Online:Between a Rock and a Whetstone

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Detail
Quick Summary: written by Legoless, not checked


Walkthrough: written by Legoless, not checked


Quest Stages: not written
ON-qico-Companion.png Help Sharp-as-Night find more information on the Reformer.
Zone: Telvanni Peninsula
Location(s): Eastmarch, Necrom, Sadrith Mora, Vvardenfell, Windhelm Outlaws Refuge, Windhelm
Previous Quest: The Double Edge
Next Quest: Dim and Distant Pasts
Reward: Sharp's Angler's Bounty
Leveled Gold
XP Gain: 74,100 Experience
ID: 7018
Track down the Reformer
Sharp has been looking for his former job broker, Federo, to get information on the Reformer, the mysterious Telvanni wizard whose experiments resulted in Sharp's lost memory.


Quick Walkthrough[edit]

  1. Talk to Sharp-as-Night.
  2. Enter Federo's Place in Sadrith Mora and investigate. Speak to Ganthelen when she appears.
  3. Talk to Federo Endril at Tinkerer Tobin's Workshop in Eastmarch.
  4. Talk to Mevei Andros in Windhelm and obtain the forged documents.
  5. Obtain clothes from Herkgrig.
  6. Speak to Federo in Windhelm Outlaws Refuge and dig up the buried documents outside of town.
  7. Go to the bridge at Arkngthunch-Sturdumz and follow the vvardvark to Yasammidan.
  8. Explore the Reformer's Laboratory within Yasammidan.
  9. Smash the Tyranite Calx and speak to Sharp outside.

Detailed Walkthrough[edit]

The Job Broker[edit]

Once you have obtained enough positive rapport with Sharp-as-Night how much?, he will ask you to come with him to Sadrith Mora to check up on his old job broker, a Telvanni named Federo Endril. Sharp will admit that he hasn't heard from Federo since the incident with the Reformer, and he suspects Federo may know something about his forgotten past.

Locate and enter Federo's Place when you arrive at Sadrith Mora. You will need to search the place for any sign of Federo, but, based on the clothing and empty wine bottles, Sharp will soon surmise that someone else has been living here. As soon as you finish investigating, a Wood Elf woman named Ganthelen will drunkenly enter the house. Upon questioning, she will let slip that Federo has fled to Eastmarch and is hiding out at Tinkerer Tobin's Workshop.

To Sharp's surprise, Federo will be hanging around the workshop when you arrive. Although wholly unequipped to handle the perils of the Eastmarch countryside, he was forced to flee for his life when mercenaries hired by the Reformer showed up at his door. Seemingly, the Reformer was not best pleased with Federo for providing work to his former slave, forcing the former job broker to escape Telvanni territory and leave his old life behind. He will then offer a trade: blackmail material he had gathered on the Reformer, in return for new clothes and a new identity.

To Windhelm[edit]

Your first stop will be The Adept's Retreat in Windhelm. Federo heard rumors of a professional forger operating out of there. When you arrive, it transpires that the forger in question is none other than Mevei Andros, Reynila Treviri's widow. She will agree to forge a Courier's Permit, a document granting Federo a new name and identity: Belvis Salavel, courier of the Antiquarian Circle.

The next step is to source new clothes for Federo. Fortunately, a Nord named Herkgrig can be found outside The Sober Nord Tavern with a crate of clothing that he's trying to give away for free. Unfortunately, the clothes are soiled by some sort of alchemical elixir, and he cannot get the smell out. Open the chest and take the Clothing off his hands, then head to the Windhelm Outlaws Refuge to locate Federo.

Although somewhat displeased with his new lot in life, Federo will change into his new outfit before revealing the location of the cache of documents he has on the Reformer. He buried it just outside of town, across the bridge over the White River and in the direction of the nearby waterfall. Here you will find a Note from Gadri to Federo, a Mysterious Letter to Federo, and Another Letter from the Reformer.

The note from Gadri will reveal that the Reformer apparently has a secret lair near some Dwarven ruins outside Gnisis. This can be none other than the ruins of Arkngthunch-Sturdumz, your next destination.

Follow that vvardvark

A Hidden Lair[edit]

Head to the large Dwarven bridge in front of Arkngthunch-Sturdumz, in the northwestern corner of Vvardenfell. Sharp will cast a tracking spell on a vvardvark and task it with leading you to this hidden lair. Follow it, and after a chase it will lead you to the ruined Daedric shrine of Yasammidan. The door at Yasammidan leads to the Reformer's Laboratory, an abandoned lair where the Reformer experimented on live slaves and salamanders.

Continue deeper into the ruins and you will come to the Procedure Room, a chamber containing Sondivel's Journal and a sample of a mysterious metal called Tyranite Calx. While you investigate, Sharp will approach the metal, and will suddenly be lifted into the air in a burst of purple light. A projection of Sondivel Ulres, the Reformer, will appear before him and reveal that he is still attuned to his former master via the use of tyranite. You will need to smash the chunk of metal to free Sharp from his clutches.

