Tainted Grail: Temptation Quest Guide
Temptation is a Cuanacht side quest built entirely around a persuasion check, with no fighting and no kill choice. Vrell sends you to recover books that the Red Priest Brother Ismat took because he thinks they are dangerous. The trick is that you cannot talk Ismat into returning them until you have read three sermon books in the room first. Do that, pick the right lines, and you walk away with the books, a chunk of XP, and a standing discount on future book purchases.
Here is how to clear it without getting stuck on the persuasion.
Vrell sends you after the books
Vrell tasks you with recovering books that Brother Ismat stole. Ismat is a Red Priest, and from his point of view he did the right thing: he believes the books are dangerous and took them to keep them out of the wrong hands. He is not going to hand them back just because you ask. The whole quest hinges on changing his mind, and you cannot do that cold.
Read all three sermon books first
This is the step people miss. Before you can unlock the persuasion dialogue with Ismat, you have to read all three sermon books in the room. They are sitting right there, and reading them is what arms you with the argument you need. Skip them and the persuasion option will not open up, which is where most people get stuck on this quest. Players walk into the room, talk to Ismat straight away, hit a dead end, and assume the quest is bugged. It is not. The books are the key, and the conversation stays locked until you have read every one.
Read all three, then turn to Ismat. There is no fighting to prepare for and no stat check to fail, so the only way to stall out here is to skip the reading.
Convince Ismat to return the books
With the sermon books read, the persuasion dialogue unlocks. Choose the correct lines to convince Ismat that the books are better off returned. The reading you just did is what makes the right answers available, so this is a check you pass with preparation rather than a stat gate or a fight. Land the persuasion and Ismat gives up the books.
He hands over the Package of Books. That is your proof for Vrell and the object of the entire quest. No combat, no sacrifice, just a man talked out of a decision he made in good faith.
Return to Vrell for the reward
Bring the Package of Books back to Vrell. You earn roughly 2,100 XP and, more usefully long term, a discount on books. If you buy recipe and skill books from Vrell, that discount keeps paying out across the rest of your playthrough, which makes Temptation one of the better-value persuasion quests in Cuanacht.
Why the book discount is worth it
The XP is nice, but the discount is the reason to do Temptation early rather than late. Recipe books speed up how fast your Cooking, Alchemy, and Handicraft skills climb, and any food or potion recipe you learn from a book is one you can then craft on demand instead of buying off a shelf. A standing discount on those books lowers the cost of building out your crafting repertoire, and the earlier you lock it in, the more purchases it covers. For a character that leans on consumables or self-made gear, Temptation pays for itself several times over the course of a playthrough.
The quest is also a clean win for roleplay reasons. You resolve the whole thing without drawing a weapon, and Ismat keeps his life and his conscience intact, which is a rarer outcome in Cuanacht than you might expect.
For the rest of Cuanacht's side quests and how they fit the larger story, the walkthrough hub lays out the region quest by quest, and the crafting guide covers how recipe books feed the three crafting skills.