Skyrim:Eltrys

Eltrys; (RefID: 000198FD)
Home City	Markarth
Location	Shrine of Talos
Other Information
Stamina	67
Primary Skills	Alchemy, Conjuration
Essential	Yes. Until found dead during The Forsworn Conspiracy
Voice Type	MaleYoungEager
Faction(s)	CrimeFactionReach; MarkarthWarrensEltrysFaction; MarkarthWarrensTenantsFaction; Thieves Guild No Pickpocketing Faction; TownMarkarthFaction

Eltrys

Eltrys is a Breton citizen who lives in Markarth. He was recently married to Rhiada and the couple awaits their first baby. After first entering the city, regardless of what happens to Margret, he will talk to you and hand you a note that will start The Forsworn Conspiracy.

He wears a set of farm clothes with hide boots and bracers. He carries the key to his room in the Warrens along with an iron dagger and a selection of common items and gold. Note that a different version of Eltrys will appear at the conclusion of the related quest; see notes section for details.

Related QuestsEdit

The Forsworn Conspiracy: Investigate a murder in Markarth to discover a sinister plot surrounding the Forsworn.

This NPC is one of many potential quest givers or quest targets for one or more of the Radiant quests.

Quest-Related EventsEdit

The Forsworn ConspiracyEdit

When you first arrive in Markarth, Eltrys will be positioned just outside the Silver-Blood Inn, within good viewing distance of the market. If spoken to in the brief period before the attack, he will simply ask:

"New to Markarth?"

When Weylin gets cut down, either by you or by the guards, Eltrys can be heard making a comment under his breath:

"Gods, not again...."

After you have witnessed the assault on market customer Margret and the demise of Weylin, he will actively seek you out and ask:

"Gods. A woman attacked right on the streets. Are you all right? Did you see what happened?"

I was right there. He almost killed me.

"I'm so sorry. I hope the Eight give you more peace in the future."

I heard some shouting about the Forsworn. That was it.

"The Forsworn? Strange. Well, I hope the Eight give you more peace in the future, for what it's worth."

I must have missed it. Sorry.

"You don't have to say sorry to me. I just hope the Eight bring us more peace in the future."

Regardless of your choice, he will then suddenly say:

"Oh, I think you dropped this. Some kind of note. Looks important."

As it is obvious he plants the note on you, you can ask him if it is his note:

Is this your note? What does this mean?

"My note? No, that's yours. Must have fallen out of your pocket."

You can also ask if he knows anything about the attack:

Do you know anything about the attack?

"No. I was just getting some fresh air. Had one too many pints of mead at the Silver-Blood Inn."

If you read the note right away, you can ask Eltrys how to find the Shrine of Talos and get his innocent act once again:

Where's the Shrine of Talos?

"Huh. Not sure. I don't worship Talos, myself. I think I heard someone mention it was underneath the Temple of Dibella, in the big crag in the center of the city."

If you close conversation with him, Eltrys will start heading off, and any attempts to speak with him will result in the following responses:

"I hope your stay in Markarth treats you better."

"Need to get going. What is it?"

Whether you follow the objective and read the note or not, Eltrys will head directly towards the Shrine of Talos and wait for you to come around. When you do, he will reveal himself as conspiratorial and quite paranoid, saying;

"I'm sorry to drag you into Markarth's problems, but after that attack in the market, I'm running out of time. You're an outsider. You're dangerous-looking. You'll do."

Ask him what he is talking about and his voice will reveal fear:

"I'll do"? What are you talking about? or I'm not doing anything yet.

"You want answers? Well so do I. So does everyone in this city. A man goes crazy in the market. Everyone knows he's a Forsworn agent. Guards do nothing. Nothing but clean up the mess."

You also reject his ramblings as nonsense; he will just say;

I don't have time for this nonsense.

"You want to walk away? Fine. But there's going to be no justice for that poor woman. No one to care what happened to her."

If you then went back and spoke to him once more he'd be just as paranoid as ever:

"Changed your mind? Ready to find out the truth about Markarth?"

If you choose to hear him out, he will elaborate:

You want me to find out why.

"This has been going on for years. And all I've been able to find is murder and blood. I need help. Please. You find out why that woman was attacked, who's behind Weylin and the Forsworn, and I'll pay you for any information you bring me."

He will then do his best to explain what's going on underneath the surface of Markarth, depending on your questions:

You've looked into these murders?

"Yes. It all started when I was a boy. My father owned one of the mines. Rare for anyone who isn't a Nord. He was killed. Guards said it was just a madman, but everyone knew the murderer was a member of the Forsworn. I've been trying to find out why ever since. Gotten nowhere so far, and then I got married. Have a child of my own on the way. I swore I was going to just give up, for my child's sake, but it's like my father's ghost is haunting me. Asking me 'Why?'"

Who are the Forsworn?

"They're remnants of the old rulers of Markarth. Natives of the Reach. Followers of the old ways. The Nords drove them out of the city. Ulfric Stormcloak and his men. That was about 20 years ago. But somehow they're still here, and they're killing people."

Who was Weylin? Where did he live?

"He was one of the smelter workers. I used to have a job down there myself, casting silver ingots. I never knew much about Weylin, except he lives in the Warrens, like all the other workers."

What do you know about Margret?

"She's not from Markarth. The air about her screamed "outsider." Visitors to the city usually stay at the Silver-Blood Inn."

