Oblivion:Fingers of the Mountain

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OB-qico-MagesGuild.png
 Sort out a problem with a former guild member to obtain a recommendation from Chorrol.
Quest Giver: Teekeeus in Chorrol
Location(s): Chorrol Mages Guild, Cloud Top
Reward: Chorrol Recommendation, Finger of the Mountain
Fame/Infamy: Fame +1 or +2
ID: MG05Fingers and MG05A
 
The Chorrol Mages Guild

Quick Walkthrough[edit]

  1. Speak with Teekeeus. He wants you to find out why Earana - an excommunicated mage - is hanging around town.
  2. Find Earana around town and speak with her to be asked for help in retrieving a book.
  3. Return to Teekeeus. He tells you to bring the book directly to him instead.
  4. Travel north up the mountain to Cloud Top and retrieve the book.
  5. At this point, you can either give the book to Teekeeus or Earana:
    • If given to Teekeeus, Earana will ask you to steal it back (if you say no the quest will end here).
    • If given to Earana, you will be asked to steal it back by Teekeeus (but wait until Earana gives you her notes first).
    • Either way you will receive the Chorrol Recommendation.
  6. Afterwards, take the note from Earana and head back to Cloud Top. Follow the instructions below to gain the Finger of the Mountain spell. (optional)

Detailed Walkthrough[edit]

Chorrol Mages Guild[edit]

Speak to Teekeeus in the Chorrol Mages Guild about a recommendation, and you will receive instructions to find out what is bothering Earana - an excommunicated sorcerer. In short, Teekeeus just wants her out of town to avoid any trouble.

Talk to Earana[edit]

Find Earana either on the street outside the hall, or at The Grey Mare near the main gate. Talk to her and agree to help her find a book, Fingers of the Mountain. Receive the directions needed to find it and inform Teekeeus about the book. He wants you to find the book for the guild before Earana does.

Fingers of the Mountain can be found on Cloud Top, which is a ways northwest from Chorrol. Take the path that goes up the mountain directly in front of the north gate, keeping to the left at any forks. The book is located on the charred corpse.

Return the Book[edit]

There are two options at this point and both seem to lead to the same result, except for the amount of Fame gained:

Option #1: Give the Book to Teekeeus[edit]

Return with the book to Teekeeus to receive your recommendation and 2 additional Fame points. The quest will be marked as "completed" in your journal. If you are only interested in gaining access to the Arcane University, you have completed the requirements for such (although this may not be apparent; see Bugs).

However, the quest update suggests that you should tell Earana that she won't be getting the book. You can delay getting back to Earana at this point, especially since there are no additional Fame points to gain, and Finger of the Mountain is a poor reward, being far more expensive to cast than a similar custom spell.

When you speak to Earana, she will be very angry at you and will demand that you steal the book back from the Mages Guild, starting the quest "Fingers of the Mountain, Part II". If you refuse her request, this side quest will end right away and she will refuse to talk to you again.

Otherwise, steal the book back from Teekeeus - he puts it inside the chest in his room. Give the book to Earana and she will translate it in "a day's time", but you should wait for 25 hours, as 24 hours doesn't always register correctly.

  • You can anticipate Earana's demand to steal the book by simply following Teekeeus after you give it to him. If you do so, your sly efforts reveal the location of the container in his bedroom so that you can snatch it right away without looking too hard for it. Talk to Earana to start Part II, end the dialogue, and then wait for the quest to update before turning in the book to her. Alternatively, if you're good at sneaking and pickpocketing, right after giving Teekeeus the book, go into sneak mode and pickpocket the book off him. Note if you get caught, you will be in violation of guild rules and be kicked out.

Option #2: Give the Book to Earana[edit]

Give the book to Earana first: this will add 1 point to your total Fame. She needs to study the book for a whole day, and you should come back to see her again after that to get your "reward". She then departs to her room at the Grey Mare.

Speak to Teekeeus and confess you've handed out the book to Earana: he'll ask you to steal it back.

Go to Earana's room at the Grey Mare Inn and steal the book back from the chest behind the door - you can do this right away without waiting 24 hours for Earana to transcribe it as she will not notice the book has disappeared. As you open Earana's chamber door, she will usually get pushed on the right side behind it, making it easy to access the chest and steal the book without getting seen or caught.

