Oblivion talk:A Shadow Over Hackdirt

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[edit] Extra Material

This material on this quest needs to be incorporated into the quest's page (it was originally entered onto Dar-Ma's page). I'll try to get to it eventually, but if anyone else feels like doing it, feel free!--Nephele 15:40, 7 July 2006 (EDT)

I've merged all the info together, so I deleted the block of text that had beeen here.--Nephele 15:54, 9 July 2006 (EDT)

The book "The Children's Aunaud" mentions that The Deep Ones are the Dwemer. Makes sense if you played the Tribunal expansion pack... Pirateskhajiit 12:45, 5 August 2006 (EDT)

[edit] Blossom

I don't know if others experienced this, but when I did this quest, Blossom was nowhere to be found. Much later on, when doing Legacy Lost for the Jemanes, Blossom turned up right outside of Weatherleah. This quest finished fine without reuniting Dar-Ma with her horse, though. –Dvandersluis 09:46, 10 February 2007 (EST)

That's odd... I bet she (Blossom) was attacked by something and had to flee.--Ratwar 13:39, 10 February 2007 (EST)

I just completed this quest and Blossom was to the west of Moslin's Dry Goods, behind it actually, rather then the East given in the write-up. It's to the left on the map, which I've always assumed has north to the top. Does anybody know if the Blossom's position is fixed or random? --FrankBoth 16:02, 2 July 2007 (EDT)

You're right - it's to the West. I must confess that when I first saw your post I thought you were wrong. I think it's because when you come out of Moslin's Inn, Blossom is to your right because you're heading South. --Rpeh^Talk 09:57, 5 July 2007 (EDT)

[edit] The Brethren Cave

I hadn't activated the quest in Chorrol, but I started poking around Hackdirt after the angry reception. I wound up finding the cave on my own, and slaughtered all of the Brethren present (there were several). I'm not sure how this will affect eh side quest (I'll report my result). 76.17.125.109 18:35, 19 February 2007 (EST)

I once did this without activating the quest by just going cave rescuing her, walking back to Chorrol and visiting Seed-Neeus. Results are: Seed-Neeus thanks me to rescuing Dar-Ma, I didn't get the skill-boost and quest is still active no mater what I do. I also didn't encounter any monster's when traveling thru forest, but I could walk all the way becouse Blossom got stuck in one of the hills and I have to use map to travel. 88.85.150.128 19:35, 5 August 2007 (EEST)

[edit] Crouching dialogue

If you open the door on Dar-Ma's cage before she automatically talks to you, she should start talking to you as if the bars were still in place. After that, she immediately crouched and thanked me, while still in dialogue. I can't remember ever seeing another NPC do something other than stand up straight or sit while talking to me, let alone go into stealth mode. --Edwin Herdman 03:12, 14 March 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Thirty years?

How was this date for the Imperial Legion's attack found? I have tried talking to everybody and while you get good ideas when it happened, nobody was willing to give me a specific date. Jav Hirel was a kid at the time, but it's hard to say how old he was at the time - thirty years before would possibly make him forty, or older. --Edwin Herdman 03:18, 14 March 2007 (EDT)

The info comes from talking with Honditar, in Chorrol. If you ask him about Hackdirt he says:

Not a nice place to visit. Those that remember still tell stories about the bad old days. About thirty years back, there was some trouble out there. Bad trouble. Legion had to be called in, people killed. Some say the Legion burned the town to the ground, but it's still there, for those that go looking for trouble. Still folks living up there, but no one you'd like to meet after dark.

--Nephele 04:05, 14 March 2007 (EDT)

Well, it's obvious which part of the quest I skipped. Oops! --Edwin Herdman 06:09, 14 March 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Stealing and tresspassing bug

I encountered an odd glitch last night playing this quest, even though most of the doors and chests don't have a red hand on them, if someone sees you take something it can be considered stealing. The first thing that happened was I was in the trader shop and I found 5 lion plets in a chest while the women in the shop was there and then sold them straight to her, but then I took a repair hammer from a crate and she called out "thief!". I reloaded the game and did it without stealing but then in the tunnels after I killed all the Brethren, Jiv was following me around and every time I took something from a chest he said "ah seems we have a thief" and then had a 120 gold bounty. I've added this glitch to the Notes section. Has anyone else encountered this? Maybe I should add a Bugs section instead? Grandmaster z0b 01:36, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

