Online:Zaban-ma

Zaban-ma
Location	Speckled Shell Plantation
Race	Khajiit	Gender	Male
Reaction	Friendly

Zaban-ma

Zaban-ma is a Khajiit standing in the remains of the burned down house situated on his family's moon-sugar plantation. He is the son of Yanalir and the brother of Azbi-ra.

After he discovered that Azbi-ra was brewing skooma to help support the family, he became enraged, attempting to destroy her equipment. Unfortunately, in doing this, his father was caught in the crossfire.

Related Quests

• The Family Business: Assist a moon-sugar farming family during a trying time.

Quest-Related Events

While trying to salvage the alchemical tools Azbi-ra asked for, Zaban-ma will find you as you reach the third storehouse.

Zaban-ma: "Shoo! Get off my family's land."

You can then talk to him to see what he wants.

"If you plan to loot my family's plantation, I will give you such a thrashing!"

Azbi-ra asked me to look for alchemical tools.

"Too late, sugar-thief. The fire destroyed every last calcinator.
Wait, I expected my sister to check on the tools herself. Why did she send a stranger?"

She's with your father. He was gravely injured in the fire.

"You lie! My father left yesterday to trade in Mistral. Didn't he?
Oh, no. I set the fires to destroy those damned tools, not to hurt anyone. Not to hurt my father!"

Why would you burn your family's plantation?

"We lost our last harvest to the thunderbugs. Despite the debt, Azbi-ra bought alchemical tools. To improve our crop, she said.
But last week I caught her brewing skooma. That vile drug destroys lives! When she refused to stop I knew what must be done."

How do I know you're telling the truth?

"My sister despises sand under her claws, but recently I saw her digging out on the beach. Why else would she be out there, if not to bury skooma?
I should go to my father. Would you look for any skooma hidden on the beach?"

Why burn everything to destroy the tools?

"I don't want my family imprisoned. The fire was to destroy any trace of skooma.
Recently I saw my sister bury something on the beach. I was headed there next, but I should be with my father. Would you search for the skooma she hid on the beach?"

If I bring back skooma, what will you do with it?

"I'll destroy it. With the money we spend to rebuild, it will be like the skooma never happened. I'd rather debt collectors pound at our door than skooma dealers.
Damn my eyes. Father should've been in Mistral!"

I'll go look for the buried skooma.

"My sister placed colorful seashells near whatever she buried. I bet there is a sack full of skooma vials next to them.
I'll be with my father. If you find anything, bring it back to me."

'I'll bring any skooma I find to you. (Advances Quest)

After you agree to find the skooma on the beach, you can ask Zaban-ma some questions before you leave.

"I should really go check on my father."

What is skooma, exactly?

"It is death in a bottle. Distill moon-sugar cane the right way and the crystals make you happy and stupid. Do it the wrong way and you get shaking fits, you foam at the mouth, and then you die."

How long was your sister brewing skooma?

"Not for long. I always know it's month's end when debt collectors pound at our door, but last month they didn't show. When I asked why, Azbi-ra said not to worry.
This must have been her scheme. She's always had father wrapped around her tail."

If you return to the house where Abzi-ra and Yanalir are, Zaban-ma will have arrived and can be found by his father's side. Unfortunately, their father's condition has gotten worse.

"My father, he keeps shaking. Why is he shaking?"

After you have found the bag of skooma and dealt with the ambush, you can return to Zaban-ma, only to find him next his father's fresh grave. If you talk with him first, he will only say, "My father … he's gone." Unfortunately, Officer Lorin will also be there, as she is now suspicious of everyone involved, as she correctly suspects skooma was involved in the arson. You can ask her if you can talk with the siblings first, Zaban-ma will be desperate.

"My father is dead, and now this Dominion outsider wants to throw me in prison!
They say they found evidence of skooma in the storehouses, but that's impossible!"

I found what was buried under those shells.

"Then Officer Lorin found nothing in the storehouses but suspicion. She's bluffing.
What will you tell her?"

I'll do what I believe is right.

"What's right is allowing us to recover from tragedy, not suffer more of it.
Please. Make this right."

Speaking to him again before you decide his fate:

"Please, my family has seen enough pain today. Do what is right."

If you tell Officer Lorin to leave the orphaned siblings alone, she will leave and then you can hand over the skooma to Zaban-ma.

"Thank you. S'rendarr himself would commend your actions.
Give me the skooma so I can destroy it. I want to finish what I started."

Here's the skooma.

"Thank you. I'll destroy this immediately.
My sister is all I have left. We'll learn to forgive each other. We have to, if we are going to rebuild."

Once you receive your reward, he will put the bottles of skooma on the ground and start stamping on them.

Zaban-ma: "This poison causes nothing but pain!"

He then walks over to Azbi-ra.

Zaban-ma: "I am here, sister."

If you talk with him again he will tell you:

"We're going to start over. We'll build a better life."

However, if you handed over the skooma to Officer Lorrin, she will charge Zaban-ma and take him to Mistral. He'll remark, "This one understands." After this, he cannot be spoken to.

Notes

• He wrote down his suspicions in his journal.