A Friend In Need

Quick walkthrough

 * 1) Speak to Canthion at the bank of your alliance's starting city
 * 2) Convince Szugogroth to let you see his papers at the city's Outlaws Refuge
 * 3) Travel to Bolug Idolus' hiding place and obtain the deed from her
 * 4) Meet with Canthion back at the bank and obtain furniture
 * 5) Go to the inn room and place furniture

Starting the Quest
Canthion is a Bosmer Housing Vendor found at the bank in the starting city of each alliance. In the Aldmeri Dominion, he is found at the Vulkhel Guard Manor & Treasury in Vulkhel Guard, Auridon. In the Daggerfall Covenant, he is found at the Bank of Daggerfall in Daggerfall, Glenumbra. In the Ebonheart Pact, he is found at Uveran Bank in Davon's Watch, Stonefalls.

Szuzogroth's Intel
Szuzogroth is located in the Outlaws Refuge of the same city you find Canthion in (Vulkhel Guard Outlaws Refuge for AD, Daggerfall Outlaws Refuge for DC, Davon's Watch Outlaws Refuge for EP). He can be given 69 to be allowed access to his big. If you are a member of the Thieves Guild, you can tell Szuzogroth that you can put in a good word with the guild for him. If you are a member of the Dark Brotherhood, you can "remain silent".

Bolug Idolus' Hiding Place
Depending on your alliance, Bolug Idolus can be found a delve of the alliance's territory. In the Aldmeri Dominion, she is found at Naril Nagaia in Greenshade, and has protection from the Veiled Heritance. In the Daggerfall Covenant, she is found at Orc's Finger Ruins in Rivenspire, and has protection from the Bitterhand Bandits. In the Ebonheart Pact, she is found at Chid-Moska Ruins in Shadowfen.

Once you enter the ruins, defeating her guards is not necessary. They are not near her, but can be found all along the way to her location, which is at the end of the delve. Once you find her, you have the option to either kill her or take the deed and key and let her go free.

Obtaining Furniture
After meeting with Canthion back at his bank, he tells you to obtain at least one piece of furniture for the room so that he can give it to you. The simplest way is to buy at least one piece of furniture from the nearest Home Goods Furnisher in the city ( in Vulkhel Guard, Rozhika in Daggerfall, in Davon's Watch). It is also possible to purchase furniture with Crowns, though this would require you to have bought a house before the quest, as the Crown Store for furniture is only accessible when in an owned house. Since every house purchasable with gold requires you to have this quest (A Friend in Need) already completed, this method is not recommended, and it is best to stick with buying the items from a Furnisher.

Another method is to craft something after learning a blueprint, which can be bought from most merchants or found in containers when exploring. Crafting the furniture however requires resources and knowledge of the blueprint's crafting level, though if you have these requirements, it can be simple to make them.

Receiving the House
After you have at least one piece of furniture, meet with Canthion at the inn (AD: Mara's Kiss Public House in Vulkhel Guard; DC: The Rosy Lion in Daggerfall; EP: The Ebony Flask in Ebonheart) and he will let you complete the quest, giving you the room and the other rewards.

Reward

 * Inn room at a city in the starting zone:
 * Aldmeri Dominion: Mara's Kiss Public House, Vulkhel Guard, Auridon
 * Daggerfall Covenant: The Rosy Lion, Daggerfall, Glenumbra
 * Ebonheart Pact: The Ebony Flask, Ebonheart, Stonefalls
 * Anthology of Abodes Availible for Acquisition (Book)
 * 302
 * Completion of the quest is one of the goals required when buying any other house with gold

Trivia

 * Despite the AD and DC rooms also being located in their faction's starting cities, the EP room is located in Ebonheart rather than Davon's Watch
 * The book given to you by Canthion can also be found at a table at the inn. It also has four words starting with "a".
 * There is an option to lie to Canthion about not starting a Skooma operation at the room. However, there is no part of the quest that involves starting a Skooma operation.
 * The closest thing to it is placing a Skooma pipe in the room, though this change is merely cosmetic and can be done with no repercussions.