Shivering:Taxonomy of Obsession

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Contents 1 Quick Walkthrough 2 Detailed Walkthrough 2.1 Starting the Quest 2.2 Finding the Ingredients 2.3 The Next (and Final) Step 3 Notes 4 Possible Glitches 5 Journal Entries

Help a Dunmer finish her research. edit Quest Giver: Mirili Ulven at Highcross Location(s): Highcross Prerequisite Quest: None Next Quest: None Reward: Leveled Gold ID: SE37

Mirili's beastiary.

[edit] Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to Mirili Ulven about her research.
2. Collect the ingredients and return them to her.
3. Talk to Mirili Ulven about her bestiary.
4. Bring her each of the animals.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] Starting the Quest

In Highcross, you will get a topic pop up saying "Mirili's Research". Asking around and mentioning this will only receive comments on how obsessed she is with plants and animals, so you will have to ask Mirili Ulven herself. She can be found at her house after dark, but before then she will be outside collecting samples around the Settlement.

When you have found Mirili, she will be very secretive about her research, assuming you wish to ruin it. After further persuading (getting her disposition up to 60) she will be surprised that you actually want to help her. She gives you a list of various rare items to collect and says she will pay you 10 gold coins for each sample. Despite this, she will only pay for one sample of each item.

[edit] Finding the Ingredients

Note that Mirili Ulven will not accept stolen samples of any ingredient, however she will accept ingredients that were collected before the quest started. Simply collecting ingredients as you explore Shivering Isles and do other quests will usually be enough to get most or all of the ingredients, possibly allowing you to complete this portion of the quest within seconds of starting it.

Each ingredient's article provides full details on where that ingredient can be found; only plants particularly close to Highcross are mentioned here. It may be useful to print or save a copy of the ingredient list in order to "scratch off" the ingredients you've delivered.

• Alocasia Fruit - Harvested from an Alocasia plant; a few can be found right outside her front door, to the left of her house.
• Aster Bloom Core - Harvested from Aster Bloom plants. One is growing in the archway of Bruscus Dannus' house.
• Black Tar - Harvested from Dementia-variety Mushroom Tree Saplings and Black Tar plants.
• Blister Pod Cap - Harvested from Blister Pod plants, which are only found in Dementia.
• Congealed Putrescence - Harvested from Putrid Gigantea plants, which are only found in Dementia.
• Digestive Slime (a.k.a., Letifer Orca Digestive Slime) - Harvested from Letifer Orca Planta, which is only found in Dementia.
• Elytra Ichor - Collected from the corpse of any Elytra.
• Flame Stalk - Harvested from Flame Stalk plants, which mostly grow in caves.
• Fungus Stalk - Harvested from Fungus Stalk plants, which only grow in Dementia.
• Gas Bladder (a.k.a., Red Kelp Gas Bladder) - Harvested from Red Kelp plants. Some plants can be found growing outside Ebrocca, a ruin southeast of Highcross.
• Gnarl Bark - Collected from the corpses of Gnarls.
• Grummite Eggs - Harvested from Grummite Egg Mounds and Sacs, which are more common in Dementia. May also be found on any Grummite.
• Hound Tooth - Collected from the corpses of Skinned Hounds.
• Hunger Tongue - Collected from the corpses of Hungers.
• Hydnum Azure Giant Spore - Harvested from Hydnum Azure plants, some of which are growing on the large mushroom tree between Mirili's house and Bruscus' house.
• Pod Pit (a.k.a., Water Root Pod Pit) - Harvested from Water Root Pod plants, which grow in Dementia.
• Rot Scale - Harvested from Rot Scale plants, which grow in Dementia caves.
• Scalon Fin - Collected from corpses of Scalons.
• Screaming Maw - Harvested from Screaming Maw plants, which grow in Mania caves.
• Shambles Marrow (a.k.a., Bone Marrow) - Collected from corpses of Shambles, some of which can be found at Ebrocca southeast of Highcross. Shambles may also yield Bone Shards, which Mirili does not want.
• Swamp Tentacle - Harvested from Swamp Tentacle plants, which are found in Dementia.
• Thorn Hook - Harvested from Thorn Hook plants, which grow in Dementia caves.
• Void Essence - Collected from corpses of Flesh Atronachs.
• Watcher's Eye - Harvested from Watcher's Eye plants, which grow in Dementia caves.
• Withering Moon - Harvested from Withering Moon plants, which grow in Dementia caves.
• Worm's Head Cap - Harvested from Worm's Head plants, one of which grows outside Mirili's house, on a rock to the right of the bottom of the steps leading to her front door.

[edit] The Next (and Final) Step

(This can be done before completing the Item List)

After finding and giving a few of the wanted ingredients to Mirili, she will remind you to ask her about her bestiary. She explains that she wants to start collecting animals and that she wants you to lure the animals to her. If you are at least apprentice level in Illusion skill, she offers to sell you Command Creature spells with which you can calm and lure the animals back to her, depending on their levels. Depending upon skill level, she will offer the spells Mirili's Apprentice Command, Mirili's Journeyman Command, or Mirili's Expert Command.

You will receive a leveled gold reward for each of the following four creatures:

• Baliwog - Mirili first requests that you bring back a Baliwog, a giant lizard-like creature. Any type of Baliwog will do. Baliwogs can be found along most Dementia shorelines.