I really don't think it was necessary to edit the grammar of the sentence to add ", however,". I don't think we need two commas there the rest is fine. Grandmaster z0b 02:07, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

What's a Moslin? Grandmaster z0b 02:45, 28 March 2007 (EDT)

The Moslins are one of the main families in Hackdirt, i.e., Etira Moslin, Vlanhonder Moslin. --Nephele 23:54, 29 March 2007 (EDT)

I've got Dar-ma's diary, and it's marked as Stolen, which I thought was fairly strange. In her room at the inn, the chest with her belongings is the only chest marked as illegal. Amusingly, as a Quest Item, it can't be sold or removed from inventory via scripts; I carried it around for a while, and when I got arrested for the Brotherhood Betrayed quest in Bruma, they took everything from me except the diary. --TheRayven 17:24, 11 July 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Hackdirt bugged?

I stumbled upon Hackdirt after doing the Lost Legacy quest. There was a dead horse in the town, and two dead people standing up like scarecrows. I entered the church to be greeted by a Spriggan and a bear cub who attacked me. There was also Jiv Hiriel there who offered a bed for 30 gold. Anyways I left and broke into a house, and found a trap in the floor. I entered the cave and killed everyone inside. I went back to the church, killed the Spriggan. Jiv was dead (killed by Spriggan?) and I also foind the corpse of Etira Mostin there. Jiv was the only townfolk I found alive (except for the cave dwellers) *As I was writing this some other Mostlin guy showed up...Anyways, let's see if I can still do this quest. Looks like someone butchered the town before I got to =(

That's the power of Radiant AI, for you :P Seriously though, I've never ever seen anything that totally random happen in my game before! --144.138.143.86 13:37, 5 August 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Travel Glitch

I fast travelled when i got her out of the cave before she talked to me and i couldn't finish the mission. put this in —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.14.53.45 (talk • contribs).

If you have a suggestion about information that needs to be added to the article, it would help if you could be a lot more specific about what happened. --Nephele^Talk 02:22, 28 June 2007 (EDT)

after i had gone into the caves, and come out the wasy i came in, the tavern i think, i fast travelled to whereever dar-ma had to go. after this the message saying i needed to get dar-ma safely back home came up, but she was already home. i went back to hackdirt to see if here was anything i could do, bu i go attacked by those four followers. i killed them and checked on blossom who was still there. i went into the church and got attackd by most of the village, who i killed. there's no way i can fix it.

thats all i can remember now. hopefully thats enough 58.167.227.176 08:09, 1 July 2007 (EDT)

I've tried fast-traveling after getting Dar-Ma onto Blossom and it works fine. I think our anonymous friend is saying that if you FT before reuniting Dar-Ma and Blossom, you get the bug. I don't have a character in a position to try, though. --Rpeh^Talk 04:52, 3 July 2007 (EDT)

No, I'm in the same situation. Dar Ma headed off on Blossom towards home and I had to hang around and fend off some wildlife. I chased around looking for her, couldn't find her so fast traveled to find her already home. Now her mother thinks the quest is over, Dar-ma thanks me for saving her, but the quest is still active, waiting for me to reunite them. Very irritating.

[edit] Dialogue Glitch - verification

Re the recent edit that added "If Dar-Ma does die, there seems to be a dialogue glitch. If you speak to Rasheda (Fire and Steel, Chorrol) about it, she will tell you 'Dar-Ma's daughter went missing' instead of Seed-Neeus'.". I can't find that line in the construction set. Has anybody else experienced this or should it come off? --Rpeh^Talk 14:13, 8 July 2007 (EDT)

Yep, the dialogue exists:

Did you hear the bad news? Dar-Ma's daughter was killed by some strange cultists down in Hackdirt. Terrible, terrible times we live in.

