Online:Protus

Protus
Location	Kemel-Ze, Telvanni Peninsula
Race	Factotum	Gender	No Gender
Health	39,959
Reaction	Friendly
Other Information
Follower	During A Memory of Mystery

Protus

Protus is a factotum located in Kemel-Ze in the Telvanni Peninsula that is responsible for overseeing the security of the Dwemer ruin and Sotha Sil's laboratory within.

Related Quests

• A Memory of Mystery: Save Sotha Sil's laboratory from hostile invaders.

Quest-Related Events

At the request of Thoryn Armas, you will enter Kemel-Ze to deal with the Painted Eye who are invading and to find the Apostle Nilphas Drethan. You will find the latter who is looking over the broken down Protus. When you speak with him, he will inform you that he is in the middle of dealing with the mercenaries and asks you to leave as he goes further into Kemel-Ze:

<Nilphas runs towards the doors and locks them as he goes through.>

Nilphas Drethan: "I'm locking this door behind me. You can see yourself out."

<The nearby factotum begins to move and speak.>

Protus: "Alert. Deception. Danger. Repair Construct. Stop the betrayer."

Speak with Protus to see what is going on:

"Analyzing. Subject: Unknown. Threat Detection: Unknown. Begin Friendly Introduction. Greetings, I am Protus. Kemel-Ze Security Oversight ….
Error. Diagnostic Check …. Error. Error."

Deception? Danger? What's going on here?

"Dreaming … burnt fields. Rust. Apostle Nilphas Drethan Override. Doors: Unlocked. Painted Eye Hostiles. Outer Laboratory: Compromised.
Error. Dreaming: Incomplete. Diagnostic Test: Failed. Protus Model: Critical Components Missing."

Nilphas Drethan let the Painted Eye in?

"Conclusion: Affirmative. Imperative: Stop Apostle Nilphas Drethan. Protus Security Oversight: Error.
Protus Assistance: Repair Required. Critical Components Missing."

Where can I find your missing components?

"Scanning for Components. Percipience Cortex: West Wing. Cognition Cluster: West Wing.
Self-repair Protocols: Accessible. Components Required."

Speaking to them again:

"Error. Critical Components Missing.
Critical Component Location: West Wing."

After you collect the Percipience Cortex and Cognition Cluster from the West Wing, you can return to Protus:

"Scanning Component Location: Components Nearby.
Insert Into Palmar Shelf."

I'll just give these to you.

"Percipience Cortex: Functional. Cognitive Cluster: Restored. Corporeal System Repair: Complete.
Hello. I am Protus, Kemel-Ze Security Oversight Construct. I ensure that the inner laboratory is not disturbed until the Creator—Lord Seht—returns."

You're fixed now?

"My form is fully functional, but my memory and connection to the systems here remain fractured.
Nilphas Drethan removed the Mnemonic Fragments which facilitated that connection. We will need to install new ones."

What are Mnemonic Fragments?

"Another of Lord Seht's early projects. Later, he stored his memories in the stars, but in Kemel-Ze he was more grounded. They can connect information to the inner workings of the laboratory.
Importantly, they are compatible with my form."

If we find the Mnemonic Fragments, you'll be able to reconnect to the laboratory?

"Affirmative. These are the locations of the major Mnemonic Fragments.
Find them and my systems will be fully restored."

Protus will now become your follower, and companies you when take the elevator downwards. You can then speak with them about the Mnemonic Fragments and the labs they are contained in:

"The Mnemonic Fragments house Lord Seht's insights, and preserve them within the system of Kemel-Ze so they cannot be forgotten.
I located the largest fragments, which can also restore my connection to this laboratory. Hurry, please."

How do the Mnemonic Fragments work?

"Assembling metaphor. Dreaming … steaming kettle. Sunrise. Metaphor complete.
Think of Kemel-Ze as a clock. The fragments are the gears which keep the clock running. As with a clock, the fragments are connected to the whole and to each other."

Will incorporating the fragments into your body remove the stored memories?