Eltrys lies slain at the foot of the shrine

Reporting back to Eltrys after this, regardless of if you gained any new knowledge about the conspiracy, might make him say;

"Looks like you weren't followed. Good."

"Once you've found out anything, come straight to me."

"City's got eyes. Be careful when you're out there."

"Let me know as soon as you've found anything."

"Be careful who you talk to."

"Keep your eyes and ears open."

After you have discovered Margret's true identity, you can return to Eltrys with the information that Margret was in fact sent by General Tullius to investigate Thonar Silver-Blood. This will net you a leveled reward and a comment:

Margret was investigating Thonar.

"So the clues point to the Treasury House, then. That makes sense. Thonar is involved in every facet of the city. Here's the gold I promised. Keep following the trail and there will be more in it for you."

Additionally, when you inform him that Weylin was working for Nepos the Nose, he will send more gold your way and comment:

Weylin got his orders from Nepos.

"Nepos the Nose? He's been in Markarth forever. And he's well-respected among the natives of the Reach. Good work. Here's your gold. I have a feeling Nepos gets his own orders, though. If you find out, I'll have more for you."

After the incident inside the Treasury House, or your encounter with Nepos the Nose, the plot thickens, although Eltrys will never find out what was really going on. When you enter the Shrine of Talos you will find Eltrys dead on the floor, and three Markarth guards waiting for you. If you ask what they did to Eltrys, they will only comment:

What did you do to Eltrys?

"Same thing we do with all the other natives who want to change things around here. We had a nice little deal going between Thonar and Madanach until you and Eltrys started snooping around. Well, you wanted to find the man responsible for those killings? You'll have plenty of time with the King in Rags when you're in Cidhna mine."

Unused DialogueEdit

Eltrys has quite a bit of unused dialogue tied to an earlier version of The Forsworn Conspiracy. This dialogue can only be found in the game's DialogueViews files, and not the Creation Kit.

Originally, Eltrys was to give you leads about people associated with the Forsworn, which would then branch out into little sub-quests:

"You came. I knew you would. You might be the only one who can prove what they're up to."

What's this about? Why the secret meeting?

"Markarth has eyes lurking in every shadow. I have to be careful. I'm on the trail of a conspiracy to destroy what little peace this city has. But they're on to me. I need someone new to Markarth. Someone they don't suspect."

Who's they? What's this conspiracy about?

"The Forsworn. They're promising people that they're going to come strike fear into the Nord rulers. Omluag, Uaile, and Ildene are all involved. They must be waiting for the Forsworn to come so they help somehow. Figure out what they're up to. I'll pay you for any information you can find."

Stop a conspiracy? How?

"By following the names. I have three people I suspect are working against Markarth. Omluag, the smelter worker. Uaile, the Treasury House maid, and Ildene, the Silver-Fish family's nanny. Figure out what they're doing, anyway you can. Meet me back here when you have something."

There's also dialogue meant either for when attempting to speak to Eltrys outside of the Shrine while on the quest, something which isn't possible in the final game, or for attempting to speak to him before he informs you about the conspiracy:

"Not here. The Shrine of Talos. Midnight."

Also, at the end of the quest, instead of finding Eltrys murdered by guards, he was just to be absent, and Nepos the Nose would be there to confront you instead:

The Forsworn are conspiring against this city. I'm trying to stop them.

"Spare me. Think your little midnight meetings at the shrine went unnoticed. Working with that Reachman, Eltrys? Now where is that crazy blabber, anyway? Kill him off so he'd keep his mouth shut, right? Now surrender quietly or I'll make sure you get thrown in prison, minus a tongue."

Another topic meant for you to say to Madanach would've read:

Problems like me and Eltrys?

Although it's unknown what the leadup to this statement was, as well as what Madanach would've replied, as neither line survived.

NotesEdit

His former colleague Omluag might mention him when asked about who works at the Smelter: "A few people in the Warrens used to work here. Degaine broke some bones a while back. Eltrys quit. Cairine is too sick."
While Eltrys mentions a wife, he never explictly names her. Rhiada also never reveals her link to him directly to you, she only mentions her marriage in a scene with Thonar. Internally, they are marked as husband and wife, however.
Despite no longer working for him, Eltrys is still marked as an employee of Mulush internally. He's also marked as a friend to Cedran, which might be a remnant of another removed portion of The Forsworn Conspiracy.
Eltrys was meant to play a role in the aforementioned removed sub-quests tied to The Forsworn Conspiracy. In MS01A, he would've told you about plans Omluag was making to sabotage the smelter. In MS01B he would've told you more about Uaile, and in MS01C his role is unclear, but he likely would've given you more information about Ildene. None of his relevant dialogue for these quests survived.
The dead version of Eltrys is technically a different NPC called "EltrysDead" (Form ID 00101000, RefID 00101001). It has the same inventory and belongs to the same factions, but carries two leveled quest rewards in gold.
If you leave the market before Eltrys speaks to you, he will follow a simple daily routine. From 7am to 7pm, he will work at the smelter. The rest of the time, he stays in the Warrens. When he sees you, he will talk about the attack and ask if you saw what happened, as noted above, but you will have to actively speak to him to respond to what he says—the dialogue will not happen automatically.
Eltrys actually possesses a face tattoo that's normally associated with members of the Forsworn. Bothela is the only other named NPC with this trait. This face tattoo is unavailable to you.

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