When visiting the Lucky Lockup the Player will encounter Benunius Agrudilius who had a mixup with a delivery he is hoping to have fixed.
Benunius Agrudilius:
Welcome to the Lucky Lockup! We cater to travelers and visitors here in Balmora. We have beds and drinks: Flin, Greef, Mazte, Sujamma, imported Cyrodilic Brandy, and a little Shein left, but only a little, as the last shipment of shein I ordered was misplaced.
Shipment of Shein: You want to hear about that? I ordered shein via the East Empire Company as usual, but instead I got bottles of something called Shine. It smells terrible, and seems to be some kind of cleaning product. I don't have time to go all the way to Ebonheart to sort it out or to find a buyer for this Shine stuff, if it's worth anything.
-Nevermind: Yea it's a real mess.
-Offer to deal with the Shine: You would? Really? Here you go. It's heavy, though not as heavy as five full crates of shein. Either find out what happened to my shipment and get that sent here or find someone to buy this stuff. The shein cost me 450 drakes, so that's the minimum I'd want for this Shine stuff.
The player beging by heading to Ebonheart to find out what happened with the shipment.
Company Guard:
Shipment of shein: Okan-Shei handles the complaints.
Okan-Shei:
Shipment of shein: A mixed up shipment? Benunius got a cleaning product instead of brandy? Hm. Hm. Let me check here.
-Wait for him to check the records: Everything seems to be in order, but on that day the Frost-Ghost came in with several crates. See here? One marked shein — Balmora, Lucky Lockup and one marked Shine — Tel Branora, THERANADAY! That crate stayed on the Frost-Ghost. You could try asking in Tel Branora to see if the shein was sent there instead. It's a Telvanni town on the coast. Some shipmasters can take you directly there.
The player heads off to Tel Branora to find the shipment.
Therana:
Shipment of Shein: You must be from the East Empire. East of what? East of itself? And which one? I like how they're numbered for convenience, but I can never remember which Empire is the current one. The Sixth? Yes. You're from the East of teh Sixth Empire. I filed a comlaint. This Shine is defective.
-Nevermind: See you in Oblivion, dear.
-Defective?: So defective that Theranaday has been ruined. Utterly ruined. As Shalidor said, 'If at first you don't understand, summon Mephala and ask for the secret arts.' Or perhaps that was Lil Miss Smarty-Skirt. So does that clear things up? I expect a replacement shipment of Shine tomorrow. Or I shall turn every East Empire employee into spiders. No, not one spider each. Spiders.
–Your Shine is right here [give Shine]: Where should I send this defective Shine? No, don't tell me, don't tell me. The Lucky Lockup! Of course! I knew that complete nobody whats-his-name would be involved somehow. Consider it delivered.
Asking again: The new Shine is fine. You look a bit…dirty. I could order my servants to polish you until your skin is clear and your organs' pulsing glory visible to the world. No? Are you sure? You'd be sneaky. Well, don't bring it up again.
Theranaday: It's the only holiday here in Tel Branora. I don't accept mirrors, security and vanity, so I order Shine and have all the eggs polished until I can see my reflection and all my servants everywhere in infinite, slightly curved, regress. The tower bustles like a busy city. The servants walk about whispering 'marshmerrow, marshmerrow, marshmerrow.' But this Shine. This…Shine. The eggs were not polished. They were soggy and drunk and keep falling down and breaking their crowns. Poor dears. One of them hatched mid-celebration. We had forager stew. It was a bitter, bitter meal. A Theranaday I shall not soon forgive.
Miss Smarty-Skirt: It was one of my favorites. When I was six, I cut the covers into mutually-reinforcing spirals of attraction and the pages into Manduryn's Wings, the second variation, and set its petty scrib-soul free. It flew above my bed for years. Spiders came from all over and one of them grew and grew and killed and ate all the others. 'What a way to live!' I thought. Then she had a hundred babies. None of my children survived me, either. And that was the moral of the book.
Returning to the Lucky Lockup the player reports their success to Benunius Agrudilius.
Benunius Agrudilius:
Shipment of Shein: The shein arrived here unexpectedly, and I wondered if you were to blame. PLease, tell me what happened.
-Tell him what happened: Ah, that makes sense. I was prepared to be angry with you, since the shein arrived mid-air and some of the bottles broke. One even hit a guest's head. But under the circumstances, I am grateful you managed to get it back. Please take this smuggler's journal someone left here. Maybe you can make use of it.
Asking again: The matter is settled, Player. Feel free to come by anytime.
The player receive Smuggler's Journal as a reward and following the direction they head out to recover the treasure and finds bottles of Jelly and Viperscale Rice Wine, Mane's Choice Honey Goldmilk, Elden Root Glitterbug Reserve, and Sun's Dusk Ale among other treasures.
—–
Alternatively the player can ask around about where to sell the shine.
Culumaire:
Shipment of shein: You have an entire shipment of Shine? I'd take that to the Farmers and Laborers Hall in Vivec. It's in the St Olms Canton.
Heading to the Farmers and Laborers Hall the player starts to ask around.
Gindas Ildram:
Shipment of Shein: You have what?! I'd talk to Fedura at the Farmers and Laborers Hall. It's in the waistworks.
Fedura Sethan:
Shipment of Shein: What's that? You have a whole shipment of Shine? A whole shipment?
-Nevermind: It is cruel to dangle the promise of that much Shine in front of a laborer. Get out of here, villain. You have no idea how many hours of work that stuff can save.
-Offer to sell the Shine: So it was all a mix up? But how fortunate for me! I mean us! I'll take the Shine off your hands for, say, 2500 septims? I believe that's more than a fair price. Higher than any regular merchant would give you.
–Keep the Shine: I can't offer any more, truly.
–Sell the Shine for 2500: Here you go! 2500 septims. Now let's see the Shine. Yes, this is the stuff. You've just made hundreds of servants very, very, happy.
Asking again: I am very glad you came by with that Shine. That's enough to make Vvardenfel sparkle the whole year!
Returning to the Lucky Lockup the player has another choice to make.
Benunius Agrudilius:
Shipment of Shein: Find a buyer for that Shine?
-Yes (give 450 drakes): You found a buyer? Great. I'm glad that's settled. Now I can place my usual order. Since you've helped me out, please accept a couple bottles of our fine, imported Cyrodilic brandy.
-Farmers and Laborers bought it (give 1000 drakes): Wow, that's more than I thought. Please, keep half the money as a finder's fee, Player, and take a couple of my bottles of brandy.
-Farmers and Laborers bought it (give 2500 drakes): Really? That much? I didn't know what I had, did I? Thank you for finding a buyer, and thank you for your honesty, Player. Please, keep half the drakes as a finders fee. And a guest left this journal and said it led to a smuggler's treasure.
Asking again: The matter is settled, Player. Feel free to come by anytime.
