The Book of Love

The Book of Love is a quest that begins in the Temple of Mara in the city of Riften. It is given to the Dragonborn by Dinya Balu, one of the priestesses, when asking for the Blessing of Mara. To earn the Goddess of Love's favor, Danya sends her or him to the village of Ivarstead to help a local girl with a love problem.

Overview

 * Prerequisites: Speak with Dinya Balu.
 * Quest Giver: Dinya Balu
 * Reward: Agent of Mara blessing, Amulet of Mara

Riften
This quest is easily located by entering the town of Riften and following the path on the left towards Mistveil Keep. The Temple of Mara is clearly marked by a pair of guards standing before an opening in the stone wall with twin banners hanging behind them. Enter the Temple and speak with Dinya Balu, the Head Priestess of the Temple, and request Mara's Blessing. She will say that you must prove yourself worthy of the blessing by advancing the cause of love throughout Skyrim, and relays a vision sent to her by the Goddess to visit a small village called Ivarstead to the west of Riften. Head west to Ivarstead.

Ivarstead
Arriving at the hamlet of Ivarstead, the quest prompts you to speak with a girl named Fastred, who is in something of a conundrum with her parents. Fastred fancies herself in love with a local man named Bassianus, but her parents disapprove of their choice to leave Ivarstead for Riften. After speaking with Fastred, speak with her mother and father as well. Speaking with the mother will yield that she does not, in fact, disapprove of Bassianus, and would allow the pair to elope while she took care of informing her husband. Speaking with Fastred's father will reveal that his daughter is a rather fickle young woman whose affections change frequently. He will tell you that, up until very recently, Fastred was infatuated with another local man by the name of Klimmek, and that he is concerned that Fastred will leave the rapidly shrinking village for good if she chooses to leave with Bassianus.

You are now presented with two choices. You can head to the local inn to inform Bassianus that Fastred's mother is willing to run interference so that he and his love interest can elope to Riften, or you can investigate Klimmek's past relationship with Fastred. Confronting Klimmek will result in the fisherman realizing that he must be assertive with his feelings for Fastred, and let her know that he wants to be with her. Speaking with Bassianus will result in Fastred and Bassianus eloping to Riften, never to return to Ivarstead. Choosing either will result in the quest advancing.

Next, return to Riften to learn that the Goddess requires you to travel far to the west, to the city of Markarth to stoke the flames of love in the heart of Calcelmo, the eccentric Dwemer researcher and court magician in Understone Keep.

Markarth
Calcelmo is having some lady trouble. He's attracted to a woman named Faleen, who works in the keep, but has no idea how to speak with her. Fearing the possibility of offending her in some way by bringing up the wrong subject, Calcelmo asks that you get advice from a friend of Faleen's by the name of Yngvar, who is reputed to be quite... successful with the local ladies. You can find the lady's man in the Treasury Hall at night, or in the Silver-Blood Inn by day. He will reveal that Faleen puts on a tough front, but has a weakness for poetry. It just so happens that Yngmar has a poem that he can tweak to be about Faleen... for a sum of 200 gold. Pay the piper and take the poem back to Understone Keep and speak with the lucky lady. After prompting Faleen to read "Calcelmo's" poem, she will give you a letter to deliver to the bumbling researcher. Head back to Calcelmo, give him the letter, and proceed to follow him and witness his stumbling confession. If Faleen is in Solitude, it will take several hours for Calcelmo to walk all the way from Markarth to Solitude so it is recommended to proceed with other quests and you will receive a notification when Calcelmo has spoken with Faleen. With your job in Markarth complete, return to the Temple of Mara for your next objective.
 * If you have completed the Civil War questline prior to this quest, Faleen may be found in the lower floor of the Blue Palace in Solitude, rather than Understone Keep. (Note: if you have a high bounty in markarth, it is possible that Faleen will attack you in the Blue palace. if this happens, you are free to fight back, because the solitude citizens will fight alongside you. if you are victim of a bug that prevents you from clearing your bounty in markarth, you will not be able to finish this quest.)

For your final task, Mara requests that you reunite two lovers who have lost one another beyond the pale of death.

Gjukar's Monument
Gjukar's Monument is pretty hard to miss. Put on the amulet you received, and then travel south-southeast of Rorikstead to find the spirit of Ruki, looking for the body of her husband among the ruins. Speak with her and she will ask that you help her look for her husband's body. With no corpses present in the area, you will have to head northeast towards an open plain. You will find the spirit of Ruki's husband just south of Greenspring Hollow on the south side of that river. Speak with him and he will ask you to lead him back to Ruki. At this point, you can choose either to fast travel back to Gjukar's Monument, or take the scenic route. After reaching Ruki, the two dead lovers will speak briefly, and ascend towards the heavens as they pledge eternal love for one another. (Note: In the PC version, the game may break and Ruki may fall down and will insult your mortality. If this happens, just reload the game.)

Return to Riften and speak with Dinya Balu to receive the Agent of Mara blessing (Permanent +15% Resist Magic ) and complete the quest.

Bugs

 * Fastred and Bassianus may stay in Ivarstead even though you chose to help them elope to Riften. Both of her parents will comment on her being in Riften even with Fastred standing in full view of them. Its possible this is from starting the dialogue with Klimmek then exiting it and finishing the quest by talking to Bassianus instead to help the couple elope.
 * If you talk to Ruki's husband Fenrig, a glitch may occasionally occur where the dialogue box appears, but Fenrig does not respond to the choice in the box (PS3, X360). To fix this, at least on X360, just save after trying to talk to him, then reload the save.
 * There is a glitch where you're not able to ask for Mara's Blessing and therefore can't start the quest (Dinya Balu must be approached while inside the temple for the dialogue option to appear).
 * If the stormcloaks have taken Markarth then the person will run to the blue palace which can lead to(if the game views him as killable)he may die on the way failing the quest
 * When you give the letter from Faleen to Calcelmo, it dos'nt say the qust is completed on the screen.
 * Once completing the quest the player becomes over encumbered (at least 12 weight increased making the player 1 weight over) presumably by the amulet of Mara. Even though the amulet only weighs 1. Once removed from the inventory the player is still over encumbered although they were not when they entered the room. On reload from an auto save just before the player fast traveled, the player is once again over encumbered by 1. Note: No carry capacity effects active before receiving Amulet of Mara. On reloading from a Quick Save Before the player finds Ruki, carry weight is Normal. (Needs confirmation)
 * (PC) After completing the quest and apparently receiving the Agent of Mara perk it was not found in actrive effects. (Try looking under "Resist Magic" instead of "Agent of Mara" it should show as +15% and list the actual origin when you scroll down to it under Active Effects)

Appearances

 * The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim