use the scroll bar to scroll through Jensine's complete list of available topics.

Level	Reward
1-4	100 Gold
5-9	200 Gold
10-14	300 Gold
15-19	400 Gold
20-24	500 Gold
25+	600 Gold

[edit] Notes

• The garden where Thoronir and Agarmir meet is in the alcove directly behind The Copious Coinpurse. Instead of following Thoronir all around the Imperial City, you can simply meet them in the garden next to the entrance to the Market Sewers. They arrive around 11:30pm and stay until around 6:00am. As soon as they both find their way there the quest continues normally.
• If you're having trouble activating the "Follow Thoronir" part of the quest, keep in mind that it doesn't matter too much if you're seen. Simply run around the small courtyard and eventually your character will lock in place and Agarmir and Thoronir's conversation will begin. The activation spot appears to be centered around a pair of small bushes nearby.
• Thoronir can go to The Merchants Inn or to The Temple of the One for around two game hours before going to the garden.
• If you pickpocket Agarmir's Debaser before going to the Mausoleum, he will not have it during the confrontation in the Mausoleum. He may acquire another weapon before the fight; otherwise, he will grab Calliben's Grim Retort when the fight starts (unless you can take it first, in which case he will resort to Hand to Hand combat).
• When you are in the Mausoleum, it is possible to go into sneak mode and pickpocket the key from Agarmir before talking to him. This allows you to exit the mausoleum during the fight, and escape to the assistance of nearby guards. Be sure, however, to successfully pickpocket Agarmir. If you fail, he may call the guards, which will trigger a quest-breaking bug.

[edit] Bugs

• Sometimes when you follow Thoronir to the garden, the conversation never actually starts between him and Agarmir. Even if you go up and talk to them it may not update your quest. In this case, you will have to wait until the next day and follow Thoronir again before it will work.
• If you have completed the Dagon Shrine quest, make sure that any hostile Mythic Dawn agents in the city have been killed before following Thoronir to his meeting. These agents may occasionally attack nearby guards during the conversation, causing Thoronir to run off to help fight them. Since the quest never updates properly, you will be stuck in cinematic mode and be unable to move, leaving you little choice but to reload from an earlier save.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
• If you try to sneak attack Agarmir or Rolgarel in Trentius' Mausoleum it will count as an assault and a guard will appear in the tomb to arrest you. After the guard has taken you away (whether to pay the fine or to serve jail time), you will never be able to reenter the mausoleum. The mausoleum is locked and the only key to open the door is carried by Agarmir, who is inside. Sometimes, however, Agarmir may appear outside the jail upon your release. You can then attack him as usual and finish the quest.
  • On the PC, this can be fixed by using the console. Click on the front door to the Mausoleum, then type unlock.
  • If you can cast a strong Charm spell on the guard when he first appears, he will "pay the fine" for you, and you will remain inside the crypt.
  • Once you have been taken out of the crypt, there is no fix for Xbox 360 or PS3 players.
    • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
  • Sometimes when following Thoronir to another district of the Imperial City, many shopkeepers will spawn there as well. The reason for this is unknown.

[edit] Journal Entries

Unfriendly Competition (MS29)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
5		One of the shopkeepers in the Market District of the Imperial City has informed me of another shop that opened recently. Apparently, this shop's prices are so low it's undercutting all of their sales. They're collectively looking for someone to hire to investigate, as they suspect foul play. I was told to go speak with Jensine at her "Good as New" Merchandise store for more information.
10		A group calling themselves the Society of Concerned Merchants has hired me to investigate a new store that's just opened up in the Market District with ridiculously low prices. They suspect the owner must be doing something illegal. I should pay a visit to Thoronir at The Copious Coinpurse.
20		Speaking to Thoronir hasn't revealed any information. Since he's obviously hiding something, I should keep an eye on him, and watch what he does after his shop closes.
40		I've observed a meeting between Thoronir and a mysterious man named Agarmir. Looks like my new target is Agarmir. I should follow him and see where he goes.
50		I've discovered that Agarmir has a house in Talos Plaza. I should go inside when he's not around and investigate.
60		I've found my way into Agarmir's basement. The place consists of an odd assortment of clothing and trinkets. Most disturbing is the dirty shovel and mud-encrusted boots tucked into the corner and the bits of ground bonemeal strewn about. I suspect Agarmir's stock he sells to Thoronir is taken from the recently dead. I should continue to search carefully for more solid evidence into this grisly accusation.
65		I've found a manifest that seems to detail names of the recently deceased, what they were buried with and their locations in Cyrodiil. I should take this macabre manifest and confront Thoronir, as he may not realize where his merchandise is coming from.
70		After showing the macabre manifest to Thoronir, he agreed to stop meeting Agarmir. He also told me that Agarmir said he had "something important" to do this very day. I think I need to check out the local graveyard, as the last name on the list was here in the Imperial City. I should return with one more piece of evidence of Agarmir's crime to confirm the manifest's contents.
80		I've noticed that the door to the Trentius Family Mausoleum has been unsealed. This must be Agarmir's doing. I should proceed inside.
82		I've located Agarmir inside the Trentius Family Mausoleum. It appears as though he's attempting to desecrate another grave along with someone else I don't recognize. I need to convince him to stop this heinous act.
90		Agarmir has been slain. Since the penalty for grave robbing is death, it somehow seems as though justice has been done. I should search the gravesite for anything potentially incriminating.
100		I've acquired Agarmir's shovel still damp with the fresh earth of the open grave. This is the final bit of proof I need of Agarmir's crimes. I should bring it back to Thoronir.
110		Thoronir has agreed to donate all his ill-gotten merchandise to the local temple and begin selling legitimate merchandise. He also rewarded me with a small ring as a token of his esteem. I should now bring the macabre manifest and Agarmir's shovel to Jensine for my reward.
150	0	Jensine awarded me a bounty of gold on behalf of the Society of Concerned Merchants for restoring the economy of the Market District to its rightful place.
200	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.