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in: Daggerfall: Quests, Daggerfall: Main Quest

The Mantella Revealed

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The Mantella Revealed is a main quest in The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. Very short and non-traditional for a quest, The Mantella Revealed is mostly expository and reveals information about Great Numidium, the Totem of Tiber Septim, and the Mantella.

Quick walkthrough[]

  1. Many eyes watch the Agent's next moves. Wait and receive letters from "friends" that bring to light just how dangerous are the forces that the Emperor's letter mention.

Walkthrough[]

In this expository quest, the Agent does not have to dungeon crawl or do work for another character. Instead, the Agent will receive one to three letters from various sources across the Iliac Bay, depending on their reputation with them, with information about the contents of the Emperor's letter.

Due to a glitch in Daggerfall's engine, only up to three letters can be earned: one from Gortwog, one from the Thieves Guild, and one from the Mages Guild. According to the quest's code, it is intended to have 11 letter authors from various groups and figures the Agent works with; it is unknown why only the previous three send letters to the Agent, or why the Agent receives more than one letter at all.[note 1]

The full table below lists who should send a letter, what reputation, and what letter, in the order defined internally. All senders sign as "A Friend." Note that only the bolded and italicized names send letters; also of note is that vampire clans are checked twice: once to send Letter 2, and again after Prince Lhotun for Letter 1.[1]

Author Required Reputation Letter Type
Any Vampire Clan[note 2] 10 or more Letter 2
Prince Lhotun 25 or more Letter 1
Any Vampire Clan[note 3] 10 or more Letter 1
King Gortwog 25 or more Letter 1
Any Witch Coven 25 or more Letter 3
The Underking 5 or more Letter 2
Dark Plotters
(Dark Brotherhood) 		50 or more Letter 1
Queen Aubk'i 25 or more Letter 2
Thieves Guild 50 or more Letter 2
Mages Guild 50 or more Letter 3
Mannimarco
(The King of Worms) 		15 or more Letter 3
Princess Elysana 25 or more Letter 3

Once the Agent receives their letters, read them and learn about the legends of Great Numidium, the Mantella, and Tiber Septim's Imperial Battlemage, Zurin Arctus, the Underking. When any letter is acquired by the Agent, a timer begins and the quest "continues" for one day exactly, before finishing.[note 4] The next quest, Elysana's Betrayal, then begins.

List of Letters[]

Letter 1[]

While supposed to be sent by Prince Lhotun, a Vampire Clan, Gortwog or the Dark Brotherhood, only Gortwog will send this letter to the player in all current releases of Daggerfall. Anonymously, Gortwog informs the player of the mythos of the giant Numidium, who's "hands could knock the moons from the sky."

Gortwog's Letter

Dear [Agent's first name],

You have probably not heard the fairy tale of
Numidium, but you need to.

The legend dates back to the earliest parts of
the third era [sic] [Do not change this to Third Era. This misspelled word is how it appears in-game.].

Numidium was supposed to be a giant so big his
hands could knock the moons from the sky. I do
not recall from the stories whether Numidium was
supposed to be good or bad, but the legends used
to scare me as a child.

The legends are, in fact, true. There was a
Numidium, and, if situations continue, he will
come again. The Totem of Tiber Septim is used
to control Numidium. However, legend has it that
great Numidium lost his Mantellan heart,
whatever that is, in the final with [sic] [Do not change this to final battle with. This misspelled word is how it appears in-game.] Tiber
Septim's Battlemage. Until his heart is found,
the Totem is useless.

A Friend

Letter 2[]

While supposed to be sent from a Vampire Clan, the Underking, Queen Aubk'i or the Thieves Guild, only the Thieves Guild writes this oddly articulate, and researched, warning about Numidium and its history with Zurin Arctus.

The Thieves Guild's Letter

Dear [Agent's first name],

Numidium was Tiber Septim's secret weapon in his
bid for supreme power: a thousand foot [sic] [Do not change this to thousand-foot. This misspelled word is how it appears in-game.] tall automaton,
a golem or an atronach of sorts powered by a gem called
the Mantella. The Mantella was infused with the life
orce [sic] [Do not change this to force. This misspelled word is how it appears in-game.] of Tiber Septim's Imperial Battlemage, and with
it, Septim crushed all who stood in his way. After the
complete and total defeat of all his opponents, Septim
began using Numidium to crush the neutral royal families
of Tamriel so that he could enthrone only persons he
knew to be loyal. His Imperial Battlemage was furious
at this use of his creation, and fought to reclaim the
Mantella. In the ensuing battle, both the created and
the creator were vanquished: the heart they shared
blown out of this reality into the netherworld they
call Aetherius. Numidium's body was scattered throughout
Tamriel and the Imperial Battlemage, without his life
force went into a semi-slumber in a subterranean vault.
In the centuries that followed, the Emperor's elite
soldiers, for generation after generation, collected the
pieces of the Numidium and became known as the Blades.
Tiber Septim's Imperial Battle Mage [sic] [Do not change this to Battlemage. This misspelled word is how it appears in-game.] became known as the
Underking, and sent his forces out to find the Mantella.

