Bring back runaway serfs is a quest given by a lord of a friendly faction. The lord will have a "Pitiless" personality type. Accepting this quest makes Marnid, Jeremus and Ymira unhappy.
Briefing[]
(Lord) asked you to catch the three groups of runaway serfs and bring them back to (village), alive and breathing. He said that all three groups are heading towards (town).
Walkthrough[]
Upon exiting the town menu, three groups of peasants (called Serfs) will appear from the town. These small groups are trying to emigrate to another town mentioned by the quest giver, but you are forced to wait for an hour before you're able to do anything.
When you talk to them, you get the options to let them go which will boost your relation with the village they originated from, or tell them to return which does the opposite. Be sure to keep fairly close to those you tell to return; if you wander too far, they will try to run again. Each of the three groups must be spoken to separately and each will give +1 relation for +3 total with the village if all three are let go.
If you decline the quest, fail, or tell the lord you cannot complete it, then you will lose 1 relation with him. If you intentionally let the serfs go, you will lose 10 with him.
Tips[]
It is highly recommended to have a high Path-finding skill in order to catch them faster. When the serfs are out of sight, decent Tracking and Spotting skills are useful as well.
If you don't wish to do this quest, the best option overall is to accept the quest, talk to and let all three serfs go, then return to the lord who gave you the quest and tell the lord you don't want to do it. The net result is -1 relation with the lord and +3 relation with the village. The drawback is it can potentially upset six companions.
Transcript[]
Quest Briefing[]
Well, some of the serfs working my fields in (village) have run away. The ungrateful swine, I let them plough my fields and rent my cottages, and this is how they repay me! From what I've been hearing, they're running to (town) as fast as they can, and have split up into three groups to try and avoid capture, I want you to capture all three groups and fetch them back to (village) by whatever means necessary. I should really have them hanged for attempting to escape, but we need hands for the upcoming harvest, so I'll let them go odd this time with a good beating.
- You can count on me, sir.
- Excellent, (player), excellent. I have every confidence in you.
- I fear I cannot accept such a mission at the moment
- Is that so? Well, I suppose you're just not up to the task. I shall have to look for somebody with more mettle.
Quest Failure[]
(Player), I have been waiting patiently for my serfs, yet none have returned. Have you an explanation? Were you outwitted by simple fieldhands, or are you merely incompetent? Or perhaps you are plotting with my enemies, intending to ruin me...
- Forgive me, sir, those serfs were slippery as eels.
- Hmph, that is hardly an excuse for failure, (player). Now if you will excuse me, I need to recruit new men to work these fields before we all starve.
- Perhaps if you had treated them better...