Secrets of the Ayleids (Oblivion)

Secrets of the Ayleids
Quest Giver	Umbacano
Location	Elven Gardens District Lindai Nenalata
Prerequisite	Nothing You Can Possess
Reward	The Crown (depends on which one is given to Umbacano, see details below)
Type	Side Quests
Quest ID	MS22

For other uses, see Secrets of the Ayleids.

Secrets of the Ayleids is a quest in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Background

Lord Umbacano asks the Hero to retrieve the Crown of the Ayleids the Crown of Nenalata from Herminia Cinna. Cinna lives in the Elven Gardens District, but one can find her in Green Emperor Way as well.

Walkthrough

Herminia will not give the crown to the Hero, as it has hidden magical powers that will prove too dangerous in the hands of Umbacano. However, she tells them where to find another Ayleid crown that Umbacano might think is the correct crown. This other crown is in the ruins of Lindai, for which she gives them a key to and marks it on the map.

Lindai

Location of crown

At this point, one can either get the other crown or steal the correct crown from Herminia's house on the second floor. If one goes after the second crown, head over to Lindai and go through the rooms in the ruin until a large area is reached. The crown is in a small Ayleid cask. While there, grab the crown and the two Varla Stones and leave the ruin.

If one decides to give Umbacano the Crown of Lindai, he will comment that the markings on the crown are somewhat different to how his reference books describe it to be. Nevertheless, he will mistake it to be authentic. If one gives Umbacano the correct crown, he accepts it as authentic immediately and asks the Hero to escort him through the ruins of Nenalata in three days.

Nenalata

Fighting enemies

After waiting for three days, Umbacano appears at the ruins, along with Claude Maric. The Hero must now escort them through the ruin.

It is recommended to tell him to wait, or ignore him, and then clear the area up to the point of the throne room before escorting him, as he may die easily. This may also be done during the three day waiting period. There are also multiple difficult enemies to defeat, such as liches, skeletons, and other undead to fight.

Upon arriving at the bottom of the ruin, Umbacano opens a door to a large throne room. In here, he sits on the throne. The storyline then changes depending on which crown the Hero gave him earlier on:

Crown of Nenalata

Instructions for the Hero, drawn by Umbacano.

Umbacano will put on the crown and yell out in elven tongue, at which point the four dark welkynd stones lining the room will transform him into the King of Nenalata. He will then turn hostile. Sections of the wall around the room will slide down, and skeletons, or liches if one is level 18 or higher, will come out to aid Umbacano.

He wields a leveled staff, which will make him more difficult to defeat. The staircase one will have come down from will have lowered, making escape impossible in that direction. The only exit one will have is to run through the throne room and out of the rear before making the way out of the ruin.

Crown of Lindai

Crown of Lindai

Umbacano will put on the crown and yell out in elven tongue. At that point, the four dark welkynd stones will destroy the crown, killing Umbacano in the process.

Once this happens, skeletons or liches will appear out of the now-lowered sections of wall, and the stairs will lower. As a result, one will have to use the alternate way out of the ruin.

Journal

Journal Entry
Update: Upon receiving the quest: Umbacano has hired me to obtain an Ayleid Crown he wants from Herminia Cinna, a rival collector. He paid me in advance; whatever I do not use to purchase the crown I can keep as my fee.
Update: After meeting Herminia Cinna: Herminia Cinna refused to sell me the Crown of Nenalata that Umbarcano wants. She hinted that it can be used to access potent magical powers that would dangerous in the wrong hands.
Update: After Herminia Cinna talked about Lindai: Herminia Cinna gave me the key to the royal burial vault of Lindai, which she believes holds a similar Ayleid Crown. She suggested that Umbacano would not know the difference between the Crown of Lindai and the Crown of Nenalata, since he has never seen either one.
Update: After talking to Herminia: I need to bring Umbacano one of the Ayleid Crowns, either by stealing the Crown of Nenalata from Heminia Cinna, or by recovering the Crown of Lindai as Herminia Cinna suggested.
Update: After finding the Ayleid Crown of Lindai: I have found the Ayleid Crown of Lindai, as Herminia Cinna said. Now to return to Umbacano to complete my task.
Update: After returning to Umbacano: I gave Umbacano the Ayleid Crown of Lindai, as Herminia Cinna suggested. He did not appear to be aware that it was not the Ayleid Crown that he had asked me to retrieve.
Update: After giving the Crown to Umbacano: Umbacano has asked me to meet him at the Ayleid ruin of Nenalata. He wants me to help him reach the throne room so that he can complete his research on the last king of the Ayleids.
Update: After waiting three days: I met Umbacano outside the ruins of Nenalata. I need to guide him safely to the throne room.
Update: After reaching the throne room: Umbacano was horribly destroyed in Nenalata when he declared himself King of the Ayleids using the crown of the rival city of Lindai. Now to escape the wrath of the undead denizens of Nenalata! Quest complete

Trivia

• When Umbacano starts the incantation to gain entry to the throne chamber, one can reverse direction and jump from the lowering stairs up to where they came from, thus backtracking through the ruins without fighting the undead. Alternatively, one can wait and kill Umbacano from a distance. If one decides to not kill him, they will forgo the loot from Umbacano.
• The incantation chanted by Umbacano to gain entry to the throne chamber is "Av Auri-El ye Tamri-El dellevoy an Arpen Aran tarnabye!" which translates roughly as "By Auriel and Tamriel grant the noble King passage!" When he ascends the throne, he says "Av Sunna Tam Riel arctavoy an Arpen Aran malaburo!" (By blessed Tamriel acknowledge the Noble King [in your] loving-vassalage).
• Since "Nothing You Can Possess" is a likely nod to Indiana Jones, it is likely that Secrets of the Ayleids is a reference to Secret of the Incas, which was an inspiration for Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• Of the two crowns, it seems more logical to give Umbacano the Crown of Nenalata, either way, they can recover the crown from his corpse after he dies, but the Crown of Lindai will be irreparably destroyed, if used in Nenalata. If one gives him the Crown of Nenalata, simply go and grab the Crown of Lindai later, both have some useful enchantments so take care when deciding which crown to use.
  • However, note that the crown of Lindai is impossible to repair, making it an ideal object to level armorer skill in no time as one will use hammers without effect.
• If one stole the Crown of Nenalata and gave it to Umbacano, it will not count as stolen after looting it from Umbacano's corpse.
• When Umbacano first gives the quest, if the Hero states that they are not interested twice, he will contract someone else, presumably Claude Maric, to "obtain" the Crown of Nenalata. If they talk to him again, he will offer the job of escorting him to Nenalata, along with the Breton. They can then clear the ruin, escort him down there and claim the crown from his corpse.

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion