'At long last you've arrived on the coast of Britannia, but if you are to travel over the land, you'll need horses and supplies.'
Parsley Sage Rosemary Thyme is a storyline quest that begins immediately upon landing for the first time on the beaches of Scarborough.
First Contact
Your hirdmen will notice figures on the clifftops above you watching your arrival, and two braver souls on the beach getting a closer look. Heading west, you will see the two onlookers run away up a curved slope. Following after them leads you into a roadblock of defenders. There are two ways to approach this: with peace or with violence.
- Selecting "Tell them to throw down their..." gains morale with aggressive followers, but loses morale with peaceful ones.
- Selecting "Explain that we just need horses..." has no morale consequences.
- Selecting "Ask them to lead the way..." loses morale with aggressive followers.
- Selecting "Lies! They're getting reinforcements..." then the option to attack gains morale with aggressive and conceited followers, but loses morale with open minded and peaceful ones, and leads to combat.
Peaceful Route
Choosing the non-aggressive dialogue will lead to you meeting a monk by the name of Morcant. He will ask where you came from and what your intentions are. If you state your intention as being something different than what you said back in Skjern, one of your hirdmen will make note of it. Head onward with the monk and you will meet the Chieftain of the village.
- Selecting "We are not raiders..." loses morale with aggressive followers.
- Selecting "That better not have been..." loses morale with peaceful followers.
- Selecting "Is there nothing i can do..." gains morale with open minded followers, but loses morale with conceited ones.
- Selecting "I will not ask you this politely..." gains morale with conceited followers, but loses morale with open minded ones.
After this brief conversation, you will have the option to let Morcant join your hird as a 'translator' of sorts.
You also have the option to attack the villagers. The village elder will survive the fight and you can question him to gain more information on whereabouts. After that, you can either kill him or spare him.
"Bandits"
If you decided that you will do a favour for the village, you should head northeast until you come across their camp. When you located the outskirts of the camp, you can select the following options:
- Selecting: "There must be ways to solve this problem peacefully." will start a conversation. (this option is only available if Morcant is following you)
- Selecting to start combat immediately will initiate battle.
- Selecting "Take out their archers...", will kill one or two of their archers (if the protagonist has some skill with the bow) before initiating combat. The battle will be easier to win though.
In case you talk to the bandits, you will learn that they were once seafaring merchants from Mercia. They sailed their ship on a cliff nearby on misty day, because the villagers intentionally didn't light the warning beacon. As a result, they lost their ship, lost most of their goods, are unable to travel anywhere else and became bandits due to lack for better options. During your conversation, you can convince them to pillage the church, check if the facts are true by talking to the village. The elder will confirm the facts, but because they are unable to help them, you must help the villagers or the merchants to advance the quest.
Taking out the bandits
After the battle, you can return to Maucolyn to share the news of the bandits. He will then give your hird horses so that you may continue your travels. Now that you have the villagers' trust, you can talk to them and gain access to all quests.
Looting the monastery and helping the merchants
If you decide to talk to the "bandits" you can convince them to join your raid on the monastery. They will fend off the villagers, while you beat the nuns and ransack the monastery. Morcant will heavily object against the plundering of the church, but you can convince him to stay with you.
Inside the small church, you will have to find two small chests containing 1,500 valuables each and one large chest containing 3,000 valuables. There are also some other items, but you can't leave the church until you take the contents of the chest.
Once outside, talk to the leader. You can select to:
- Share the loot and passing a medium Sense check, you can give them 2,000 valuables instead 3,000. You earn 5 reputation with the Mercia faction.
- Share the loot. You will give them half and lose 3,000 valuables as a result. You earn 5 reputation with the Mercia faction.
- Kill them. You don't have to share the loot, but you will lose reputation with the Mercia faction for certain.
Note that if you side with the merchants or attack the monastery, you'll lose access to the following quests: Earth and Weald, Fire and Steel, The Seventh Commandment, The Wearh in the Woods and Wreck And Ruin. You can still start An Axe to Grind, but the quest will close after you take the loot inside the dinghy.
Looting the monastery without the merchants
If you attack the monastery without the merchants and before completing Parsley Sage Rosemary Thyme, Morcant will become hostile and a group of villagers will fight you outside the church.
Helping the Village and Looting the Monastery
It is possible to defeat the bandits in order to help the village, thereby unlocking all the quests for Scarborough for extra skill points and lore. Once you have done them, you can actually decide to attack the monastery for its precious valuables within. Morcant will leave your party as soon as you attack the monastery, so if you want to keep him with you, make sure that he is not in your party or following you when you attack the church.
Reward
- 10 Skill Points
- Possible 3000/4000/6000 Valuables if looting the monastery.
- Possible 5 reputation with Mercia.
- Morcant as a follower if you allow it. Also unlocks the achievement The Travelling Monk.
- Unlocks the quests; King of Northumbria, King of the Picts, and Lord of Seals.