Feedback on Quest: Find the Missing Key [SPOILERS]

Continued questing in Aerie reveals that the in-game journal is still extremely buggy and clunky. Key point: I'm guessing that "Find the Missing Key" is the name of this quest because once I got past the first step, the titles of the tasks and journal entries changed. Shouldn't there be some sort of consistency in order to be able to follow quest threads?

I had to rush through this write-up. Too much stuff to note. So if I missed anything or made a mistake, please tell me. In any event, here we go...

The "Find the Missing Key" quest has seven simple parts and one optional part:
1. Talk to Vivienne
2. Fetch Key #1
3. Talk to Vivienne
4. Talk to James Cook
5. Talk to Premislaus
6. Fetch Key #2
7. Optional: Break into Aerie Bank Vault
8. Talk to Vivienne

Part 1: Talk to Vivienne
- BUG The highlighted key words in conversations don't always clear at the bottom of the conversation window. Also, if you repeat some keywords the ones highlight shift back and forth. I am not pro/con about these, just saying that if they are there, they should work properly. This happens with every dialogue.
- When a character mentions a location, such as "The Dry Flagon" or "The Eye of Fate" they should ALWAYS be key words with more information.
- Clunky writing with "Xenos" keyword: "We have a neighborhood on the southwest side of town named "Little Xenos," in honor of its founding residents who originally came from the original Xenos." Both words are probably unnecessary.
- BUG In response to Aerie: "You truly aren't from around here, are you." Question should have a question mark.
- Clunky response to "truth": "people lie to the guard often enough that I'm a bit suspicious of if it means anything any more." BUG anymore should probably be used here (adverb indicating time vs. specifying quantity). This is not one that spellcheckers catch!

Part 2: Fetch Key #1
- The key is quite obvious, seemingly marked by a statue, on the side of the path in Little Xenos. Realistically, someone would have picked it up already. Is there a better and more hidden spot? Suggestion, behind the wall and statue?
[EDIT: I just learned there are other possible locations. Why? They seem just as obvious and the quest wikis will eventually include these too.]
- When you retrieve the key, it stays on the ground. I know this perhaps a limitation of the mechanics, but it had me searching my inventory - did I really pick it up? And even after completing the quest you can still go back and get the Little Xenos key again. This makes no sense as it was James' one key.
- The journal entry after I pick up the key says:

So I am assuming that you could start this quest by picking up the key. However, the game gives you something you would have no way of knowing... "I wonder if Vivienne the bank guard lost it..." Again here we run into a limitation of the mechanics. But this is especially disconcerting since when you turn in the key to Vivienne, she says it is engraved with the word "James". So why do you assume it's Vivienne's?
- BUG The blank space is not the end of my journal as you can tell by the upturned corner.
- BUG Compare the journal entry above to what I saw as I flipped forward in the journal and then tried to come back to that page:

So not only did the journal somehow get reformatted, but the missing first entry of the quest suddenly reappears.
- Why do the quest entries have an Earth timestamp instead of a New Britannia one?
- Why are the timestamps in a color that makes them almost unreadable?
- Inquiring about the key at the Eye of Fate or the Dry Flagon is strange. Would be nice if people could respond to it since it is logical that you might ask others about it. When I used "key" with Stanley Adams, he says, "First we bury the dead, then mourn. But in time, they will rebuild Blood River." I don't know if this text should be in his standard "I don't know" response.

Part 3: Talk to Vivienne
- BUG When you turn in the key, Vivienne says: "I see it has "James" has etched into it."
- Vivienne also says, "Take back this Little Xenos key and bring it to James." Seems a clunky way to refer to the key - simply to match the inventory item. Would seem more natural to remove, "Little Xenos".
- BUG It's a little thing, but commas are used poorly. In response to "James": "He's a fan of the drink, but friendly and mostly harmless." Commas are only used when a conjunction links an independent clause. This is technically an invalid comma.
- Annoying keyword problem: Vivienne uses the words "free time" in response to "James". Free is underlined and leads to a response about free lots in Aerie. Keyword crossover is rampant in dialogue, and may not be able to be fixed from a mechanics perspective. However, the one thing that could be done is to use alternate words when triggering the keyword doesn't make sense. So for example, Vivienne could use "down time" or "leisure time" instead of "free time". There's always an alternate way to say something.
- BUG That being said, the response to free is: "Select a lot and hit 'Set Compass Destination' and I will give you directions using your compass." A comma must be used here before the "and", because the conjunction links an independent clause. This may seem picky since most wouldn't notice, but it's the difference between being amateur and professional. If the game is ok with amateur, I'm ok with it.

