Shivering:The Fork of Horripilation (quest)

Find the Fork of Horripilation for Big Head! Quest Giver: Big Head in Bliss Location(s): Bliss in New Sheoth Prerequisite Quest: None Next Quest: None Reward: Blade, Sneak or Alchemy skill increase ID: SE45

The Fork of Horripilation

Quick Walkthrough

1. Speak with Big Head.
2. Retrieve The Fork of Horripilation and give it to Big Head.
3. Receive your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough

Big Head

Big Head, a male Argonian living in Bliss, New Sheoth, is obsessed with The Fork of Horripilation and asks you to find it.

The Fork of Horripilation

If you haven't already found the fork in your travels, make your way to Longtooth Camp. If you wish, speak with Bolwing in Crucible for the camp's objective marker. The Fork's actual location is dependent on the result of the struggle between the Zealots and the Heretics. It is initially located on a table in the tent, but it may have been moved to another location. If neither the Zealot Crusader nor the Heretic Crusader have it, it may either be in a jewelry box at Longtooth Camp or in a jewelry box at Hardscrabble Camp. The quest arrow will point you to the right location.

If you return to Big Head at night, you must break into his house. You may notice a shrine dedicated to forks; Plain Forks, Pewter Forks, Silver Forks, and Pitchforks.

If you lie and tell Big Head that you don't have the fork he says "You have the Fork? I hear it singing so close? Songs of such closeness! Songs of almostness!"

If you give the Fork of Horripilation to him, he responds, "You bring the Fork! Happy day! The blind shall see! The lame shall walk! The short shall tall! Forks for all!"

Reward

Big Head then asks you whether you would like to learn a Blade secret, a Sneak secret, or an Alchemy secret. He gives you a witty remark on the subject, along with a skill increase in whichever you choose.

• Blade - "Big Head knows a secret about blades. Point them out, never in. Blade is out - poke, poke, poke! Kill the grandpa netch!"

• Sneak - "The secret to sneaking is not to be seen. Empty rooms. Empty tombs! Sneak in the dark, though the blind man can see you."

• Alchemy - "'Poison' is 'potion' spelled differently. Both come in bottles, but one is good to drink! Singing potions! Ringing potions!"

Notes

• The Fork of Horripilation can be used as a weapon but has a Stunted Magicka scripted effect while equipped.
• If the Fork of Horripilation is stolen from Big Head, or he is killed for it, it will remain a quest item, unable to be discarded.
• Big Head has a habit of attempting to steal forks for his collection, and this makes it likely that Golden Saints will attack and kill him at any point during gameplay.
  • If Big Head dies before giving the quest, the Fork of Horripilation will no longer be a quest item. Picking it up will trigger a journal entry suggesting you give it to him, the quest will be marked as complete. The fork will be a normal (non-quest) item, with the Stunted Magicka scripted effect. The skill increase reward will be unattainable.
  • If Big Head dies after giving the quest but before receiving the fork, his death will trigger a journal entry informing you that he is dead and therefore cannot receive the fork, which completes the quest. The fork will be a normal (non-quest) item. The skill increase reward will be unattainable.

For these reasons, if you would like Big Head to live to a specific point in the quest, it should be either begun or completed as early as possible to avoid his untimely death.

• If the fork is enchanted and the name changed, the Stunted Magicka scripted effect will vanish.
• The phrase "Kill the grandpa netch!" is a reference to Sheogorath's Quest in Morrowind. This quest required you to use the Fork of Horripilation to kill a Bull netch that Big Head called grandpa netch.
• It is possible to raise either Alchemy, Blade, or Sneak above 100 with the reward from this quest.

Bugs

• Big Head is often caught stealing forks and summarily executed before you can get or complete his quest. This happens because Rendil Drarara carries a pewter fork in his inventory and will be on the streets at 2pm on his way to the chapel, or 4pm on his way home when Big Head is searching for a fork. If you want to keep Big Head alive, simply pickpocket the fork from Rendil. The fork will not respawn so the player only needs to worry about pickpocketing it once.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.

Journal Entries

The Fork of Horripilation (SE45)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
5		Because Bolwing is dead, I have no way to get more information about the Fork of Horripilation. Maybe I'll get lucky and find it during my travels in the Shivering Isles. Sadly, that is the best the I can hope for now.
10		Big-Head has asked me to find the Fork of Horripilation. It's obviously important to him, and he has offered me a reward for its return. Big-Head has given me a charm that should allow me to speak with the beggar Bolwing.
20		I've spoken to the beggar Bolwing. He tells me that the Fork of Horripilation is being fought over by groups of Heretics and Zealots. I'll have to get it from them.
50		I have found the Fork of Horripilation. I should return it to Big-Head.
200		I have returned the Fork of Horripilation to Big-Head. He has told me a secret as a reward.
205		Big Head is dead. I can never return the Fork of Horripilation to him.

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 SE45 stage, where 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.