Nope - you've just got to do *everything* and go everywhere and eventually you'll find what you need. What works for me is to be a pack rat - pick up and keep everything [except for books - you can read/sell most of them, and weapons/armors you can replace]. Quest system reminds me of Risen, Gothic 3, etc - the quest givers give you a general idea of what to do or where to go - but you have to do a little bit of leg work to actually find what they want.