At the moment, though, I can't easily check who says it or when. If I remember later I'll try to look it up in the construction set, unless someone else has a chance to check it first. --Nephele^Talk 19:41, 11 July 2007 (EDT)

[edit] The deep ones

*It is possible that the 'Deep Ones' are/were of the Dwemer race. I've moved this here from the main article. I can't actually find anything that implies that the Deep Ones are of Dwemer in origin. Heck, the Bible of the Deep Ones isn't even in any of the common tongues. Can anyone provide some factual substantiation for the above claim? --Saruuk 06:29, 15 August 2007 (EDT)

In "Extra Material" at the top, Pirateskhajiit mentions the Children's Anuad, which lists "the Dwemer (the Deep Ones, sometimes called Dwarves)". That's about the only (tenuous) link I know about. --Gaebrial 08:38, 15 August 2007 (EDT)

Ah, so it does indeed. I only checked the Dwemer article here; says that they're Deep Folk rather than Deep Ones. My mistake. Feel free to add that note again, with my apologies. =) --Saruuk 08:49, 15 August 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Something about being arrested

This was moved from the main page because I'm not sure what it means. Was the bounty present before starting the quest? What does the sentence beginning with "After" actually mean? Any extra information would be welcome

HUGE BUG!!!!: When you fast travel back to Chorrol after saving Dar-Ma, and you get arrested while in Chorrol, you will go to jail or pay the fine. After, Dar-Ma will walk around like the quest ever started... to fix it, just wait about 24 hours...

--Rpeh^Talk 12:41, 16 September 2007 (EDT)

I'm guessing that what they are saying is "If you get arrested in Chorrol when you return with Dar-Ma, she will resume wandering around town, rather than heading back to her mother, and therefore you cannot complete the quest." I don't know without checking the CS, but I'm guessing that Dar-Ma needs to enter her mother's store in order to flag that she has been rescued, which is why waiting 24 hours fixes the bug - assuming she goes home at night to rest. --Gaebrial 02:37, 17 September 2007 (EDT)

[edit] Shrine bug?

Tonight I completed this quest, followed by Hircines quest. Upon returning home I found i couldnt use the altars in the temples to restore my stats ("Repent your sins, wicked one!"). i have 126 fame, and no bounty, murders or infamy in my stats. I thought it had something to do with killing the unicorn, but i reloaded my saves, one by one until i could use the temples again, and it turns out that something i did during the hackdirt mission caused the problem. I just finished re-doing the quest and it appears that i can still use the temples this time around. not sure what happened but it might be worth looking into. (sorry if this is the wrong place/method to report this, this is my first time ever editing/adding to a wiki) 70.66.48.243 14:01, 30 September 2007 (EDT) t0m

You probably received a 0.5 gold bounty at some point during the quest (for example, because you were seen stealing something with a value of 1 gold). On your stats page, your bounty gets rounded down to 0, but when you visit an altar you still the fail the GetCrimeGold > 0 check. If that's the case, you can fix it by getting caught stealing some other trivial item, then pay the bounty when the guards arrest you. --Nephele^Talk 15:14, 30 September 2007 (EDT)

thanks, it must have happened when i tossed a cup at the inn keeper. he never yelled 'thief' but i did pick it up right in front of him. 70.66.48.243 15:53, 30 September 2007 (EDT) t0m

[edit] Alternative way of getting the mission

I entered hackdirt at night whilst no one was to be found. At first i reckoned this must be ghost town, but i got down to the caves and found Dar-ma, the mission works the same from there on

[edit] Unusual events during this quest with the twin brothers

A few oddities about doing the quest with the twin brothers, during Legacy Lost. I overstayed my welcome with Pindar in the woman's house with the mushrooms, all of a sudden Pindar (who entered with me) and every single brethren appeared upstairs and attacked. The brothers and I worked through all of them, and encountered further opposition in town and caverns only from the woman who owned the house (the tavern keeper did not start combat). The caverns were empty of life other than the Argonian. When I set her free, she sneaked a bit, but when I went up into the tavern she completely disappeared (Blossom was still around). After poking around for a while (a few hours game time) I went back to Chorrol, and found her with her mother. Got the quest reward, quest completed in the journal, everyone had happy conversation responses. Took the brothers on to Weatherleah, no problem.

[edit] Fast Travel Hackdirt Inhabitants

This glitch isn't game-breaking, as such, but was unusual enough to be pointed out. During the quest, I fast-travelled to a city gate in Cheydinhal, and Natch Pinder was next to me. I was able to ask him about the bretheren, which I couldn't do in Hackdirt, after which he left the town, presumably to travel back to Hackdirt. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Merco (talk • contribs).

[edit] When is this quest available?

