Online:Knowledge is Power

Recover an ancient tome from the Daedra and assist in its translation. Zone: Imperial City This quest is part of the Zone Story Objective: Arboretum — Prevent the Daedra from destroying a rare book. Quest Giver: Drake of Blades Location(s): Arboretum Previous Quest: Scouting the Arboretum Next Quest: Scouting Quests; The Sublime Brazier Reward: Medium Tel Var Sack: 0000300300  Very High Leveled Gold XP Gain: Very High ID: 5490

Rescue the Chief Archivist who has been captured by the Daedra

The Drake of Blades wants me to recover a book that the Daedra refuse to burn and whose contents must therefore be very important.

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to the Drake of Blades at the Alliance Rally Point in the Arboretum.
2. Find the strongbox key and recover the ancient book.
3. Rescue Chief Archivist Sergianus.
4. Find the spell ciphers.
5. Talk to Sergianus in the Ruined Archives.
6. Translate the book.
7. Report to the Drake of Blades in the Alliance Base.

Detailed Walkthrough

Szekesnarana the Cauterizer with the General's Cache, containing the Coded Book

When you meet the Drake of Blades in the Arboretum, she is reading a book.

""He came to her with his …." Oh. Well, that's colorful. Mara's mercy, what a waste of paper."

What are you reading?

"The Cane and something, something …. It's fiction. Useless. But it's still part of our heritage. We have to keep it safe.
The Daedra have been torching every book they can find. All except one. It's a tome of some kind, kept locked away."

What do you think is in this book they refuse to burn?

"I have no idea, but it must be important. I tried to get Sergianus, the Chief Archivist, to smuggle it out for me. But he bungled the job and got himself captured. He'll no doubt need rescuing.
Start with the book though. It's in a strongbox nearby."

I'll find the book and see if I can rescue the Chief Archivist while I'm at it.

In order to even consider retrieving the coded book, you're going to need the Black Iron Key. This key unlocks the "General's Cache" chest that contains the Coded Book. You will need to kill Daedra in the Arboretum and search their bodies in order to find the key. The chest can be found at the northern portion of the center of the Arboretum, guarded by Xivkyn lord Szekesnarana the Cauterizer. You can wait for her to rummage through the pile of books off to the right to take the book through stealth, or you can kill her. Either way, you'll need to salvage the book. Once you've done so, you'll need to rescue the Archivist.

Chief Archivist Sergianus is bound, being held southeast of the General's Cache. When you approach, you hear him yelling at the Daedra, pleading for them to stop burning books. Free him from the chains, and he will thank you. He managed to mask the contents of the book you found with a magical cipher. He tells you to find the ciphers, and that there are four of them. Bring them to him in the Ruined Archives, which lie east of where you found him, and he'll translate the book.

Find the four Spell Ciphers by looking for golden pillars of light throughout the Arboretum. The four pillars are in little round pavilions in all four corners of the district. Once you've collected them, find Sergianus inside the Ruined Archives. The Ruined Archives are located south of the district's Sewer Entrance.

What is this book anyway?

"It's called "The Sublime Brazier," written by a Moth Priest just a few years after St. Alessia passed. Of course, this is just a copy of the original text, which was damaged during the Colovian secession in the twenty-fourth century …."

Why would the Daedra want it?

"Oh, right. I'm sorry.
Your guess is as good as mine. When they came to the library looking for it, it was all I could do to garble the text with a distortion spell before they got through the door. But now with the ciphers, I can undo the spell."

You mean you don't know what's in it?

"Here now! I'm an archivist, not a …. Look, all I know is it has something to do with the Dragonfires. I didn't have time to read more before I had to cast the spell.

Are you ready to help me translate it?"

I'm ready.

The Archivist begins casting a spell, and you need to hold the book up to the light. When the book is decoded, you will receive The Sublime Brazier, which you can read. The Archivist tells you to give the book to the Drake of Blades, who is back in your Alliance base.

Return to your alliance base. Drake of Blades will be waiting for you.

"Hey. Judging by the soot on you, I'm guessing it's done? That or you took a fireball to the face."

Yes, it's done. I have the book and I rescued Chief Archivist Sergianus.

"Excellent. May I have it, please? Whatever it is, the Daedra must think it's important."

Here you go. What's the "Sublime Brazier?"

"Sublime what?
Oh. Well … that's troubling. Did you read this? You can read, right?"

Yes, I read it. What do you make of it?

"Doesn't make sense. If the Sublime Brazier is a relic that ignites the Dragonfires, why haven't I heard of it? The Dragonguard should be protecting it. How are we expected to turn back the Daedra if … never mind.
Sorry. I just hate surprises."

No, I didn't bother.

"Apparently, the Sublime Brazier is a relic the emperors use to light the Dragonfires—those mystical flames that keep the Daedra from entering our world.
But it doesn't make sense. The Dragonguard should know about this—should be protecting it."

So why were the Daedra holding onto this book?

"They obviously have plans for this Brazier. They must be looking for insights into how it works. Weaknesses.
I suppose we should be thankful that they didn't destroy the book. I've got a lot of reading to do."

So what's the plan?

"For now, we stay watchful. This book is obviously connected to a greater plot. I'll be in touch once I figure out what the Sublime Brazier has to do with the invasion.
So, yes. I'm reading now. Can you go, please? You're in my light."

This concludes the quest.

Quest Stages

Knowledge is Power
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	The Daedra keep the book locked away in a strongbox near the pavilion. Objective: Recover the Coded Book I need to find the key that opens the Daedric strongbox. Objective Hint: Search Slain Daedra for the Black Iron Key
	I must rescue the Chief Archivist before the Daedra put him to the sword. He may know more about this book. Objective: Rescue the Chief Archivist
	The Chief Archivist told me that he masked the contents of this book with a spell before the Daedra got to it. Unfortunately, they are now unwittingly burning the ciphers that can decode it. I must find them before they can be burned. Objective: Find the Spell Ciphers: 0/4
	Now that I have all of the spell ciphers, I need to find the Chief Archivist. He said he would meet me in the nearby Archives. Objective: Find the Chief Archivist in the Archives
	The Chief Archivist has begun to cast the translation spell. I need to add the ciphers to the ritual. Objective: Cast the Translation Spell
	I have decoded the book titled, "The Sublime Brazier." I should take it back to the Drake of Blades and see if she can make sense of its contents. Objective: Take "The Sublime Brazier" to the Drake of Blades
Finishes quest	I should finish talking with the Drake of Blades. Objective: Talk to the Drake of Blades

Notes

* Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the game and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.

• 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 any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.