Daggerfall:The Mummy's Finger

Get rid of a vicious curse. Location(s): Any Merchant or Innkeeper Reward: Random Gold in advance Reputation Gain: see Reputation Gain/Loss ID: a0c41y18 Required Reputation: 41 reputation or more Difficulty: Hard

The Mummy's Finger

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to a Merchant or an Innkeeper.
2. Receive a letter, a wrapped finger and your pay in advance.
3. Find the sage and get information about the finger and the curse.
4. Travel to the mummy's tomb the sage mentions to you.
5. Find and destroy the mummy's true body within.

Detailed Walkthrough

A Lucrative Offer

Speak to a merchant or innkeeper, who says:

"I need someone to deliver something for me, and I'm willing to pay very generously. (First random gold) gold up front, (second random gold) more when the job is done. Will you help me out?"

Accept

The merchant or innkeeper goes on:

"Thank (random god)! You don't know how much this means to me. Here's your gold. Now, take this to (contact's name) in (town), (he/she)'ll pay you the rest. I really must be going now. Thank you so much!"

followed by:

(Employer's name) hands you a letter wrapped around a small object and hurries away.

Decline

The merchant or innkeeper answers:

"(Oath), I'll never be rid of this thing! Why will no one help me?"

The Desiccated Digit

Despite what you were told, this guy is not expecting a package

The mummy will attack every night, no matter where you lay your head

The sage is an expert on mummy's curses

Destroy the true mummy to end the curse once and for all

When you check your inventory you will find a severed finger, a letter in which it was wrapped, and some gold (see bugs). The letter says:

Dear Stranger,

I hope you will forgive me for what I have

done, but I had no choice. The mummy has

haunted me every night since I found this

cursed finger. I've tried throwing it away,

but it did no good. A learned sage advised me

that only by finding the mummy's tomb or by giving

the finger away could I be rid of its hateful

curse. I am no warrior, and who would knowingly

take up this burden for me? You looked brave

enough to endure the curse and perhaps solve it.

Please understand, I meant you no harm, but I

would have been killed or driven mad otherwise!

From this moment on, you are cursed; a mummy will haunt you every night between midnight and 1 am if you are resting or loitering. It will not haunt you during fast travel, though. When you strike the mummy the first time, it will say one of the following:

• "He who stole my (finger) must die!"
• "I come for my (finger)."
• "Accept your doom. Lay down your weapon."
• "My (finger), my (finger)."
• "You have my (finger). Without it I cannot rest."
• "You may destroy me this night, but I shall return."
• "I will rise again to come for my (finger)."

And indeed it does return, every night. You can travel to the town your employer mentioned and find the individual you were tasked to deliver the package to originally, but this turns out to have been a ruse on your employer's part. Not only does the contact have nothing to say, you cannot give away the finger. Nor will you be paid the promised additional gold.

To get rid of the curse, you must find the sage who is mentioned in the letter. Ask around about the finger and eventually you will be told of a particular temple, a town, or given a name to go on. Eventually, you will be able to ask about the sage's name as well. Once you know where to go, travel to the sage's town, enter the temple, and ask the sage for answers. If you are not currently carrying the finger, the sage will say:

"What you describe sounds like a classic mummy's curse, but without the (finger) itself, I cannot tell you more than that. Bring it to me, and I may be able to determine from whence it came."

And if you bring the finger:

"Let me see the (finger). Ah... Yes, it bears the curse of (mummy's name). Each night, for 1001 nights, at the stroke of midnight the spirit of (mummy's name) will visit the owner of this (finger). The only way to break the curse is to destroy the real (mummy's name) in his tomb at (dungeon)."

To break the curse for good and complete the quest, travel to the dungeon. The remainder of the quest is a dungeon crawl; find the mummy at a quest location and destroy it for good. When you strike the mummy for the first time, it screams at you:

"All who violate my tomb must be destroyed!"

Reward

After you destroy the mummy's true body, the following message pops up:

With (mummy's name) dead, you know you have rid yourself of (him/her [sic]) curse forever.

Search the mummy's corpse for loot, as you will receive no further reward for completing this quest.

Reputation Gain/Loss

Regardless how this quest ends, you will lose reputation according to the table below:

Faction/Person	Reputation Gain
Questgiver's faction	-2
Questgiver's associated factions	-1

Enemies

• Random dungeon monsters
• Quest target: One Mummy

Notes

• According to the questfile, the quest ends after 1001 days. The mummy will therefore appear each night for 1001 nights, appearing each time between midnight and 1 am.
• Even if you get rid of the curse you will lose two reputation with your quest giver's faction; this can't be avoided.
• Your employer will be gone for the duration of the quest. If he/she provided a service to the player, this service is also gone, however he/she will reappear after the quest is done.
• If you examine the severed finger, its condition is listed as "broken."

Bugs

• The pay you get from the quest giver goes directly into your inventory and is not given to you via a menu-screen.
  • To add this permanently to your wallet, you must drop the gold to the ground or into your wagon first and then pick it up from there again. Picking up the gold directly from your inventory will cause the reward to vanish permanently.
• Often when possessing the cursed finger, it becomes impossible for the player to rest, being immediately interrupted by "There are enemies nearby," without any enemies actually spawning.
  • This may be a feature, but it does not seem to be time-dependent.

Additional Dialogue

If an NPC knows something about the Finger, they may say:

• "I wouldn't know anything about that. Try asking at a temple."
• "(Sage's name) knows about such things. Go ask (him/her)."
• "Have you tried asking around at (temple) in (sage's town)?"
• "I hear that someone in (sage's town) might know about such things."
• "They say that (sage's name) is the foremost expert in such things."
• "Maybe that sage at (temple) knows."

If an NPC knows something about the sage, they may say:

• "(Sage's name) is a noted sage from (town)."
• "You'll find (sage's name) in (temple) in (sage's town)."

After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:

• "The pirates have been particularly active this year."

If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:

• "Have you heard the story of the curse of the mummy's finger? Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize..."

If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:

• "Some brave (player's race) went into (dungeon). Poor fool."

If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:

• "The loons will be back early this year."

If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:

• "Do you think I'm fat? Everyone says I am, but I don't think so."

Quest Log

The Mummy's Finger (a0c41y18)
Stage/ Index	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
0		(Date): I have been hired to make a delivery to a (contact's name) of (contact's town). My mysterious employer paid me (first random gold) gold and promised(second random gold) more when I complete my assignment. No time frame was specified, but my employer seemed very anxious for me to be on my way.
1		(Date): I have been tricked. The supposed delivery to (contact's name) was actually a cursed mummy finger.
2		(Date): I have learned that the mummy whose curse I suffer is buried in (dungeon). I must destroy his true form or his spirit will continue to haunt me for 1001 nights.