The Scrofulous Patrician

The Scrofulous Patrician is a Daedric Prince quest available in. The Agent is sent to 'exterminate a certain scrofulous patrician' that has displeased Hermaeus Mora, Daedric Prince of Forbidden Knowledge.

Background
In their pursuit of more power to aid their quest, the Agent may seek the power of the Daedric Princes. On the 5th of First Seed the Prince of Knowledge Hermaeus Mora may be summoned, if the Agent agrees to pay a summoner of either a Witch Coven, Mages Guild or a Temple. There is also a small chance of Sheogorath appearing on another Prince's summoning day.

Objectives

 * Successfully summon Hermaeus Mora, Prince of Forbidden Knowledge, on the 5th of First Seed.
 * Speak with Hermaeus Mora and accept their quest.
 * Journey to the town mentioned by Hermaeus Mora and enter the palace.
 * (Either) Kill the noble named by Hermaeus Mora.
 * (Or) Accept the noble's offer and take the enchanted item.
 * Journey to the second town mentioned by Hermaeus Mora.
 * (Either) Speak with Hermaeus Mora's apostle before the time limit expires.
 * (Or) Hand the apostle the enchanted item before the time limit expires.

Walkthrough
The Agent may approach a summoner at either the Mages Guild, a Temple, or a Witch Coven to summon one of the Daedric Princes. If the summoning occurs on the 5th of First Seed, the Agent may receive a vision of Hermaeus Mora, whom immediately offers them a quest. Indeed, Hermaeus Mora is keen to reward the Agent with the power of the Oghma Infinium, if they should they 'exterminate a certain scrofulous patrician'.

An Empowered Noble
Upon the Agent's acceptance of the task, Hermaeus Mora will outline that the 'scrofulous patrician' is a noble, living in the palace of a nearby town. Once the noble lies dead, Hermaeus Mora instructs the Agent to seek out one of the Princes apostles, who resides in a library in another town. With that, Mora's vision will end and the Agent should head out to slay the noble.

The noble will appear in the specified palace in the form of a spellsword, apparently on their own. Upon striking the spellsword the noble will suddenly plead:

"No! Wait! I swear, I meant to pay Lord Mora back. Don't kill me, I beg of you! Here, spare my life and take this [enchanted item] back to him as a token of my goodwill and a down payment on what I owe. Please, will you?"

- A scrofulous patrician

The Agent now faces a choice, either kill the noble and appease Hermaeus Mora, or take the trinket to the Daedric Prince's contact.

Promised Power
Choosing to reject the noble's offer will result in the Agent needing to kill the noble, before escaping from the palace. The Agent will then be harassed by barbarians and rangers until they speak with Hermaeus Mora's contact, found in the library of another town. Speaking to the apostle before the time limit expires will successfully complete the quest, with the apostle handing the Agent the Oghma Infinium in return.

An Un-Appeasing Offer
Should the Agent instead take up the noble on their offer then the Agent will be left with a random enchanted item to hand to the apostle. The Agent must therefore head to apostle's town, find them in the library and hand them the item, although the apostle does not seem interested:

"Hmm, well, thanks for the [enchanted item], I guess... Now, let's get down to business."

- Hermaeus Mora's apostle

The apostle will be even less impressed when the Agent reveals that the noble has not been slain. Indeed, the Agent will berated for letting 'that little worm live' resulting in no reward and the quest ending in failure.

Rewards
Completing the quest successfully within the time limit will see the Agent rewarded with the Oghma Infinium by the Prince's apostle. The Agent will also receive a boost in reputation with the faction whom summoned the Prince for them, as well as the faction's associates. Conversely, failing the quest will result in the Agent losing reputation with the summoner's faction.

The changes made to reputation, either by successfully completing or failing the quest are shown below:

Trivia

 * Hermaeus Mora's apostle is a member of the Mages Guild.
 * Slaying the noble will not cause the Agent to lose their legal reputation within the region.
 * When asked for any news, NPCs have a variety of comments to make referencing the quest:
 * Acceptance: "They say [Noble's name] got all [his/her] power direct from the daedras themselves." or "[Noble's name] must have made a deal with the daedra. No one can be that lucky."
 * Success: "What goes around, comes around. [Noble's name] tried to cheat fate, so they say." or "I can still hear [Noble's name] bragging about cheating the daedra. What a fool."
 * Failure: "[Noble's name] left [region] quick as you like. I guess [he/she]'s past caught up with [him/her]." or "You can cheat the daedra. [Noble's name] did. Had to run away, but [he/she]'s still alive."
 * NPCs also have a select amount of dialogue about Hermaeus Mora and his tools:
 * Hermaeus Mora's apostle: "Just a [Apostle's description] who deals with the daedra." or "Some [Apostle's description] who practically lives at [library]."
 * Oghma Infinium: "The Oghma Infinium is the book of knowledge. But knowledge can be forgotten." or "It is the book that gifts its reader with stronger bodies and abler minds."
 * Hermaeus Mora: "The Daedra Prince of Forbidden Knowledge, the wisest of the infernal ones." or "Hermaeus Mora has a mind as old as Tamriel. And a body of slime."

Bugs

 * The noble will fail to despawn after accepting their offer, making it possible for the Agent to take the item and then kill them.
 * Fixed with the DFQFIX plug-in.
 * NPC dialogue about Hermaeus Mora and the Oghma Infinium may be replaced by random NPC names instead.
 * Hermaeus Mora's apostle will always spawn in a town with a library, making the quest impossible to complete in smaller regions.