Hi, I want to do this quest but the person who needs to be rescued is still safe in her house at Chorrol. When does this quest become available? Also I think I my have bugged it but im not sure. Earlier in the game I encountered Hackdirt and explored the entire place and pretty much everyone is dead there now unless those Brethren respawn in the underground. However all the normal people in the town are now dead. Will I ever get the quest now that ive done this?

If you killed everyone in town, she probably went home on her own, assuming you opened the cell she was in. You can probably get the reward for the quest by talking to Seed-Neeus. If not however, you probably can't do this quest anymore, and will need to start over again if you want to do it properly. --TheRealLurlock ^Talk 20:24, 12 June 2008 (EDT)

No one was in the cell when I was in Hackdirt. There wasn't even a key to open the cell door. Maybe if I spawn the NPC's I killed in Hackdirt? All those NPC's disappeared after I slept in Hackdirt when the Brethren attacked and I found them in the basement and killed them thinking they were hostile as the Brethren :(

[edit] Wow

Quote-"After completing the quest, Blossom remains outside the South gate to Chorrol unless you used Fast Travel, in which case she can be found in the corral of North Country Stables." This is sad, people have to check what they spell. Im changing that now. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.193.151.146 (talk • contribs) on 25 June 2008.

Ummm, no... you might need to invest a dictionary, though, or try checking an online one such as wiktionary, where you would find that corral is standard english word meaning "an enclosure for livestock." It is therefore the correct word in this context; gramatically "Chorrol" is completely wrong in this context. --Nephele^Talk 19:04, 25 June 2008 (EDT)

[edit] Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.

There's a game called "Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth", which in fact was created by Bethesda, which is based on Lovecraft's "Shadow over Innsmouth". Maybe there should be a note about this. --124.181.235.13 05:36, 10 July 2008 (EDT)

Probably not. It all ties back to the Lovecraft novel, so it's sufficient just to mention that. --Saruuk 05:47, 10 July 2008 (EDT)

It's mentioned here in any case. Definitely doesn't need another mention on this article. –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 05:49, 10 July 2008 (EDT)

[edit] Crap.

I was looking for random dungeons to loot when I happened upon Hackdirt. I went and explored, only to find Dar-Ma locked up. So I let her out, safely brought her back to Chorrol. I never even started this quest. So I went and talked to Seed-Neeus, only to find she doesn't have any dialogue about rescuing her daughter. I got quest updates about the quest, and it is my active quest, but Seed-Neeus isn't giving me any way to complete the quest. I've waited 48 hours and yet Seed-Neeus has said nothing. What should I do? ImmortalKaine 19:40, 22 July 2008 (EDT)

I'm sure you have, but did you check the Missing Daughter topic, even though it's greyed out?-Puddle ^{Talk•Contribs.} 20:04, 22 July 2008 (EDT)

I know you think I'm dumb, but that topic isn't even there. I never officially started the quest. Never talked to Seed-Neeus before. ImmortalKaine 20:10, 22 July 2008 (EDT)

I just tried again, spoke to Seed, and she said "I will never forget you, something something something, daughter". She recognizes that I've rescued her daughter, but there's no "Missing Daughter" topic. ImmortalKaine 20:12, 22 July 2008 (EDT)

Have you actually spoken to Dar-Ma after saving her? (By the way I don't think you're dumb, it is just an easy thing to miss)-Puddle ^{Talk•Contribs.} 15:01, 26 July 2008 (EDT)

I'm also having this exact problem. They both recognise the rescue but the quest doesn't complete. I'm sure it's a bug unless someone can help.94.193.153.204 13:53, 4 January 2009 (EST)

It's a bug. I also rescued Dar-Ma before initiating the quest but before setting her free I spoke to her through the cell. After opening the gate the quest picked up at that point and continued through to the end. (Gadianzero 14:42, 4 January 2009 (EST))

[edit] Moved from main article

I moved this from the "Bugs" section of the main article. It's poorly written and difficult to understand. --GuildKnight^Talk2me 22:20, 14 September 2008 (EDT)

when you stay the night it come up you:(can'T sleep in a owned bed!) this mabye triggered by finding the diary. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.24.53.209 (talk • contribs) on 14 September 2008.