Head outside to speak to Sharp. He will be satisfied that you have found the name of the Reformer, as well as a possible lead to track him down via this tyranite attunement. Sharp will decide to reach out to Mevei for help, and will give you your reward: leveled gold and Sharp's Angler's Bounty. If you have already achieved enough of a rapport with him, he will then offer the next quest, Dim and Distant Pasts.

Trivia[edit]

The quest name is a play on words: "Between a rock and a hard place"

Quest Stages[edit]

Between a Rock and a Whetstone
Finishes Quest Journal Entry
Sharp wants to travel to Federo's home in Sadrith Mora. I should accompany him to see if we can get information on the Reformer.
Objective: Find Federo in Sadrith Mora
Hidden Objective: Enter Sadrith Mora
Hidden Objective: Find Federo in Sadrith Mora
Hidden Objective: Enter Federo's Place
Hidden Objective: Examine Wine Bottle
Hidden Objective: Examine Clothing
Hidden Objective: Listen to Ganthelen
Hidden Objective: Talk to Mevei
Hidden Objective: Mevei Forges Papers
Hidden Objective: Investigate Cache
Hidden Objective: Flavor
Hidden Objective: Journal
Federo's home was unlocked and appears abandoned. We should take a look around.
Objective: Search Federo's Place
Ganthelen seems surprised to find me and Sharp at Federo's place. I should talk to her.
Objective: Talk to Ganthelen
Sharp and I learned that Federo fled his home to meet a contact in Eastmarch. I should talk to Sharp to see what comes next.
Objective: Talk to Sharp
Sharp and I learned that Federo fled to Tinkerer Tobin's Workshop in Eastmarch. We should travel to Eastmarch to see if he's still there.
Objective: Go to Tinkerer Tobin's Workshop in Eastmarch
We found Federo living rough in Eastmarch. I should talk to him.
Objective: Talk to Federo Endril
Federo agreed to give us all the information he has on the Reformer in exchange for forged identity papers and new clothing. Sharp and I are headed to a supposed document forger in Adept's Retreat in Windhelm.
Objective: Go to the Adepts Retreat
Optional Step: Talk to Sharp
Sharp and I were surprised to find Mevei Andros in Windhelm. It seems like she's the document forger we were looking for. I should talk to her about securing a new identity for Federo.
Objective: Talk to Mevei Andros
Mevei agreed to help us help Federo. I should take the forged identity papers that Mevei made.
Objective: Get Forged Papers
Federo needs new clothing to help him start his new life as a courier for the Antiquarian Circle. Sharp and I should search Windhelm for something inexpensive.
Objective: Acquire Clothing for Federo
Sharp and I acquired clothing and forged identity documents for Federo to start a new life away from the Telvanni Peninsula. Federo said he'd meet us in the Outlaws Refuge to make the exchange.
Objective: Talk to Federo
Federo gave us the location of a cache of information he buried on the Reformer. We're traveling to the location he marked on my map to find the cache.
Objective: Find Buried Information Cache
Now that we've unearthed the cache we should investigate its contents.
Objective: Investigate Information Cache
Federo's cache gave us a lot of information. I should talk to Sharp about what I've learned from reading.
Objective: Talk to Sharp
Federo's cache of information gave enough information for us to find the location of a secret lab belonging to Sondivel Ulres. Sharp and I should head to the bridge to the Dwarven ruins near Gnisis in Vvardenfell and seek the hidden key.
Objective: Go to the Bridge at Arkngthunch-Sturdumz
Sharp and I are seeking the key to the hidden lab of Sondivel Ulres, the Reformer. I should talk to Sharp to discuss what comes next.
Objective: Talk to Sharp
Sharp has a tracking spell that should help us find the key to Sondivel's lab. I should follow the tracking critter to find the key.
Objective: Search for a Key
Sharp's tracking spell led us to the hidden key to the Reformer's secret lab. I should take the key.
Objective: Find the Hidden Key
Sharp and I have the key to the Reformer's laboratory. It's time to head inside.
Objective: Enter the Reformer's Laboratory
Sharp and I made it inside the secret lab of the Reformer. It seems deserted, but we should seek out any information or useful items that will help us learn more about the Reformer's whereabouts.
Objective: Investigate the Reformer's Laboratory
Sharp is being magically restrained by the Reformer. I should smash the strange metal acting as a conduit and save Sharp.
Objective: Smash the Strange Metal
Sharp seems rattled by what just happened in the Reformer's lab. We need to leave the lab and get to safety.
Objective: Leave the Reformer's Lab
I should talk to Sharp about what happened inside the Reformer's lab.
Objective: Talk to Sharp
Sharp and I found a secret lair belonging to Sondivel Ulres. Inside, we faced a magical projection of the wizard himself as he tried to take control of Sharp using a strange metal called tyranite calx. I saved Sharp and we escaped to safety.
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.