Hand the book back to Teekeeus, who agrees to overlook your transgression and send the Chorrol Recommendation to the Arcane University (no additional Fame point is given at this stage).

Fingers of the Mountain, Part II[edit]

For the optional second part of the quest (listed separately in your journal as "Fingers of the Mountain, Part II"), return to Earana 24 hours after you've handed her the book to get a note instructing you on how to obtain your "reward" (a powerful new shock spell) for helping her out.

You'll need a shock spell and a Welkynd Stone to obtain your reward. You can search within any Ayleid ruin, or any of the locations listed on the Welkynd Stone page, for a stone. If you don't have a shock spell you can purchase one from Druja in Skingrad's Mages Guild, where you can also find a welkynd stone in a display case. You should also bring some resist shock items/potions.

Return to Cloud Top with the Welkynd Stone and prepare to cast a shock spell at the pedestal. You can use an on touch spell, but it is much better to use an on target spell so you can try and dodge the powerful counterspell that will hit you. Stand near one of the pillars that are situated around the site, drink your potions or put on your enchanted items just in case, then cast the spell and move behind a pillar. If you survive you will get a new leveled spell called "Finger of the Mountain".

While the spell is leveled, it is also badly costed. All versions of the spell above the level 5 version are more expensive than any self-made spells, and can be extremely expensive to cast, bordering on impossible. Thus it's best to do this quest before level 5 if you want to make any use of the spell. After that, you can make your own version of the spell once you gain access to the Arcane University.

Getting the Spell and Keeping the Book[edit]

NOTE: In order to get the Fingers of the Mountain spell, as well as keeping the book and having it marked as not stolen, follow these steps. Please click the show button for tips, and remember to save your game before attempting:
Tips →
  1. Get Fingers of the Mountain from Cloud Top.
  2. Go to Chorrol and give the book to Teekeeus. Give it to him while he is sleeping so that he will put it straight into his chest.
  3. Take the book from the chest. At this point the "Join the Mages Guild" quest is still active.
  4. Give the book to Earana. She will tell you to wait so she can translate it.
  5. Wait at least 25 hours.
  6. If Earana is not at the Grey Mare, find her by the Mages Guild. You will need to pickpocket the book from her. Talk to her so that she will give you instructions to "shock the pillar" at Cloud Top.
  7. Shock the pillar at Cloud Top, and get the Finger of the Mountain spell.
  8. Now you can freely drop the book as it is no longer a quest item, but it is still flagged as "stolen". Go to the burned body and place the book in its inventory.
  9. Close and re-open the burned body's inventory and the book will be there, free of any stolen flags, as it was when you first got it. The flag does not return.
Notes
  • The "Join the Mages Guild" quest will no longer be flagged for Chorrol. Also, Teekeeus never mentions the book again, and you get into the Mages Guild just fine.
  • The "cloning" trick with scrolls works on it now, and the book has a weight of 2 and is still worth zero gold.
  • This method of saving the book takes advantage of a bug with the burned body.

Notes[edit]

  • In your journal, this quest is identified as "Fingers of the Mountain"; the final part of the quest (returning to Cloud Top to obtain the spell) is identified as "Fingers of the Mountain, Part II". It functions as the Chorrol Recommendation quest, however.
    • This likely has to do with the fact that this quest originally wasn't designed as a Mages Guild quest, but rather a separate Miscellaneous quest. Specifically, this quest originally had the editor ID of MS19. Teekeeus' chest, door, the internal name for one of his dialogue topics, and one of the markers he uses still bear this earlier quest prefix. Additionally, much of the unused dialogue related to this quest shows that you were meant to be able to start it without being affiliated with the Mages Guild.
    • On PC The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.0.0, addresses this issue. The quest's name gets changed to "Chorrol Recommendation".
  • The book "Fingers of the Mountain" that you receive in the final game is a miscellaneous item, rather than an actual book that can be read. A book version under the same name does actually exist, but it goes unused and contains no text.
  • If you ended up giving the book to Earana during this quest, you can pickpocket it back from her after the quest is over and place it back in Teekeeus' chest. Earana will never notice that the book is gone, but Teekeeus apparently notices that it is back, since the dialogue option that leads him into mentioning that it has gone missing will disappear.
  • The spell is featured in Legends as the Fingers of the Mountain card.

