After completing (or failing) the quest Parley, the player will receive a miscellaneous objective to check in with Valerine.
When they ask her about more Emissary work, she will start this quest.
Valerine will explain that an attack is being planned at a festival at the Blue Palace and the player must uncover the "Lead Conspirator" and have him arrested.
If the player had received the sealed note in the previous quest, they will be told of a passphrase that might be useful - "Beneath the Throat of the World" - which the player will be able to use in dialogue later.
The player will then receive an objective to attend the festival.
When the player reaches the festival, their objective will update to talk to festival goers.
The player will find the following people at the party:
And a number of guests with descriptive names only:
And a number of guests named "Suspicious Stranger".
The player's goal is to collect as many clues as possible about the "Lead Conspirator" by talking to various people at the festival. As each is learned, it will appear as an objective on the quest.
Norlund will tell the player that Valerine updated him, and that the player should return once they believe they know who the "Lead Conspirator" is and he'll come arrest them.
Once the player has a guess, they can tell Norlund, and then he'll follow them to one of the Suspicious Strangers and arrest them.
If the player was successful at convincing Vinnus during the quest Sage Advice, he will suggest the player question some of the suspicious folks, a clue to the fact that the Lead Conspirator will be one of the "Suspicious Strangers".
Korrin is merely a cameo; he does have special greeting lines during this section, but does not impact the quest.
This guest has a clue about the "Lead Conspirator". It can be coaxed out of them in the following ways:
This guest has a clue about the "Lead Conspirator". It can be coaxed out of them in the following ways:
This guest has a clue about the "Lead Conspirator". It can be coaxed out of them in the following ways:
This guest has a clue about the "Lead Conspirator". It can be coaxed out of them in the following ways:
This guest has a clue about the "Lead Conspirator". It can be coaxed out of them in the following ways:
Each of the Suspicious Strangers can be confronted, which offers the options to attack, Persuade, or Intimidate them.
The player can attempt to do this to any of them, but if they guess the wrong person, they can start a scene and reduce the reward received for the quest.
If they've identified the correct person, they can now turn them in and receive a successful reward.
Alternatively, if they pass a Persuade or Intimidate check against the correct suspect, the player can use their Emissary skills to open up some additional options beyond just turning them into Norlund.
The "Lead Conspirator" reacts most positively to a Heartening tone.
So long as the player didn't fail completely, they'll be able to ask him who is working for or attack him.
If the player was fully successful in their choices, they will have additional options:
If the player was only neutrally convincing, they will also have the option to let him leave.
If the player fails, or they tell him he's not allowed to leave, he will attack the player.
Once the player has dealt with the "Lead Conspirator" or at least accused someone of it, they can return to Valerine to hear the final outcome and receive their reward.
Valerine will take note of how thorough the player was in finding clues and exactly how they handled the suspect. The reward will change depending on the outcome.
| Result | Reward |
|---|---|
| Recruited the Lead Consipirator, all clues recovered | 6000 gold and Bard Emissary Ring |
| Convinced the Lead Conspirator to turn himself in, all clues recovered | 6000 gold |
| Had Lead Conspirator arrested and all clues recovered | 6000 gold |
| Had Lead Conspirator arrested and 2 to 4 clues recovered | 3000 gold |
| Had Lead Conspirator arrested and 1 to 2 clues recovered | 1500 gold |
| Killed Lead Conspirator | 600 gold |
| Identified correct conspirator and let him leave, and had previously completed 1 or more Emissary missions succesfully | 200 gold |
| Killed or alerted wrong conspirator and had previously completed at least one Emissary task successfully | 200 gold |
| Had Lead Conspirator arrested and recovered no clues | No reward |
| Killed or alerted wrong conspirator and had not completed any previous Emissary task successfully | No reward |
This completes the Emissary missions available.