This quest has given countless people endless frustration.
Sorry.
This quest was originally going to be the first in a series of 3 mercenary quests. Because it was intended to be a quest that even lowbie mercs could do, I designed it with the intent of teaching the mercenary that even warriors need to stop, have patience, and THINK sometimes instead of just using brute strength all the time (they aren't savage barbarians, after all).
The second quest was going to be a series of skill-tests, and the third was going to be a show of power. But I didn't stick around long enough to finish them.
This first quest has ALWAYS worked perfectly for me, and as many times as people have complained to me about it, even when I try to figure out how they can screw it up and try to emulate it, it still works perfectly for me, EVERY time. For years I've been at a loss whenever somebody cannot figure out this quest, or when someone can't complete it even when I tell them exactly what to do. I probably should have used less steps in retrospect... I have a feeling that what screws some people is that they think it's not working because they haven't done the correct action enough times.
Sry.
