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Not all the side quests inThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredare finished within a few minutes. Some could have the player searching the entire map to find the required items, and without prior knowledge, this could take even longer. “A Venerable Vintage” is one of those long side quests. Even if the player knows the whereabouts of the items required, it will still take some time to collect them all. That being said, this could be a fascinating journey for any player who is looking for a reason to explore the map and head inside dungeons. Here’s everything you need to know.
How To Start A Venerable Vintage
Players can start the quest at theWawanet Innlocated west ofImperial City. Go inside the inn and talk to its owner,Nerussa. She will let you know of a special wine type calledShadowbanishthat can only be found in rare places.
While Nerussa doesn’t hint that much, these rare locations are Forts that are scattered around the map. There are8 Fortsin total that guarantee a Shadowbanish drop. The mission requires only six Shadowbanish bottles, and each fort contains two bottles, so players only need to visit a minimum of three forts. However, delivering extra bottles to Nerussa will result in more rewards in the end.
Every Shadowbanish Location
Fort Carmala
Moving directlysouth from the city of Chorrol, you will findFort Carmalaalong your path. While the fort itself doesn’t have a complicated map, the wooden chest that contains Shadowbanish Wine is located in a tricky spot.
Follow the path drawn in red on the map above after entering the fort. Continue straight until you see an iron gate ahead. Before reaching the gate, take a right and enter the cave. Follow the path until you see a single door. Open it and kill the enemy inside. Next to the big coffin at the far end of the room, there is a wooden chest. It’s on the dark side of the wall, and quite difficult to spot from afar. Loot it to get two Shadowbanish bottles.
Fort Dirich
Movingsouthwest from Fort Carmalawill lead the player toFort Dirich. This one is easy to raid for the wine bottles and get out. After entering the fort, take a left, follow the path through a double door, and then a single door. This will lead you to a shrine-like area with a coffin in the middle of the room. Behind the coffin and next to the wall, you can find the wooden chest that contains two bottles of Shadowbanish wine.
Fort Vlastarus
Headeast from Skingradand cross the main road until you see the marker forFort Vlastarus. Like Dirich, Clastarus is also an easy fort to navigate. Move straight after entering the fort until you reach a hub area with a small iron gate in the right corner. Move through the gate and go ahead. When you see three burning corpses hanging from the ceiling, jump down and kill the enemies in the room.
Follow the path until you reach another room, where a wooden chest is located next to a pillar in the middle of the room. Loot the Shadowbanish wine from the chest.
Fort Magia
Locatedeast of the Imperial Citybeyond the river, this is one of the most difficult forts to navigate inOblivion Remastered.Players can easily get lost in it, as there are three different levels inside the fort. After entering the fort,follow the yellow pathdetailed on the first map until you reach a dead end flooded by water. Go underneath the water, as there is an open path available leading to a wide door.
Opening the door will lead the player to the Memorial area. Continue swimming fast after opening the door to make it out alive before you run out of breath. Keep in mind that there will be sea creatures attacking you. The path will lead the player to a big pool next to a shrine. Use the stairs to enter the shrine, then turn 90 degrees to find another pool. There are five caves beneath the water in this pool, and the correct path goes through the far cave on the right. So, catch your breath and swim under the water through the cave until you reach a staircase with a single door on top, which takes the player to the Garrison area. Use themap with the red pathto navigate the Memorial area if you find it difficult.
The Garrison area is quite straightforward. Followthe blue path on the mapabove until you reach the marked location, where you’ll find a wooden chest with two Shadowbanish bottles inside. Keep in mind that the Garrison area is more dangerous, as there will be a ghost guarding the wooden chest.
Fort Scinia
Fast-travel to thecity of Cheydinhal, and thenhead southeast. This is a two-level fort, but the path to finding the Shadowbanish wine is quite easy. After entering the fort, just move forward in a straight line. Once you hit the wall, take a left and reach the double door leading you to the Hall of Legends.
After entering the Hall of Legends, again, go straight. At the end of the path, you will find the wooden chest that contains the Shadowbanish bottles. This fort features both Marauders and Skeletons, which makes it a bit more dangerous than the others.
Fort Aurus
Locatednortheast of Bravil, beyond the river,Fort Aurusis an easy dungeon to tackle. After venturing inside, follow along the path until you reach a hall with a statue. Go beyond the statue and take a right at the end. Move straight again until you spot a single door. Open the door and immediately take a left to find a wooden chest sitting on the corner. Loot the chest to get the wine bottles from this fort, and then leave the area or search it for more loot.
Fort Irony
Movingsoutheast from Bravil, players can findFort Ironynear the bay. This is also a pretty quick fort to raid. Enter the dungeon and follow the path until you hit a wall with two roads on the left and right. The road to the left should lead to a double door. Enter the area and look around the pillar to find a wooden chest with two Shadowbanish bottles inside.
Fort Grief (Not Recommended)
If you draw a linebetween Fort Aurus and Fort Irony, Fort Grief is located between the twoon a tiny island. It’s quite easy to find, but getting inside the fort is a headache. The door to this fort is locked, and the player must complete another side quest to open the gates to the fort. That’s why it is not recommended to visit this fort for the Shadowbanish bottles.
However, if you’re determined to get all the bottles, then you should first accept the “Caught in the Hunt” side quest. It can be acquired by talking about rumors with the people of Bravil, until someone mentions Aleron Loche is missing. Completing the quest is not required to get the Shadowbanish bottles, butyou are going to need lots of Lockpicksif you are not good at this mini-game.
Continue the Caught in the Hunt mission until you reach Fort Grief.Use the lever on the ground next to the fort’s door to open it. Unlike other forts,the wooden chest is not inside the fort, but rather on the top level of it. Take the stairs up to the roof of the fort, and you will find the wooden chest sitting on a far platform, which requires you to perform a long jump. However, the chest is locked, and it’s a Very Hard lock. There are two bottles of Shadowbanish wine inside the chest, and that’s the last of them.
Rewards Of A Venerable Vintage
After you get six or more Shadowbanish bottles, return to the Wawanet Inn and hand them over to Nerussa. She will pay a total of1,000Goldcoinsfor thefirst six wine bottlesyou deliver, which also wraps up the quest. Forevery extra bottleof Shadowbanish Wine, Nerussa will pay100 Goldcoins.
From the locations above, the player can collect16 total Shadowbanish bottles. So, the total rewardsums up to 2,000 Gold coins.