Bugs[edit]

  • The book can be stolen from Earana as soon as you hand it to her. After 24 hours, Earana will complete her research on the book even though she no longer has it.
  • Depending on when the book is given, Teekeeus might not put the book in his chest straight away, due to the way his packages are ordered. To reclaim the book to give to Earana, you must pickpocket Teekeeus.
  • After completing this quest, you may hear rumors from other Chorrol citizens stating "I saw Earana leaving town. She looked very excited." This is untrue, as she can still be found either at the Gray Mare or near the Great Oak.
  • If you choose to give Teekeeus the book, it may not be apparent that you have completed the Chorrol Recommendation for the Mages Guild. The quest marker for Join the Mages Guild will continue to point at Teekeeus, making it seem that you still need to talk to him. This is because the quest does not remove the target on Teekeeus unless Fingers of the Mountain, Part II has been advanced to Stage 100, rather than Part I. However, Raminus Polus should grant you access to the Arcane University if all other recommendations have been obtained.
  • Sometimes the burned body may not appear on Cloud Top. ?
    • On PC You can use the command enable CA18B to enable the body, or directly add the book via the code additem 510D.

Journal Entries[edit]

Fingers of the Mountain (MG05Fingers)
Stage Finishes Quest Journal Entry
5 I need to speak to Earana, and find out why she is in Chorrol.
10 A High Elf named Earana in Chorrol has asked me to bring her a book so that she may translate it. I need to travel to Cloud Top to find the book.
15 Earana has asked me to bring her a book titled 'Fingers of the Mountain' so that she may translate it. I need to tell Teekeeus about this immediately.
20 Teekeeus has asked that I find the Fingers of the Mountain text, and bring it to him immediately. I need to search Cloud Top for the book.
30 I've found the book titled "Fingers of the Mountain"; I need to deliver it to either Earana at the Grey Mare tavern in Chorrol, or to Teekeeus at the Chorrol Mages' Guild.
100 Finishes quest☑ I've delivered the "Fingers of the Mountain" book to Teekeeus at the Chorrol Mages Guild. In exchange, Teekeeus has agreed to write a recommendation for me. I shall have to tell Earana she won't be getting the book.
200 Finishes quest☑ I've delivered the "Fingers of the Mountain" book to Earana. I need to return to her in a days' [sic] time to receive my reward for helping her.
Fingers of the Mountain, Part II (MG05A)
5 I've delivered the "Fingers of the Mountain" book to Earana. I need to return to her in a days' [sic] time to receive my reward for helping her.
10 Earana has asked me to steal back the book "Fingers of the Mountain" and deliver it to her. I'll need to find where Teekeeus has placed it in the Chorrol Mages Guild.
15 Teeekeeus [sic] has asked that I re-acquire the book "Fingers of the Mountain" from Earana. I need to get the book and return it to him.
20 I've stolen the "Fingers of the Mountain" book from the Chorrol Mages Guild. I need to find Earana, and deliver it to her.
25 I've stolen the "Fingers of the Mountain" book from Earana's room in the Grey Mare. I need to find Teekeeus, and deliver it to him.
30 I've delivered the "Fingers of the Mountain" book to Earana. I need to return to her in a days' [sic] time to receive my reward for helping her.
40 Earana has given me a translation of a portion of the book I delivered to her. I need to read her notes, and then travel back to Cloud Top.
100 I was struck by lightning, and have been granted a powerful new spell.
150 Teeekeeus [sic] has asked that I re-acquire the book "Fingers of the Mountain" from Earana. I need to get the book and return it to him.
200 Finishes quest☑ I have refused to steal "Fingers of the Mountain" for Earana. That should be an end to my dealings with her.
255 Finishes quest☑ I have delivered the book "Fingers of the Mountain" to Teekeeus, who has agreed to send a recommendation to the Arcane University for me.
Notes
  • Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
  • Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in random order.
  • If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
  • On PC It is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage MG05Fingers and MG05A stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages. See SetStage for more information.

Next: There are seven Mages Guild recommendation quests that can be completed in any order:

Once all seven are completed, your induction into the Mages Guild is completed by: A Mage's Staff

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