• Elytra - The second beast that Mirili wants you to bring is an Elytra. Places where Elytra can be found are detailed on the Elytra Ichor article. Elytra Nobles are the most powerful version of the creature that you can capture with the expert spell she gives you.

• Gnarl - The third beast to collect is a Gnarl. Places where Gnarls can be found are detailed on the Gnarl Bark article. The spell Mirili gives you won't affect an Elder Gnarl, but will be sufficient for lesser versions of the creature.

• Scalon - Places where Scalons can be found are detailed on the Scalon Fin article. Scalons cannot be found until level 9 (level 7 for boss-level creatures), so this stage of the quest cannot be completed by lower level characters.

Tactics that can be used for any of the creatures include:

• You can use Mirili's command spell to compel a creature to follow you back to Highcross
• You can use your own command spell. Custom spells with magnitude 100 can be particularly helpful for dealing with high-level creatures.
• You can find a creature and let the creature chase you back to Highcross. It is best to use this tactic early in the morning when the residents of Highcross are inside: any residents will attack your creature.

Once in Highcross, getting Mirili to subdue the creature without killing it can also be a challenge. Sometimes, even in close proximity, Mirili won't turn hostile towards the creature. Tactics to get her to subdue it include:

• You can lead (or be chased by) the creature straight into one of the holding pens in the center of town, then close the gate behind you. Finding Mirili before the creature is in a holding pen is generally not recommended, since Mirili will not try to tame the beast until your command spell has worn off, at which point she is likely to kill the beast.
• If you can't get the above tip to work, then while Mirili is outside the town, attack the creature three times with your weakest spell/attack while it's still under your control. This will encourage Mirili to join the fight. At that point, cast protect or heal spells on the creature until Mirili can subdue it.

[edit] Notes

• Occasionally it may be possible for you to get one of the creatures you have under your command to follow you inside Mirili's house which allows you to let her capture it in a controlled environment where the other villagers will not interfere, lessening the chance of the creature's death. This, however, cannot always be done.

• The creature found afterwards in Mirili's Bestiary always has the same appearance, independent from the variant you captured. For example, a captured Elytra will be replaced by the same "Mirili's Elytra", whether it was an Elytra Matron or an Elytra Hatchling.

• Something you can do to help your creature survive the encounter with Mirili is to cast spells on it such as "Protect Other" and "Remedy Friend" during the fight. Doing this should allow the creature to last longer, thus giving Mirili more time to subdue it.

[edit] Possible Glitches

• The other residents of Highcross may attack your creatures on sight, even if the creatures are under control of a command spell. To avoid this, you may wish to take a roundabout route and enter the town from the south, or choose to only enter town at times when the other residents are not around.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.

• After Mirili takes the Baliwog, she may be stuck in the house, and won't subdue the Elytra, which promptly kills everyone else in town. Casting a frenzy spell on her gets her out (popping her one in the face works, too), but then she's stuck again when the next beast is brought. You can try to avoid Mirili getting stuck in the house, but it requires quickness and a bit of luck, so save before trying. Once a creature is tamed, follow Mirili into her house, and speak to her. She will reward you. Then exit the conversation and immediately head out of the house through the door. If you can get out of the house before Mirili does her greeting that forces you back into a conversation with her, she should follow you out in about an hour, and not get stuck. Outside, you can speak to her again normally about the next creature she wants you to capture.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.

• After bringing all the ingredients, Mirili's dialogue reverts back to the initial "Want to help. Here's a list." Her dialogue does not change to reflect the fact that you have collected all the ingredients until the bestiary portion of the quest is also completed.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.

• After you have given her all the ingredients, Mirili will begin to follow you from a distance. An example is leaving through the portal to Cyrodiil and returning later to find her right at the beginning where Haskill first was introduced, only to say she is busy and walk off. She may even follow you to Cyrodiil and then stays at there. She stands by the portal, but doesn't come back through. You can talk to her, but she doesn't go back through.

[edit] Journal Entries

Taxonomy of Obsession (SE37)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		Mirili Ulven of Highcross is willing to pay 10 gold coins for samples of various rare items. She'll only pay for one sample of each though. She gave me a list of the items she is interested in.
20		Mirili Ulven has asked that I capture a Baliwog for her. All I need to do is get it close to her and she'll subdue it. She has promised to reward me handsomely.
25		Mirili Ulven has paid me for capturing a Baliwog.
30		Mirili Ulven has asked that I capture an Elytra for her. All I need to do is get it close to her and she'll subdue it. She has promised to reward me handsomely.
35		Mirili Ulven has paid me for capturing an Elytra.
40		Mirili Ulven has asked that I capture a Gnarl for her. All I need to do is get it close to her and she'll subdue it. She has promised to reward me handsomely.
45		Mirili Ulven has paid me for capturing a Gnarl.
50		Mirili Ulven has asked that I capture a Scalon for her. All I need to do is get it close to her and she'll subdue it. She has promised to reward me handsomely.
55		Mirili Ulven has paid me for capturing a Scalon.
200	0	Mirili has all of her plants and animals now. Her beastiary is complete and her taxonomy of plantlife is complete.
210	0	Mirili Ulven has died. I'll never understand what she was trying to accomplish with her taxonomy.

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.