Oblivion:Meridia

Wipe out a band of necromancers. Quest Giver: Basil Ernarde at Meridia's Shrine Location(s): Howling Cave Reward: Ring of Khajiiti Fame/Infamy: Fame +1 ID: DAMeridia Required Items: Ectoplasm, Bonemeal, or Mort Flesh Required Level: 10

Shrine of Meridia

Quick Walkthrough

1. Once you have reached level 10, find the Shrine of Meridia and make an offering of an ingredient from an undead creature to have Meridia speak to you.
2. After the offering is made, Meridia will instruct you to wipe out the necromancers in Howling Cave.
3. Once the necromancers are dealt with, return to the shrine to be rewarded with the Ring of Khajiiti.

Detailed Walkthrough

Locating the Shrine of Meridia

Chart a course west-northwest from Skingrad's west gate to find Meridia's Shrine between Cursed Mine and Shardrock farm. You must be at least level 10 to start this quest. Talk to Basil Ernarde at the shrine to begin.

An Offering to the God

Meridia, Lady of Infinite Energies, is associated with the energies of living things, and has a particular dislike of undead creatures. Bring an ingredient from an undead creature (Mort Flesh, Ectoplasm or regular Bonemeal) to the shrine to talk to her. Once presented with the proper offering, Meridia will speak to the player:

By the detritus of the profane, I am brought forth. And by your offering, you have made the profane your interest, mortal. The undead are foul, unnatural things. Some of my rivals take pleasure in these abominations. Not Meridia. I wish these creatures destroyed. Hidden behind a door, deep in Howling Cave, are necromancers. They rob graves for the materials to raise their undead armies. Find these necromancers. Destroy them and their abominations. Do this, and earn the gratitude of Meridia.

The Task at Hand

Go to Howling Cave, which is east of Castle Skingrad. The necromancers are located directly behind the door at the end of the northern passage, so only enter if prepared for a fight. The necromancers have several potions (due to a bug) and are aided by several leveled undead in addition to their own summoned creatures, all of which can quickly overwhelm you through their sheer numbers if you are not careful. It is recommended to kill the necromancers first to prevent them from summoning additional creatures. Use of enchanted weapons, fire damage poisons, and stealth may also be useful. Command humanoid spells are particularly useful for this quest, and provided you have a good sneak skill, you can avoid taking any damage using them.

Returning to the Shrine

Return to the shrine after all five necromancers are dead, and Meridia will applaud your actions:

Well done. Those creatures were an affront to all life, and they have paid the price for their actions. Take this ring and go with my blessing.

Meridia will reward you with the Ring of Khajiiti, a ring with Fortify Speed (+10) and Chameleon (35%) enchantments.

Notes

Location of ectoplasm

• If you have already killed the Howling Cave necromancers before starting the quest, your journal will immediately update after Meridia gives you your task, allowing you to finish the quest without revisiting the cave.
• The offering needed to activate this quest must specifically be either Ectoplasm, Mort Flesh, or regular Bonemeal. Meridia will not accept the rare 2-gold variety of Bonemeal (collected from Deranged Zombies), nor will she accept the remnants of Undead creatures that are found exclusively in the Shivering Isles: Bone Marrow, Bone Shard, and Hound Tooth.
• There is a portion of ectoplasm on the ground just behind the benches at the shrine, in case you need some. It is translucent and half-embedded in the ground, so you will likely have to rely on the hand icon to show you that you're looking at it.
• If you are at a level where liches spawn, you may wish to try and draw them into range of the necromancers as they are not allied with them and will attack them.

Journal Entries

Meridia (DAMeridia)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		One of Meridia's followers has told me that the Daedra can be summoned if something from the corpse of an undead creature is left as an offering at the statue. [You must be level 10 to begin this quest.]
20		After I made the correct offering, Meridia appeared and spoke to me. The Daedra told me of a cult of necromancers in the Howling Cave who have been stealing from graves in order to raise an undead army. Meridia wants the necromancers killed. I can reach them from a secret door in the back of the cave.
30		I have killed the necromancers in Howling Cave. I should return to the Shrine of Meridia.
100	Finishes quest	Meridia was gratified that I had performed the task assigned to me. As a reward, I have been given the Ring of Khajiiti.

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.
• It is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage DAMeridia 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.