Oblivion:Dunbarrow Cove (quest)

Uncover a famous pirate's lost ship and claim it as your own. Quest Giver: Automatically added after purchasing the Thieves Den official plug-in Location(s): Dunbarrow Cove Reward: Personal Cave with Pirate Crew (including Trainers, Merchants, and a Fence) ID: DLC06ThievesDen Added by: Thieves Den

What became of the Black Flag?

Quick Walkthrough

1. Install the Thieves Den official plug-in.
2. After receiving the message about the great battle of Anvil Bay, travel to Smuggler's Cave underneath Anvil Castle.
3. Find your way to Dunbarrow Cove and rid the Cove of the haunted Skeletons.
4. Visit Dahlia Rackham of the Clarabella in Anvil Bay to purchase upgrades, including a crew.
5. Once all upgrades are purchased the quest is complete.

Detailed Walkthrough

A Great Battle

When you start or load the game, you will receive a message:

Centuries ago, a great battle took place in Anvil Bay. In the battle, the legendary pirate Torradan ap Dugal, the captain of the infamous Black Flag, was defeated by the first Count of Anvil. Rumors have been circulating of a hidden underground cavern beneath Castle Anvil. If the rumors are to be believed, then the final resting place of Captain Dugal and his ship have been uncovered. I should investigate these rumors as soon as possible.

The map will be marked just southeast of Castle Anvil at a location named Smuggler's Cave. If you start a new game with this plugin loaded, the note and quest will be given to you right after you select your class the first time in the tutorial level.

The Secret Cave

Head there and alongside the foundation of Castle Anvil you will see the door to Smuggler's Cave. Enter the cave and go straight; this leads to the door that opens into the inner zone named Dunbarrow Cove. The Red Sabre Pirates that were trapped here years ago have since died of illness and now their skeletons walk the cove, forever damned in anger over their grave misfortune.

Lore of the Red Sabre

You will have to defeat all seven Red Sabre skeletons, including the skeleton of Cap'n Dugal in the Captain's Quarters. (This can be made quite easy by killing all of the skeletons outside, and then sneaking into the Captain's Quarters for a sneak attack on Cap'n Dugal. Once you've done so, immediately go back through the door. For whatever reason, he doesn't follow,(He does follow in the latest edition on Steam) and when you re-enter, he will no longer be aggressive. This will allow for low level players, particularly with low health and weak weapons, to easily kill him off. Simply perform a sneak attack, leave immediately, and then repeat. He should die without issue.) In the Captain's Quarters you will also find four volumes of Cap'n Dugal's Journal which provides the back-story of Cap'n Dugal and the Black Flag. After you have defeated the undead pirates, you will receive a quest update saying you should see Dahlia Rackham of the Clarabella to hire a crew; the Clarabella is located in Anvil's harbor.

Bugs

• Similar to the Deepscorn Hollow bug, it is possible for the player to enter the Smuggler's Cave without going near enough to the map marker to trigger the quest popup. If all of the Red Sabre Skeletons (including Cap'n Dugal) are dead and no update appears, then this has happened. Console players will have to repeat the quest (to avoid a recurrence, fast travel to the Dunbarrow Cove map marker before going into the entrance) but for PC players, enter the following into the console: setstage DLC06ThievesDen 11, and the quest should then proceed normally.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion DLC Patches.
• The middle cabin in the Black Flag Ship plays the same Sigil stone noise as an Oblivion interior. This was caused by the developers reusing a test Oblivion interior cell (TestTimOblivionLords in the Construction Set)
  • The Unofficial Oblivion DLC Patches fixes this bug.
• It is possible to get close to the entrance to Smuggler's Cave and the quest marker on the compass redirects you to go inside Anvil and back to the same place in a loop. The local map is the one that shows the marker in the correct spot.

Quest Stages

Dunbarrow Cove (DLC06ThievesDen)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		Centuries ago, a great battle took place in Anvil Bay. In the battle, the legendary pirate Torradan ap Dugal, the captain of the infamous Black Flag, was defeated by the first Count of Anvil. Rumors have been circulating of a hidden underground cavern beneath Castle Anvil. If the rumors are to be believed, then the final resting place of Captain Dugal and his ship have been uncovered. I should investigate these rumors as soon as possible.
11		It would appear that there is a cave that leads under Castle Anvil. The rumors indicate that Dunbarrow Cove may be located under the castle itself. I should head into the cave.
15		I've followed the rumors and found Dunbarrow Cove and the remains of the Black Flag. However, the caverns are overrun by the skeletons of the pirates who perished here. I'll have to put them all to rest before I can begin to refit the cove.
18		I've destroyed the last of the undead pirates and claimed Dunbarrow Cove as my own. The cavern and the hulk of the Black Flag are in terrible condition after hundreds of years underground. I should speak with Dahlia Rackham of the Clarabella. She will be able to assist me in hiring a crew to turn Dunbarrow Cove into a suitable base of operations.
20		I've hired a smuggler named Khafiz to my crew. He will help me move any stolen goods that I may pick up on my travels. If he is to work on my crew, Khafiz insists on bringing his pet warthog, Bacon. I can find Khafiz and Bacon in the caverns of Dunbarrow Cove.
30		Dahlia has put me in contact with the famous black market fletcher Melliwin the Mongrel. Melliwin will be able to provide me with marksman supplies and training that I won't be able to find elsewhere. Melliwin has asked for a place to practice her craft. I will find her in the main cavern of Dunbarrow Cove, near the back wall.
40		I've hired the famous housebreaker Tahm Blackwell to train my crew and I in the fine art of security. Tahm can provide me with specialty training and items that will make it possible for me to slip in and out of any place that I want to go. Tahm will wait near my personal cabin until I need him.
50		I've hired Kovan Kren onto my crew. Kovan is a former spymaster for one of the great houses of Morrowind. Although he will not say which house he worked for, his expertise in stealth will be invaluable. Kovan will be in the main cavern of Dunbarrow Cove, should I wish to speak with him.
60		Dahlia has helped me convince Jak Silver to join my crew. Jak Silver can get all manner of items that are difficult to find in Cyrodiil. All he asks is that I never question him about his sources. I can find Jak in the lower decks of the Black Flag.
70		I've purchased an upgrade to my personal quarters on the Black Flag. I should be able to sleep more comfortably now.
100	Finishes quest	I've completely upgraded Dunbarrow Cove and hired on a full crew. Once a week, the pirates who follow me will provide me with my share of their plunder. In order to send them out, I must speak with one of them to send them on a mission. They will return to Dunbarrow Cove in one week with my share of the loot.

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 DLC06ThievesDen 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.