[edit] Speeding Dar-Ma up notes

D'you think the note stating that fast travel is possible with Dar-Ma and Blossom makes the one about talking to her to get her to go back to Chorrol unnecessary and moderately redundant? Or are they dissimilar enough that they should both be mentioned? —SolarEquinox 00:39, 20 September 2008 (EDT)

Actually, if the latter turns out to be true, I'd rather see that on the article than the option for fast travelling. There are quite many people who refrain from using it, and fast travelling is more the sort of general solution that works for all companions. --Timenn < talk > 03:33, 20 September 2008 (EDT)

I tried getting Dar-Ma and Blossom to "whisk away" to Chorrol, as described in the note, to no avail. Led them different distances away from town, and tried doing it at different times of day, but there wasn't any difference. It seems like what happens is Dar-Ma follows the player for a while, until she's within talking distance. Then she'll thank the player (as mentioned in the note), and start walking toward Chorrol rather than whatever direction the player was leading her. But she still walks at her normal pace.

In short, I'm gonna take the note out. I'll probably move it over here in case someone else manages to get it to work.

Moderately related aside: Is it possible to fast-travel with Dar-Ma after she goes from get-out-of-town gallop to we're-safe-now crawl? I had no trouble with it during the former, but once she slowed down (both before and after talking to me) I'd always show up in Chorrol unaccompanied. If that's true, it might be worth pointing out. —SolarEquinox 13:37, 20 September 2008 (EDT)

I've fast-traveled with her from various different points; in Hackdirt itself and at different stages depending on how long I lasted before getting bored waiting for her. Always worked for me. –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 00:46, 21 September 2008 (EDT)

Removed note:

Try leading Dar-Ma a short distance away from Hackdirt once she is on her horse. Approach her once you are both away from town. She will automatically thank you for rescuing her and instantly whisk away with her horse back to Chorrol. This beats walking slowly all the way back to Chorrol with her following.

—SolarEquinox 13:40, 20 September 2008 (EDT)

Just a minor point regarding the pace at which she rides Blossom back to Chorrol...the article speculates that the horse hadn't been fed or watered during its time in Hackdirt. Dar-Ma's diary gives a good clue: Blossom threw a shoe on the way to Hackdirt. ComaDivine 15:03, 22 September 2008 (EDT)

Oh, good point. I think that occured to me, and then, of course, I promptly forgot about it. —SolarEquinox 11:10, 23 September 2008 (EDT)

[edit] can't get quest

I can't get this quest! I've talked to Dar-Ma, but no rumors pop up after 5 or more days. I've also tried the just going to Hackdirt and sleeping method, but that doesn't qork either. What am I doing wrong? --Oblivion nerd 22:01, 1 December 2008 (EST)

Been a while, dunno if you figured it out, But try talking to her mother at her shop.

[edit] Deep Ones = Sload?

Perhaps just conjecture, but following the original tale of A Shadow Over Innsmouth, the appearance of the Brethren, and the Bible of the Deep Ones, which is an excerpt from 'N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis!' written by the great Sload necromancer, N'Gasta, it would seem as though these Deep Ones are the horrifying Sload. Oh, the horrid thoughts that enter the mind. Of course, it could be any daedra and even the Dremora, but I think this one is the most possible.

[edit] Additional bug?

Had no problem with the quest until leaving Hackdirt. After telling Dar-Ma to follow and watching her mount Blossom, I mounted Maborel's Paint and took off between the buildings towards Chorrol. I stopped and turned several times to make sure they were following, as we were travelling overland. After a few minutes I looked back and saw they were no longer following. Fearing that somehow the townspeople (or the Bretheren, whom I never saw) had caught them, I went back only to find Blossom a couple dozen yards outside Hackdirt facing in the direction of Chorrol, and Dar-Ma missing. I circled around the horse's location for quite awhile searching before it occurred to me that this might be a bug. I continued on to Chorrol, and sure enough, Dar-Ma was there in the shop with Seed-Neeus (so much for never willingly abandoning her horse). I then experienced the dialog bug already noted in the article. Is this a problem anyone else has experienced? 12.233.146.130 23:29, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Slow travel back to Chorrol

After departing Hackdirt on Blossom, I only had to talk to Dar-Ma again and her travel speed rose considerably. Someone confirm this?—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 91.156.184.14 (talk • contribs) on 16:32, 13 September 2009.

In my experience it didn't work. I've done this quest numerous times, and talking to Dar-Ma when she's on Blossom had no impact on her speed. ^Talk Wolok gro-Barok _{Contributions} 16:49, 13 September 2009 (UTC)