Lore:Debaser

Debaser is a shortsword with blue inlaid writing, and enchanted to drain a victim's Willpower and Endurance. Little to nothing is known about the artifact itself.

History

In 3E 433, the Bosmer Thoronir opened a shop in the Imperial City's Market District, and greatly disrupted the economy by massively undercutting the competition. The cities' Society of Concerned Merchants, which was created to keep an economic balance in town, attempted to recruit the undercutter, but he refused to join. Disgruntled, the society hired a mercenary to investigate the source of Thoronir's merchandise, which they suspected was gotten by illicit means.

The investigation led to the acquisition of evidence that revealed that Thoronir's dealer was not a simple trapper, but a Nordic grave digger named Agarmir. His journal revealed that he dug the graves of the wealthy in cities all across Cyrodiil. One of the items of note was the Debaser itself, taken from the resting place of a Oford Gabings from Anvil. After confronting Thoronir about his dealer, he revealed that he had no idea where Agarmir got his goods, and led the mercenary to the direction the Nord was planning to be. In reality, the gravedigger set a trap, and attempted to slay the interloper, but was put down. With the dealer gone, Thoronir joined the Society of Concerned Merchants, and donated his ill-gotten goods and the gold obtained from their sale to the Temple, thus eluding the wrath of the Imperial Watch, and helped re-stabilize the economy. Despite the Debaser being gained by gravedigging, it was kept by the Mercenary, with no efforts made to retrieve it by the Imperial Watch.

Gallery

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  Debaser (Oblivion)

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  Unused ESO icon

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  Another possession of Oford Gabings, a possibly cursed ring (Oblivion)

Notes

• Oford Gabings's, Debaser's former owner, is an anagram of Frodo Baggins. The manifest of his possessions lists several items that Frodo carried during The Lord of the Rings trilogy, including a "travel cloak with silver and green leaf fastener", an "enchanted shortsword with inlaid writing", a "leather bound travel journal", and a "gold ring with inscription (cursed?)". For more details on the Easter egg, please see the related page.
  • Debaser is therefore likely a reference to Frodo's Elven dagger, Sting, indicated by its blue inlaid writing which are reminiscent of Sting's ability to glow blue.
• There is a sword named Debaser in ESO.

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Oblivion article.