Oblivion:Arvena Thelas

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Arvena Thelas (RefID: 0003572C)
Home City	Anvil
House	Arvena Thelas' House
Race	Dark Elf	Gender	Female
Level	PC+1	Class	Commoner
RefID	0003572C	BaseID	0003571D
Other Information
Health	38 + (5+1.8)x(PC+0), PC=4-27
Magicka	100 + 3.5x(PC+0) (max=250)
Responsibility	50	Aggression	5
Essential	Until A Rat Problem is completed
Faction(s)	Anvil Citizen

Arvena Thelas in Anvil

Arvena Thelas is a Dark Elf commoner residing in Anvil. Rumors suggest that she keeps strange things in her basement, but Arvena insists there's nothing unusual about the four rats she keeps as pets. Regardless, one of her neighbors is bothered by the idea of living next to a house with rats, and during the related quest, you'll need to address this issue.

Known around town as "the rat lady", Arvena chooses to ignore the nickname and spends several hours socializing with the townsfolk. She wakes up every morning at 6am and spends two hours at home before heaading to The Count's Arms for breakfast. At 10am, she goes to a shady bench under the big oak near the Anvil Dock Gate, where she reads Biography of Barenziah, v 2 until 4pm, when she returns home. At 6pm, she goes back to The Count's Arms, unknowingly dining alongside the very person responsible for her rat problem. She returns home at 8pm and wanders around until bedtime at 10pm. On rainy days, she skips her reading on the bench and heads straight home. During the related quest, she cancels all her appointments and waits anxiously on the second floor of her house for news from you.

Arvena wears common middle-class clothing, including a burgundy linen shirt, burgundy linens, and pigskin shoes. She carries Biography of Barenziah, v 2, her house key, and a leveled amount of gold.

Dialogue

The very first time you approach her, she will politely introduce herself:

"I'm Arvena Thelas. They call me 'the rat lady' on account of all my pet rats."

Anvil

"You can't imagine the fuss some people make. My rats are no problem for anyone."

Related Quests

• A Rat Problem: Azzan in Anvil wants you to see Arvena Thelas regarding a rat problem in her basement.

Quest Related Events

A Rat Problem

At Azzan's request you'll have to find Arvena right away, and when you do so, she will fill you in on her special relationship with her unusual house pets:

"Ah... you must be from the Fighters Guild. Good. I have a problem, it has to do with the rats my basement. That's right. Rats. In my basement. And something has been killing them! It's horrible. My poor babies! You must do something! I don't know what I'd do without them. Their little pink noses, their scaly little tails. Please, get to the basement and find out what's happening."

Speaking to her again before dealing with the problems in the basement will have her say:

"Aren't you going to take care of this? What am I paying you for?"

After investigating the basement and discovering the mountain lions, reporting back to her will have her greet you with:

"Well, what have you found? Did you take care of my babies? What was going on down there?"

After informing her that mountain lions are in her basement she will say:

Hole into Arvena's basement

"A mountain lion? In my basement? But... how? That's not possible. But, it happened! What if there are more? What if it wasn't alone? Where there's one, there will be more. Find Pinarus Inventius. He's a hunter, and knows this area inside and out. He'll know what to do."

Speak to her again and she will only say:

"You should be looking for Pinarus! What are you doing here?"

At the end of the quest, you will discover Quill-Weave is the person responsible for the whole mess with the mountain lions. When you confront her, she will make you an offer: either tell Arvena about her, or don't. If you choose to tell Arvena the truth, she will give you a lesson in Speechcraft and say:

"I knew it! That s'wit! Oh, I'll get her. You just wait! Must have taken some fast talking to get her to confess! Maybe I can teach you a little bit more about how to talk to people. And, of course, here's the payment for the contract. Thank you."

If you choose not to tell her the truth, you'll receive only the gold reward as well as the following dialogue:

"She didn't, huh? Hmph. But, you've taken care of the problem, and I suppose that's what counts. Thanks for that. Here's your payment."

Either way, if all of her rats die during the quest, she will not hesitate to cancel the contract while saying:

"My rats are all dead! It's too late to do any more. I won't be needing your services any longer."

After this, she will greet you contemptuously:

"Useless Fighters Guild. What do you want?"

If you succeed with the quest, she will greet you in a totally different manner:

"Thank you for all your help. My rats appreciate it."

Rumors

Other people will share rumors about her:

"Arvena Thelas is an odd one. I've heard some strange noises coming from her basement."

"Something about Arvena Thelas is a bit odd. I've heard she keeps strange things in her basement."

"That woman is a bit off-kilter. I don't even want to know what she's got in her basement."

"She's a nut. Whatever's going on in that house, I don't want to know about it."

During the quest, Pinarus Inventius will reveal that he shares the public opinion:

"A hunt will do us good, and maybe make that old nut feel better."

Notes

• Her name may be familiar to players of Morrowind as another Thelas, Drarayne, had a rat problem of a different kind.

Bugs

• Speaking to Arvena before undertaking the related quest while she is sitting on the bench outside her house may break the quest, preventing her from returning home.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.0.0, fixes this bug.
• If you cover for Quill-Weave during the related quest, Arvena will confusingly ask, "What did you do to my little rats?" when approached. This line was likely intended for use if you failed the quest.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.5.2, fixes this bug.