Part 4: Talk to James Cook
- The greeting is: "Hail and well met! I'm James Cook, sea captain of... eh? What's that key you're waving around in my face?" Was I? Again the game is assuming something I'm doing. I always disconnect when I encounter these presumptive elements.
- BUG There is no response to the highlighted keyword "Premislaus". Make sure that the response mentions he moved to East Longfall Wetland after his property business failed because that's what the journal entry says!
- BUG In response to "key": "I scoured the ground for it, but found a different key." No comma.
- Considering that the key is in plain sight and close to the tavern, James must have really been sauced not to find the key as he says. Even more reason to hide it better as I mentioned above.
- As already mentioned - there should be a keyword for "East Longfall Wetlands" not just "Longfall". Characters should be able to tell you in general where these locations are!
- In response to rumors: "The strangest sight I've seen at sea is The Citadel, an underwater city of pirate souls battling under the waves. If the water is calm and clear, you can just make it out." Rumors don't have to be true, but this makes it sound like he's seen it himself. Would be cool if you could actually see this too!
- BUG In response to "dry flagon": "I've drank in every port in Novia" Past participle is drunk. Drank is simple past tense.
- BUG In response to "help": The comma strikes again! "I help out Captain Xander on Elonson's Folly from time to time but I'm past being tied down with a crew." Comma after time.

Part 5: Talk to Premislaus
- BUG "Key" was a bolded keyword at the dialogue box but at some point disappeared before I used it. I could still type it though.
- BUG In response to "Aerie": "I had a home in Aerie, and a job above a bank, but now I live in this hovel." No comma after Aerie please.
- BUG In response to "job": "I diligently plyed my trade out of the Bank of Aerie." Spelling is "plied".
- In response to "key", Praemislaus "says" *Gulp!*. Are asterisks a convention for describing sounds or maybe a visible but silent action? I thought there was a general rule about describing these sorts of things in the game by LB or someone.
- In response to "key": "You can have it... I can reveal to you its secret location!" Sounds a little grand for just hiding it under the rug... especially since I talked to Premislaus in his house.
- BUG In response to "location": "I knew James has the vault key as soon as he pulled it from his pocket." Should be "had".
- BUG Also in response to "location": "Please, I beg of you, forget I ever existed and I shall fade into the swamp." Comma after existed.

Part 6: Fetch Key #2
- The journal entry after finding the key says, "Finally! While searching through the house..." It wasn't all that hard so the relief of "finally" seems off. Also, Premislaus told me where the key was so I didn't "search through the house"!
- When I return to Premislaus: "Hello again, outlander. I hope you're not here to hurt me... *gulp*" Seems like he should have relaxed by now seeing that I took the key. Also, you really can't attack him anyway so what's the point of this fear?

Part 7: Optional: Break into Aerie Bank Vault
- An interesting part of this quest is that you CAN use the key you retrieve to get into the Aerie vault. However, the banker has no reaction whatsoever when you open the two vault doors. Can't this happen? Can't the banker call for the guard and Vivienne storm in and end the quest differently? Perhaps not. Even being banned from the bank for a time would be great.
- The key is for the vault, so you think it would be for the OUTER door. That is the vault door. The inner door is just an interior room in the vault.
- I always have confusion with the doors. Clicking on a key hole doesn't open the door after using the key, you have to move to the rest of the door. Why doesn't using the key just open the door?
- There is nothing in the vault. There should be something for choosing to use the key for ill. Even just a little gold. I got a guide to the Necropolis and a pair of old cloth boots. SO WHY IS VIVIENNE SO WORRIED ABOUT GETTING THE KEY BACK? This is probably the biggest disappointment of the quest, the biggest unrealized potential.
- Hopefully using the key in the vault dings your virtue. However, there is no way to know whether this is the case. Please let it be so... please let us see glimmers of the promise that "choices have consequences".

Part 8: Talk to Vivienne
- BUG No final entry appeared in my journal (in the knowledge section).
- BUG When you turn in the key: "Take this reward, and my gratitude. You've earned both, several times over." Both commas should not be used.
- In response to "honest person", Vivienne still says: "I knew you were an honest person! Thank you so much for finding my missing key." Except that I broke into the Aerie vault. She was probably even close enough to hear me do it, and anyway the banker should have called her in.
- Hopefully if you do return the key without entering the vault, you get a bonus to virtue. Again, please let it be so.
- Vivienne doesn't respond to the keyword "vault". Maybe she should be able to say something to highlight the possibility of using the key to break in?

A final note about sieges: As annoying and nonsensical as they are when you are questing, the message says, "you must fight your way through". This is not true. You can run through, as many do.

Overall, again another quest that needs substantial improvement.