Clandestine Cargo

 is a task in.

Synopsis
Imatl is the sole survivor of a ship that tried smuggling Engwithan relics into Defiance Bay. After Animats summoned from the relics slaughtered the crew, he managed to steer it into the bay where it hit ground. He now hopes to recover a specific artifact in exchange for an honest wage.

Walkthrough
If you step on the docks just south/south-west of the Vailian Trading Company in Ondra's Gift, you'll see Imatl looking for help. He is an old deckhand who was part of a riverboat crew carrying several crates of cargo, including a few boxes of Engwithan artifacts. Several suits of armor from the Cliaban Rilag attacked the crew, causing the ship to run aground. Now Imatl's looking for someone to retrieve three missing pieces of a broken Engwithan scepter. He knows an animancer who would be willing to buy the artifact if all the parts are found.

Accept the task and search the bay during low tide and retrieve all three pieces. You will have to fight through Animats and Rain Blights, which are resistant to piercing, so crushing weapons and spells are advisable. The scepter pieces are in the following locations:

Return to Imatl, where you have the options to:
 * Pay him 200  for the final piece of the scepter. You can haggle this down to 100   regardless of your attributes.
 * Intimidate him into giving you the final piece with 14 Might, or steal it with 14 Dexterity. These will both result in Moderate Negative reputation with Defiance Bay.

Now head to the Brackenbury Sanitarium and look for Nans. You have the options to:
 * Selling the pieces to her. She'll give you 500, but with Lore 4 or Perception 14 you can convince her to give you 700.
 * If you made the previous Lore or Perception check, you can also have her repair the scepter for 1,800 . With Resolve 13 she will lower the price to 1,500  . This will give you the Engwithan Scepter.

Role-playing tips

 * If you haven't gotten the relic-buying animancer's name from Imatl, (i.e., you did not pay him for the final piece), and you go to the Sanitarium, you might want to hold off talking to Nans – the animancer who is interested in the scepter. Many of the animancers, including Nedyn just outside and those in the basement, offer a dialog option of asking if they buy relics. It's a one-time option, but it remains even after having asked Nans and completing the quest.