Skyrim Mod:Bards College Expansion/Music, Merriment and Muckrakers

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Socialize with bards and help Helvana out. Quest Giver: Master Sledrig Location(s): The Winking Skeever Prerequisite Quest: Tending the Flames Next Quest: Of Songs and Shouts Reward: Skill points. Added by: Bards College Expansion

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to Master Sledrig to receive the quest.
2. Talk to Helvana to obtain the invitation to the party.
3. Talk to the bouncer to enter the Winking Skeever.
4. Talk to the guests.
5. Talk to Helvana.

Detailed Walkthrough

After the Burning of King Olaf ceremony is done and you are officially a member of the Bards College of Solitude, Helvana will seek you and tell you to go speak of Master Sledrig, who is found on the top floor of the College. He will explain that he wants to teach you how to master your voice, but will not explain further what that means yet, and gives you for your first task to accompany Helvana to a bards gathering at The Winking Skeever. He also mentions that Endarie of Radiant Raiment has a bard outfit ready for you.

Talk to Helvana who will admit to eavesdropping and ask you to confirm that Master Sledrig offered you voice training. She will give you your Bard Party Invitation.

Before going to the party, you can look across the street to find Endarie standing out of her shop (so that she is there even outside of her normal opening hours) and talk to her to receive a free set of bardic attire, comprised of a Bard Outfit, a pair of Bard Boots, and a Bard Hat, all in red and blue.

During this quest, the Winking Skeever is closed to regular customers so as to host the bard party. The door is locked and the only way to unlock it is to speak to the Door Guard and give him your invitation.

In the Winking Skeever, several guests are in attendance. Most of the nameless NPCs can be chatted to and can be persuaded with a speech check to give you some advice, which translates to a skill increase in a given skill:

• Party Cook: Alchemy (Easy)
• Old Bard: Speech (Easy)
• Seductive Bard: Light Armor (Average)
• Sneaky Bard: Pickpocket (Average)
• Cocky Bard: Archery (Easy)
• Novice Bard: Sneak (Very Easy)
• Reserved Bard: Restoration (Average)

Very Easy checks require a Speech skill of 10; Easy checks a Speech skill of 25, and Average checks a Speech skill of 50. Wearing the Amulet of Articulation will also allow to pass any and all checks regardless of Speech level.

The three instrument players do not have anything particular to say.

The named guests are:

• Korrin, who will have some specific dialogue if you have completed his quest in the East Empire Expansion
• Haren, who argues with Helvana
• Loliah, who can give you a special Duel of Wit. If you have talked to Peiras about wordplay before going there, you should know some insults and a couple of retorts. If not, Helvana will fill you in with some other insults and retorts. Winning a Duel of Wit against Loliah will give you a guaranteed Bardic Inspiration.

After chatting with the various bards and the party cook, and optionally with Loliah, talk to Helvana who will explain the problem that's holding her up. She was tasked with getting a tablet and a cipher from Haren, but only has the tablet. Haren says the cipher was stolen. You can accuse one of the nameless bards of the theft, or persuade Helvana to drop the matter and just come back with the tablet; however it is also possible to investigate. Since you aren't supposed to tell the other guests about the missing cipher, there is only one person you can interrogate: Haren himself. He'll explain that the parchment with the cipher was stolen from his room. If you ask him about whether he has a suspect in mind, he will mention the Sneaky Bard, and the cocky Khajiit, as being likely to have pickpocketed it from him. If you ask him about whether the item was stolen from his room or from his pocket, you can then persuade (Very Hard), intimidate (Hard), or bribe him (500 gold) to stop lying. It is also possible to pickpocket the cipher from Haren. In any case, after obtaining the cipher, Helvana will direct you to go back to Sledrig.

Whether you obtained the cipher or not will not have an immediate consequence, however it determines whether you get two words or just the first word of the Earthsong shout at the start of the Echoes quest. Tyriana can provide Radiant quests to obtain additional tablets so it is possible to fully unlock Earthsong regardless.