Please help!! I started the Reluctant Steward quest at some point in time many many saves ago. I've activated the quest, talked to everyone imaginable, and can't find Varona's dead body anywhere from Tel Mithryn to Raven Rock. That means I can't get the black book behind the unpickable lock with no key to pickpocket. More importantly, the quest won't go away and it's driving my OCD crazy. I'm on XboxOne. PLEASE HELP!!

You could try a hard restart (power start) and see if that helps, which resets the game and clears the cache. The only other thing to do is to find a save before you started the quest. One needs to make several different saves in case things like this happen.

The body appears to not be found in any one location.

In my plays I have found the body usually on the path along near the stream, but my most recent play it was at the foot of the Stairway.

From the UESP:

• Varona will sometimes not end up dead in her intended place, but instead somewhere around Tel Mithryn. The quest will progress normally upon examining her body.
  
  • This bug is fixed by version 2.0.3 of the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Tes5Mod:Unofficial_Dragonborn_Patch.
  
  


• Varona can die without you being able to reach her, preventing you from completing the quest. For example, the quest marker will show her location, but she might have been set under an obstacle such as a rock. Another possibility is that her body simply never appears and you do not get a quest marker guiding you to her. The quest marker for her body has also appeared off the map of Solstheim, with just an arrow pointing the direction.
  
  • To get her body from under the object, try using the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Unrelenting_Force shout. In some cases her body will be blown clear, and you can finish the quest.
  
  
  • Another way to get her body from under an object is to activate the Ritual Stone found between Whiterun and Valtheim Towers. Then use that power on the rock where she is stuck. Once she is reanimated, you can kill her and finish the quest.
  
  
  • Use the console by typing in prid xx0177DD (where 'xx' is a number that depends on how many DLCs you have installed, determine it by opening the console and clicking on an object in Solstheim) and then moveto player to move her directly to you, or moveto xx017E8E to move her to where she was supposed to be.
  
  


• Sometimes Varona's body will show up without clothes.


• http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Dragonborn:Bralsa_Drel claims she'll take the job for some http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Skooma, but even if you have some, you can't give it to her. There does seem to be an unused line of dialogue in the game data that suggests it may have been possible one point, however she refers to Neloth as a female: "Skooma! Lovely skooma. But I'd sooner give it up than go work for her [sic]. That dunmer is crazy!"
  
  • This bug is fixed by version 2.0.3 of the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Tes5Mod:Unofficial_Dragonborn_Patch.
  
  

I'll try the hard restart and see if that helps. I usually have about 8-10 saves going. This quest just seemed so minor that I moved on to more exciting things. When I went back to it much much later is when I ran into problems. I don't have any kind of directional marker appear when I activate the quest. My fear is that the dead body cleanup removed her carcass. Thanks for your help.

I seem to not understand something about this quest. Every time I started it I done so by finding her body. Is there some other way to start the quest?

If you talk to Neloth in Tel Mithryn, he gives the quest during conversation. He wants tea and he can't find his steward. I've started the quest and talked to everyone in the area about it. Just can't find her body. When the quest is active, I don't get a quest marker. I have given up hope on my LAST black book ??

From what I just read,

That is all I know. Otherwise you will have to find the body to continue, which is supposed to be somewhere northwest.