"I will not need to access the memory storage component of the fragments, only their connection to Kemel-Ze as a whole.
Our interfering with the fragments may cause their stored memories to reveal themselves, but they will remain intact within me."

Where can I find the Mnemonic Fragments?

"The rooms are named after their contents, for precise documentation purposes. They are the Fauna Study, the Floral Atelier, and the Laboratory of Sparks. Each represents a different avenue of Lord Seht's research."

The following questions appear after you visit each area:

I assume there were animals in the Fauna Study?

"Magic has long known the mechanics of the body and its repair. But Lord Seht wasn't satisfied with repair. He sought improvement. Of rabbits, guars. All things.
He quickly settled on metal enhancements and began their exploration here."

Tell me about the Floral Atelier.

"What is a world without plants?
Lord Seht thought it was no world at all. Even the driest of deserts contain floral life. It is everywhere and so it must exist in the Clockwork City."

Laboratory of Sparks? What sort of name is that?

"It hails from one of his more energetic moments. He had a revelation, early in his project, to focus on metal as the medium for his new world. While flesh decays and bark rots, metal can be preserved.
This laboratory is his spark."

In the Laboratory of Sparks, you can witness the following recording:

<Sotha Sil and Protus are showing to be standing next to three corpses.>

Sotha Sil: "You think. You talk. You move and you have a name. What is missing?"

<Sotha Sil extands his hand and uses magic on the Protus with him.>

Sotha Sil: "You, Protus, have more purpose than half of all mortals. So why aren't you better than them?"

<The figures in the memory disappear.>

Protus: "The Creator left before I could learn the answer to his question."

While in the Floral Atelier, you can witness the following recording:

<Sotha Sil is shown observing a flower.>

Sotha Sil: "I've studied countless specimens, none are without flaws yet all achieve a sort of beauty."

Sotha Sil: "Is that it? In order to create a form this pure, must I master the art of irregularities?"

<The figures in the memory disappear.>

Protus: "It took the creator a long time to differentiate mandatory flaws from those he could improve upon."

While in the Fauna Study, you can witness the following recording:

<Sotha Sil is shown crouching next to a verminous fabricant.>

Sotha Sil: "Given time, your joints will wear down. Your precision footpads will dent and crumble."

Sotha Sil: "But, in this moment—and only this moment—you are perfection itself."

<The figures in the memory disappear.>

Protus: "Self-repair was the only way the Creator could circumvent inevitable deterioration."

After you have collected all three Mnemonic Fragments:

Protus: "Return to the antechamber. I will meet you there so we can gain entrance to the inner laboratory."

Speaking with Protus here:

"We have collected all the required fragments, I cannot reconnect to Kemel-Ze's security apparatus here. We must return to the antechamber."

Once you arrive in back in the antechamber, Protus will do another search:

Protus: "Security oversight protocols becoming available. Searching for Apostle Nilphas Drethan."

Protus: "Dreaming … soft robes. Furrowed brows. Apostle's journal available. Talk to me while my connection is restored."

Talking with Protus, they will quickly realize what Niphas is trying to do:

"Laboratory security and oversight protocols restored. Locating Apostle Nilphas Drethan. Dreaming … damp cloth. Polished key.
Apostle Nilphas Drethan and several unregistered guests approach the Clockwork Probabilis."

What is the Clockwork Probabilis?

"Intrinsic forces govern events on Nirn. Some are constant—like the force which compels objects to fall to the ground—while others defy prediction and categorization. The Probabilis allows for willful manipulation of such forces."

So the Probabilis controls these rules?

"It is a prototype. A precursor to Lord Seht's great work: the Throne Aligned. If Apostle Nilphas Drethan activates the Probabilis, Nirn will suffer destabilization. Loss of life will far exceed acceptable thresholds.
Safeguards breached …."

What's wrong?

"The Painted Eye breached the door to the inner laboratory. They are close to the Clockwork Probabilis, and Apostle Nilphas Drethan is with them.
I will use the security measures to hinder them, but we must protect the Probabilis."

Where is the Clockwork Probabilis?

"Through the door Apostle Nilphas Drethan used when we first met. It will open for you now."

