Skyrim:A Return To Your Roots

Go where a famous alchemist could not in order to aid ground-breaking research. Quest Giver: Sinderion's Field Journal in his Field Laboratory, Blackreach or picking up a Crimson Nirnroot. Location(s): Blackreach Reward: Sinderion's Serendipity ability, The Nirnroot Missive ID: NN01 Suggested Level: 18

A Crimson Nirnroot plant in Sinderion's Field Laboratory

Quick Walkthrough

1. Collect thirty samples of the mysterious Crimson Nirnroot.
2. Take these samples to Sinderion's colleague Avrusa Sarethi so that Sinderion's research may continue.

Detailed Walkthrough

Seemingly unreachable Crimson Nirnroot, which can be harvested with a Whirlwind Sprint.

The "Noisy Red Weed"

Sinderion had been obsessed with Crimson Nirnroot since purchasing a plant from a passing adventurer wanting to get something for the "noisy red weed" he found. Sinderion compensated the man, and then left Skingrad to set up a laboratory in Blackreach, the only known habitat of Crimson Nirnroot.

Continue the Research

The quest begins upon the collection of a sample crimson nirnroot in Blackreach. Your journal will update to reflect your part in finding out the significance of this plant. In order to get started, begin at the beginning in Sinderion's Field Laboratory. The research facility is located in Blackreach, right across from the gates of Alftand Cathedral. Inside you will find Sinderion's remains still clutching his field journal. After reading the journal, the quest will update requesting that you collect thirty Crimson Nirnroot samples from Blackreach - a difficult but rewarding task.

Locating the Samples

There are forty-four samples of Crimson Nirnroot within Blackreach (including some inside Blackreach's buildings). Unlike the more common garden variety Nirnroot, the Crimson Nirnroot does not solely grow near bodies of water. Many plants are found near patches of mushrooms, Dwemer pipes or along the sides of the cavern. Since there are forty-four plants, all required samples can be collected at one time if you thoroughly explore Blackreach (see the Crimson Nirnroot article for more details on plant locations). Alternatively, if you are having a hard time finding enough plants, they will respawn. Leaving Blackreach for ten days allows you to collect another sample from any previously-harvested plants.

A Job Well Done

After collecting the required number of plants, the quest will update again and you will be asked to deliver them to Avrusa Sarethi, Sinderion's former colleague. She is currently residing at Sarethi Farm, between Riften and Ivarstead. Give Avrusa the thirty Crimson Nirnroot samples to complete the quest and receive The Nirnroot Missive. You will also be provided with Sinderion's Serendipity, an ability which provides a 25% chance to mix two potions instead of one.

Notes

• The Alchemy perk Green Thumb does not affect Nirnroot and therefore cannot be used to decrease the number of plants needed to be harvested.
• The quest is a sequel to the Oblivion quest, Seeking Your Roots.

Bugs

• The counter for the number of Crimson Nirnroots in your inventory may not function properly, resulting in a number of related issues:
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.3.2, fixes this bug.
  • if you consume all the Crimson Nirnroot in your inventory, not only will that amount be redacted from the quest counter, but the counter will even count the removed roots twice, potentially causing the counter to go into the negatives.
  • The quest may update telling you to return the nirnroot and stating you have found 30 samples when you have actually found less. Once you have the required amount, you will be able to return it and the quest should continue as normal.
  • Once all thirty Crimson Nirnroots have been collected the option to give them to Avrusa is not there, thus freezing the quest.
    • Simply drop one and pick it back up to continue the quest.
  • If you place Crimson Nirnroot in a container or follower's inventory, or otherwise remove it from your inventory, the appropriate number may or may not be removed from the quest log.
    • To complete the quest even if the quest log does not represent the actual amount of Crimson Nirnroot you have in inventory simply go to Avrusa with thirty in your inventory, and the quest will complete itself without updating in the journal.
    • The number of Crimson Nirnroot in the quest log is thrown off if you transfer them to or from a container in groups. If you place more than one in a container at one time the quest log will think you only moved one. The quest log number can be corrected by placing them in a container and pulling them out individually (e.g., it says you have nine but you have ten: place two in a container at one time, and then pull them out one at a time). You can also get the quest log up to 30/30 with this method, but you cannot complete the quest without thirty in your inventory.
    • To fix the count directly, use the console commands: set NN01Count to amount and UpdateQuestInstanceGlobal NN01 NN01Count . Note that this will not cause the quest to advance if set directly to 30. To do so, drop one and pick it up again.
• Certain samples of the Crimson Nirnroot can in very rare cases be impossible to pick up and added to your inventory. ^?
  • This bug can be fixed by reloading a previous save. If reloading does not work, you can try picking up other samples of the Crimson Nirnroot.
• If you have 31 Crimson Nirnroots and you eat one of them, even though you still have 30 and the quest still says you have 30, the quest marker will disappear and will register that you only have 29. ^?
  • To fix this, just find one more Crimson Nirnroot and the quest marker will reappear along with the "Completed" text.

Quest Stages

A Return To Your Roots (NN01)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
15		I've discovered an unusual ingredient called Crimson Nirnroot. Objective 5: Discover the significance of Crimson Nirnroot
20		I've discovered the remains of Sinderion, an alchemist from Skingrad in Cyrodiil. He was exploring Blackreach in search of the Crimson Nirnroot, and appeared to be on the brink of an amazing discovery. Objective 10: Collect Crimson Nirnroot in Blackreach (<Global=NN01Count>/30)
		(Upon collecting the thirtieth Crimson Nirnroot) Objective 20: Bring 30 Crimson Nirnroot to Avrusa Sarethi
200	Finishes quest	I have brought my Crimson Nirnroot to Avrusa Sarethi, a former student of Sinderion. She was overjoyed that I was able to complete Sinderion's field work and pledged to continue his research in his memory.

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 10.

Notes

• Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, 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.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage NN01 stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest NN01.