A Crabber’s Wife

> Interesting NPCs > Quests > Miscellaneous Quests > A Crabber's Wife

juryk

A Crabber’s Wife
Quest Giver Juryk
Locations Crabber’s Shanty, Winking Skeever, Temple of the Divines
Prerequisites None
Related Quests None
Enemy Level N/A Class N/A
Quest ID Jurykquest Editor ID XX1C88E4
NPCs Juryk, Grotta, Gormleif, Ulrund, Male Patron, Female Patron
Reward Unlock Juryk’s alternate crabber song

The Crabber’s Wife is a hidden quest about a former soldier with amnesia, and the family he left behind.

The quest is deliberately hidden to prevent the player from having to move back and forth between the two locations, as opposed to progressing through the quest more organically. It also serves as one of many easter eggs that serve as a reward to more thorough players, and its relatively intuitive progression makes it so that quest markers are mostly unnecessary.

The Crabber
The player initially encounters Juryk at the crabber shanty, where he appears to be an enthusiastic but harmless lover of mudcrabs. Some of his dialogue hints at his former past, as he recalls “having the memory of a mudcrab” and makes mention of the preponderance of bodies that wash up the river from Whiterun.

Looks Just Like King Torygg
After meeting the crabber, the player will overhear two patrons talking at the Winking Skeever. They will mention Juryk’s striking resemblance to two individuals, a soldier named Klarke and the late King Torygg.

Notes:
– Juryk’s facial features resemble Torygg’s exactly, as the quest was originally designed to be centered around him being a doppelganger of the late king. As the narrative took a different direction, the resemblance to Torygg is more of a joke that adds to the absurdity of the rumors.

Is Your Name Klarke?
The player’s next encounter with Juryk provides more clues to his past, as he mentions a wife and child, the same one mentioned by the patrons at the Skeever.

Returning to Solitude, the player will run into Grotta and Ulrund at the Temple of Divines. Grotta informs the PC that she is aware of the rumors regarding Juryk, and that even if he were Klarke, she has no interest in seeing him, as they are both happy with their new lives.

Grotta leaves her wedding ring by the Shrine of Mara, and departs with her husband Gormleif.

Notes:
– Gormleif proves to be far more reliable than Klarke ever was, having prayed to the shrine before Grotta had a chance. As a merchant, she believes he provides a far more stable life for her and her son.
– In versions 3.04 and prior, the wedding ring must be stolen. In future versions, it will be owned by the player to override this.

Pray to Kynareth For Rain
Upon returning to Juryk, the player finds the crabber has no conscious interest in the ring, and no subconscious desire to relive his past. Juryk even goes as far as to suggest the player pray to Kynareth for a heavy storm, when Grotta and Ulrund have asked her for safe passage.

This completes the quest and unlocks Juryk’s alternate crabber song.

Notes:
– While the wedding ring is removed from the player, it’s implied Juryk takes the ring and throws it in the river as opposed to taking it and keeping it.
– Both crabber songs are sung to the melody of The Walrus and the Carpenter in Disney’s animated version of Alice in Wonderland.

A Crabber’s Wife (Jurykquest)
Stage Information
0 Asking Juryk “How long have you fished here?” starts the quest and sets to stage 5.
5 Male and Female patrons enabled at Winking Skeever. Trigger box for scene also enabled.
10 Scene ends, trigger box disabled.
20 Player speaks to Juryk, patrons disabled, Grotta, Ulrund, and scene 2 trigger box enabled.
30 Player speaks to Grotta, scene 2 trigger box disabled.
50 Gormleif enabled. Scene between him and Grotta commences.
55 Alternative response to stage 50, same result. Gormleif enabled. Scene between him and Grotta commences.
60 Wedding ring enabled.
70 Packages evaluated for Grotta, Gormleif, and Ulrund. They proceed to the docks.
80 Player speaks to Juryk. Wedding ring is removed. Juryk sings “A Crabber’s Life.”
100 Grotta, Gormleif, and Ulrund are disabled.

Notes: Stages 35, 40, and 90 are set during scenes or when entering a trigger at the appropriate stage.