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Hobriaut181

In Too Deep

Map quest, level 29. 181st of 194 in play order.

Quest giver: Hobriaut, Central Shroud (X 16.6, Y 18.6).

Next: Doing the Dirty Work ›

Steps

  1. Obtain water samples from Hopeseed Pond.
  2. Deliver the bottles of water to Hobriaut.
Journal
  1. Hobriaut is suffering at the hands of the taskmaster Marcette.
  2. You agree to conduct a water survey on behalf of Hobriaut, who has been worked to the point of exhaustion by the unforgiving taskmaster Marcette. Obtain three bottles of water from Hopeseed Pond.
  3. You have completed the water survey entrusted to the young researcher Hobriaut. Deliver the three bottles of water to him.
  4. Though your assistance will spare Hobriaut from feeling Marcette's wrath today, the young researcher still fears for his life.
Hidden
Title reference 'In too deep' means so caught up in a situation that you cannot cope or get out. It fits Hobriaut, stuck working for Marcette and afraid he will fall into the pond and drown.
Characters 2

  • Marcette

    Marcette is the naturalist Hobriaut works for, and she keeps him very busy.

    What you know from earlier quests 2
    • #179 Fungal Frolic: Marcette is very proud and bossy, and treats you as one of her assistants. She orders five toadstool caps, finds their spores much denser than before the Calamity (a past disaster), and laughs at her discovery. Then she asks who you are.
    • #180 Shocking Discoveries: Marcette names you Research Assistant Six and gives you a jar. She loves the spark and threatens to shock lazy assistants with it. She plans to shock toadstools to make them multiply fast. She forgets your number and sends you away.

  • Hobriaut

    Hobriaut is a young researcher worn out by his work for Marcette. He has just brought her three hundred hornet stingers.

What happens in this quest spoilers for this quest
  • Marcette: Hobriaut calls Marcette a fiend and a monster. She sent him for three hundred hornet stingers, then straight off to survey the water at Hopeseed Pond. She calls her helpers by numbers, not names.
  • Hobriaut fears he might fall into the pond and drown, so you take the water survey at Hopeseed Pond for him. He thanks you, but dreads Marcette's next tasks and fears for his life.
Dialogue 6 lines

Accepting the quest

Hobriaut

I swear to you, that woman is a fiend! A monster! A greater danger to this realm than all the beast tribes put together, and then some! Why, I speak of Marcette, of course.

//: survey water at three points

Hobriaut

No sooner did I return with the three hundred hornet stingers she requested than she sends me off to conduct a water survey at Hopeseed Pond! In my condition, I'm like to fall in face-first and drown. Oh, friend, I'm too young to die! Please say you'll help me...you must!

  • DE Wärst du vielleicht so freundlich, einem Mann am Rande des Abgrunds - das darfst du übrigens wörtlich nehmen, denn ich glaube, einige der anderen Assistenten hat sie tatsächlich in dieses Loch dort gestoßen - etwas Hoffnungsschimmer-Wasser aus dem Teich zu schöpfen? ‘Would you be so kind, to a man at the edge of the abyss - you may take that literally, for I believe she actually pushed some of the other assistants into that hole there - as to scoop some Hopeseed water from the pond?’ English says he fears falling in and drowning; German says he believes she pushed other assistants into the hole.

Deliver the bottles of water to Hobriaut.

Hobriaut

I don't want to be Research Assistant Seven, Twelve, or Forty-three! I just want to go hoooooome─hm? Ah, praise the gods, you're back. Were you able to complete the survey?

  • FR Je ne veux pas être l'assistant numéro un, trois ou vingt-sept ! ‘I don't want to be assistant number one, three or twenty-seven!’ English lists Research Assistant Seven, Twelve or Forty-three; French lists number one, three or twenty-seven.
  • DE Ich wünschte, ich hätte genug Geld, um mir einen Anwalt zu leisten, der mich aus diesem Knebelvertrag rausboxt. ‘I wish I had enough money to afford a lawyer who would get me out of this gag contract.’ English says he doesn't want to be another numbered assistant; German wishes he could afford a lawyer to break his contract.
  • DE Die nächsten Nächte habe ich dann meist kein Auge zugetan - vor Schmerzen. ‘The following nights I mostly didn't sleep a wink - from the pain.’ English greets your return; German says after each escape attempt he couldn't sleep for pain.
  • JA もう何人いるかわからない「第一助手」なんか辞めたい……。 ‘I want to quit being "First Assistant", of whom there are who knows how many by now...’ English lists Research Assistant Seven, Twelve or Forty-three; Japanese mentions countless "First Assistants".

One, two, three samples from Hopeseed Pond. Wonderful! I cannot thank you enough. Though I cannot help but ponder what other backbreaking tasks might be in my future... Pluck the wisdom teeth of a goobbue? Procure a leaf from a treant's head? The gods only know.

  • FR Voler de la mousse sur le dos d'un goobbue ? ‘Steal moss from a goobbue's back?’ English imagines pulling a goobbue's wisdom teeth; French imagines stealing moss off a goobbue's back.
  • DE Deinen Namen will ich vor meinen Kindern in Liedern preisen, wenn es mir vergönnt ist, noch so lange zu leben! ‘I will praise your name in songs before my children, if I am granted to live that long!’ English dreads the backbreaking tasks to come; German vows to sing your praises to his children.

Grandfather, Grandmother...can you hear me up there? Your dear grandson shall be joining you all too soon...