You can speak with Protus again to ask more questions:

"After analyzing the situation, I conclude that it is dire. We must protect Lord Seht's work from falling into unauthorized hands.
Please, reach the Clockwork Probabilis before the Painted Eye or Apostle Nilphas Drethan."

What does Nilphas Drethan want with the Clockwork Probabilis?

"Dreaming … sunrise. Netches suspended in air. Insufficient knowledge, Apostle Nilphas Drethan's motivations are hidden, never shared.
Perhaps the recorded journals he kept will shed more light on this line of inquiry."

What could he or the Painted Eye do with the Clockwork Probabilis if they had it?

"The Clockwork Probabilis simulates control over formative rules of existence. It is a prototype. Unfinished.
Still, manipulating it will produce effects. And improving it beyond the bounds of Lord Seht's work? That could have untold consequences."

As you enter the through the door, you will spot Nilphas watching you from above:

Nilphas Drethan: "Protus, you're active?"

<Nilphas leaves the balcony.>

Protus: "Halt Apostle. You won't reach the Probabilis."

Further along the passage to the inner laboratory:

Nilphas Drethan: "I will activate the Probabilis. It's what Seht wanted."

Protus: "Your hypothesis is incorrect. This will only result in catastrophic failure."

The third time you see Nilphas, he will announce he has activated the Probabilis:

Nilphas Drethan: "You're too late. The Clockwork Probabilis is mine to control."

Protus: "We must stop him. Before his actions cause irreparable damage."

You then chance Nilphas to the Inner Laboratory, you will find it is a vast room, with one wall being replaced with a window showing you are below the sea. At the far end of the room, Nilphas can be found at the controls of the machine.

Protus: "We arrived too late. Apostle Nilphas Drethan activated the Probabilis. Stop him before it makes a lasting change."

Speaking with Protus at this point:

"Apostle Nilphas Drethan reached the Clockwork Probabilis.
We must stop him before he fully controls its power."

Once you have defeated Nilphas Drethan, you can examine the Clockwork Probabilis and end up collecting the Probabilis Mnemonic Fragment. At this point, the following happens to Protus:

Protus: "Hidden directive activated. Dreaming …"

<A purple light gathers around their head and they slump forward unmoving. The image of Sotha Sil appears on the platform in front of them.>

Sotha Sil: "It works. I knew it would, but combining Mnemonic Fragments in this way is complicated."

After speaking with memory fragment of Sotha Sil, the projection will disappear and Protus reactivates.

Protus: "The Creator is done, but I have more to say."

You can speak with them to complete the quest:

"Your work here is complete. I thank you for your service. If you would not mind returning to Thoryn Armas, please tell him that his presence is no longer needed in Kemel-Ze."

Thoryn won't be able to come back here?

"He is mortal. Mortals can be swayed to endanger the security of Kemel-Ze. I'm sure Thoryn Armas will quickly be assigned to another sacred site. Do not fear for Thoryn Armas.
I will maintain this laboratory on my own. It is my duty."

What about the Painted Eye?

"Without Nilphas Drethan to guide them, the Painted Eye's presence here will dwindle until the halls are quiet once more.
I will work with the security systems in order to drive the Painted Eye out."

How long will that take?

"I cannot say. It may only take a few hours, or it could take a season. It depends on how stubborn they are. But after they are gone, I will begin the locking sequence. Like my creator before me, I will shun the world of mortals."

You're going to lock the doors?

Leaving and returning to the conversation before completing the quest:

"Protus is stable. Kemel-Ze is unknown. Additional information is needed.
Error. Proceed with caution."

It seems like you've thought of everything.

"Not me. The creator—Sotha Sil— did. My directives must be detailed and precise as I oversee many systems here in Kemel-ze.
I have one last directive to fulfill before beginning my new duties. Here, this is payment for the services you rendered."

Speaking with Protus again before leaving:

"My security measures will ensure that whatever Painted Eye remains here is dealt with. The rest of my routines are set, I will care for Kemel-ze and ensure that it is protected."

Gallery

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  Protus