Be warned, therefore. Those who search for the Totem of
Tiber Septim are searching for the mechanism the first
Emperor of Tamriel used to control Numidium. Should
Numidium return, he or she who holds the Totem will
control Tamriel's fate.

A Friend.

Letter 3[]

While supposed to be sent by any Witch Coven, the Mages Guild, the King of Worms or Princess Elysana, only the Mages Guild sends this short mythos about the Totem of Tiber Septim, and its relation to Zurin Arctus and Numidium. Interestingly, it notes that only a descendant of Tiber Septim can use the Totem, or anyone with a "supernatural affinity," which Nulfaga directly contradicts in Totem, Totem, Who Gets the Totem?.[2]

The Mages Guild's Letter

Dear [Agent's first name],

I must tell you about the Totem of Tiber Septim, which
all covet. You must know the truth about what you are asked.

The Totem was crafted by the original Imperial Battlemage
of Tamriel, by orders of Tiber Septim. It is essentially a
means of controlling a gargantuan creature called the
Numidium. Without it, the Numidium would simply not
function. The Imperial Battlemage placed a seal on the
Totem so that anyone not of Septim lineage or possessing
a special supernatural affinity, such as himself, would be
instantly killed if they attempted to use it. The Totem,
with the rest of Numidium, was lost during the epic battle
between the Imperial Battlemage and his own creation.

A Friend

Journal[]

No journal entry appears for this quest.

Appearances[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ S0000988.QBN/QRC, when decompiled with Donald Tipton's "TEMPLATE v1.11" quest decompiler, reveals that upon acquiring any letter at all, the game is supposed to wait a day before ending the quest, or until the Agent has activated the Mantella if they have never received a letter. It appears that the game may run through all applicable factions first before starting the proper ending check to end the quest; it is unknown if this is intentional.
  2. ↑ The first check, which sends Letter 2.
  3. ↑ The second check, which sends Letter 1.
  4. ↑ Clock _delay_ 1.00:00 0 flag 1 range 0 1: a Clock variable _delay_ set to one whole day, which is called in task _S.03_ to end the quest: 
    _S.03_ task:
	when _S.00_ or _S.01_ or _S.02_ -- Any letter is acquired.
	start quest 9 9 
	start timer _delay_ -- Use the Clock to start _delay_

_delay_ task:
	end quest

References[]

  1. ↑ For a full reference of the quest's authorship table using Donald Tipton's "TEMPLATE v1.11" (repute with [X] exceeds [X] do [X] represents checking the reputation values of each faction):
    S0000988: 
    Person _darkb_ face 1 faction Dark_Plotters
Person _lhotun_ named Prince_Lhotun atHome
Person _vampires_ face 113 factiontype Vampire_Clan
Person _gortwog_ face 144 named Gortwog atHome
Person _underking_ named The_Underking
Person _aubk-i_ named Queen_Aubk-i atHome
Person _thievesguild_ face 1 faction The_Thieves_Guild
Person _P.07_ named King_of_Worms atHome
Person _elysana_ named Princess_Elysana atHome
Person _P.09_ face 1 factiontype Witches_Coven
Person _magesguild_ face 13 faction The_Mages_Guild

--	Quest start-up:
	dialog link for person _darkb_ 
	dialog link for person _gortwog_ 
	dialog link for person _P.07_ 
	dialog link for person _magesguild_ 
	dialog link for person _thievesguild_ 
	dialog link for person _vampires_ 
	dialog link for person _P.09_ 
	dialog link for person _underking_ 
	repute with _vampires_ exceeds 10 do _S.01_ 
	repute with _lhotun_ exceeds 25 do _S.00_ 
	repute with _vampires_ exceeds 10 do _S.00_ 
	repute with _gortwog_ exceeds 25 do _S.00_ 
	repute with _P.09_ exceeds 25 do _S.02_ 
	repute with _underking_ exceeds 5 do _S.01_ 
	repute with _darkb_ exceeds 50 do _S.00_ 
	repute with _aubk-i_ exceeds 25 do _S.01_ 
	repute with _thievesguild_ exceeds 50 do _S.01_ 
	repute with _magesguild_ exceeds 50 do _S.02_ 
	repute with _P.07_ exceeds 15 do _S.02_ 
	repute with _elysana_ exceeds 25 do _S.02_
  2. ↑ Events of Totem, Totem, Who Gets the Totem?: "I see that the Totem has found its way into the hands of someone with royal blood. I think it is time you paid me another visit here in Shedungent [Player's name]. Your work is not yet done."
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