CHILDREN OF THE DUST
QUEST GIVER	Ariele
LOCATIONS	Ariele’s Cabin, Dawnstar
PREREQUISITES	None
RELATED QUESTS	None
ENEMY LEVEL	PC x 1.5	CLASS	CombatMageNecro
QUEST ID	Arielequest	EDITOR ID	XX06C12
NPCS	Ariele, Heridus, Lyela
REWARD	Optional Ebony Sword

NOTE: The ‘quest’ is actually a series of objectives, so look for it under the miscellaneous section of the journal.

Children of the Dust is a miscellaneous quest that can be started by entering Ariele’s cabin, just west of the Reach Stormcloak Camp. Upon setting foot in the dwelling, Ariele will tell the Player a story of a brother and a sister who made a wager with each other on the nature of humanity. The sister, an optimist, believed that man was a builder, and that his failures were the nature of progress. The brother, on the other hand, was more cynical, believing that the soul was constantly eroding and that foundation would soon collapse. They both knew that time was to be the only answer to this riddle, so to see it through to its conclusion; the pair made themselves immortal and took to sleep for one thousand years.

When the sister awoke she found that man had prospered; their cities kissed the heavens and their ships sailed to and fro upon the waves. The people themselves bore not the hard, grim lines of war upon their faces, but the kind happiness of a smile. Feeling sure that she had won the wager, the sister rushed back to tell her brother the news. But instead of her brother, she found only a wooden stake and a pile of dust.

For in making themselves immortal, the brother and sister became vampires.

The brother’s name was Pallor.

The sister’s name was Ariele—the very same Ariele telling the story.

Ariele explains that given her vampirism, she has had to hire two wards to bring her food and supplies. It has been a fortnight, and neither of them has returned. Thus, the immortal fears that their lives might be in jeopardy. Ariele says that they were to go fishing near the coast of Dawnstar, and recommends asking the guards there for wards’ location.

Take her advice and go to the Dawnstar Barracks, then head downstairs into the jail. Talk to Lyela to find out the reason the duo has been gone for so long; Heridus, the Argonian is in jail for fighting. In order to get him out, Lyela recommends bribing the guard—although the Player always has the choice of “doing something stupid,” as Lyela calls it (committing a crime and getting yourself thrown in jail). The fee to get Heridus out of jail is 500 gold, so if the player doesn’t have that kind of money, the best thing to do would be to steal something of low value, get caught and go to jail. Either way, once the Argonian is out of jail, head back to Ariele’s cabin.

Now I’m not going to into any spoilers, but talk to Ariele and dispose of a group of… certain someones to complete the quest. Oh, and when that’s all done, the cellar will be unlocked—there is an ebony sword there, should you choose to take it.