Oblivion:Untaxing the Poor

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1 Quick Walkthrough
2 Detailed Walkthrough
3 Blood Price
4 Notes
5 Journal Entries

Steal the tax records for the Waterfront residents. ^edit

Quest Giver: Armand Christophe at Waterfront District
Location(s): Waterfront District, Imperial Arboretum, Temple District, South Watch Tower
Prerequisite Quest: May the Best Thief Win, 50 gold fenced
Next Quest: The Elven Maiden
Reward: Tax gold, Promotion to Footpad
Fame/Infamy: Infamy +2
ID: TG02taxes
Difficulty: Low

The desk in Hieronymus Lex's quarters

[edit] Quick Walkthrough

Meet with Armand after fencing 50 gold in stolen goods
Locate Hieronymus Lex’s quarters in the South Watchtower
Steal the tax records and money from Lex's desk
Return to Armand

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

After you've fenced 50 gold's worth of goods, you can meet Armand at midnight behind the Abandoned Shack in the Waterfront District.

[edit] He Took from the Poor?

Armand will inform you that Hieronymus Lex has recently collected taxes from the poor residents of the Waterfront District, seemingly as both a warning and punishment for them being complicit in assisting the Gray Fox. The Gray Fox wants you to right this wrong by stealing back the money and the tax records from Lex’s quarters in the South Watchtower.

[edit] Steal in, Steal out

Locate the South Watchtower in the Imperial City – either via your map or by asking any of the City’s beggars. You can enter the watchtower from either the Temple District or Arboretum District.

As a main hub for Imperial guards, this can seem a little daunting when you first enter the Watchtower’s main area. Guards will be changing shifts, eating meals and generally wandering about. The Watchtower consists of 4 levels – the foyer area where the guards eat, first and second floor sleeping quarters and finally Lex’s private quarters. You need to get all the way up to Lex’s quarters undetected. You are allowed to be in the foyer area, however the guards' sleeping quarters and Lex’s private quarters are restricted, and you will be arrested for trespassing if you are caught in these areas (you will be warned and asked to leave first). There are shift changes all day long but two windows exist when no guards should be present on the ground floor: 0900-1100 and 2100-2300 (9a.m.-11a.m. and 9p.m.-11p.m.). In practice, the clear times will start about 20-30 minutes later as guards will be heading back from patrol or guard duty and going upstairs to rest.

You need to ensure you are quick or undetected when accessing the second and third levels otherwise you may get arrested for trespassing. Be careful because guards might also randomly walk into the room with you – hence it is best to wait until the shift has changed and the guards have all retired. Use whatever additional means necessary for your stealth such as chameleon or invisibility effects.

You will need to pick the lock on the final access ladder to enter Lex’s quarters. Be careful not to wake Lex (if he's sleeping) and hope no one follows you into his room as you will be arrested on sight. Once you enter Lex’s quarters, there is a locked desk immediately to your right which contains what you're looking for: the tax records and the gold. Take them both.

[edit] A Subtle Message

Return to Armand at his midnight rendezvous point. He will let you keep the money, since he just "wanted to let the Watch know they went too far." You will also receive a promotion to Footpad and 2 Infamy points.

[edit] Blood Price

Although there is a Blood Price quest related to Untaxing the Poor, there appears to be no way of triggering it.

[edit] Notes

Ensure you are not detected when climbing the first ladder - this will make the sneaking portion run smoothly.
Use sneak to move around quietly. You will also be able to use the eye icon to determine if any guards are watching you.
If Lex is currently sleeping in his quarters, feel free to rob him for an extra bit of gold or his claymore if your sneak skills are high enough and you’re feeling particularly daring. This may run contrary to the spirit of the mission in some ways, but hey – you’re a thief after all.
Lex lunches at The Bloated Float Inn at the Waterfront District every day at noon - ensuring he will not be in his room during the theft at this time
If you feel no need to rob Lex, just break in in broad daylight. All or most of the guards will be out on patrol and Lex won't be in his room.
Lex's room contains a potted Nirnroot plant - steal this for use in the quest Seeking Your Roots
You don't actually need to steal the gold to complete this quest. Stealing just the tax record list is enough.
You can complete the quest at almost any time, even if the tower is full of guards; the key is speed. In sneak mode, go up the first ladder (even if in full view of the guards), turn left and go up the second; turn left again, unlock and ascend the third; turn right, empty the desk and reverse the previous steps. It is possible to grab the records and the Nirnroot even after having been seen ascending the first ladder.
After you complete this quest, a special edition of the Black Horse Courier is published: "Poor Burdened by Taxes!".
Among the denizens of the Waterfront District, the tax records will also list one Raven Camoran, a minor antagonist of the Main Quest line.
The tax record also mentions that Myvryna Arano, who will later be found to have ties to Lex, was exempted from paying the tax

[edit] Journal Entries

Untaxing the Poor (TG02taxes)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
0
10		Armand of the Thieves Guild has asked me to recover the tax records and taxes collected by the Imperial Watch. They are being held by an over-zealous Captain named Hieronymus Lex in the South Watchtower.
15		I learned that Hieronymus Lex has an office in the South Watchtower. That's probably where he keeps the taxes and tax records. I should check it out.
20		I found the tax records. Now to get them back to Armand in the Waterfront district.
30	0	I returned the tax records and taxes to Armand. He let me keep the gold. The Gray Fox will redistribute them to the peasants in the Waterfront district using money from the guild treasury. Armand has promoted me to Footpad in the Thieves Guild.
100
Blood Price (TG02BloodPrice)
20		I have slain someone while trying to recover the tax records. Armand will not be happy about this if he finds out. Murder is against the Thieves Guild rules. It will cost me 1000 gold per person slain to get back into the guild. Unfortunately, he will only talk to me after midnight in the Garden of Dareloth.
21		Armand has kicked me out of the Thieves Guild for violating one of the three rules. I killed someone while attempting to recover the tax records. Blood price is 1000 gold coins for each murder. I have to pay it to get back into the guild. Unfortunately, he will only talk to me after midnight in the Garden of Dareloth.
25	0	I paid my blood price to be readmitted into the Thieves Guild. With that out of the way, Armand has promoted me to Footpad in the Thieves Guild.

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.