As was typically lazy me of me I did indeed fail to restart the game after installing
the 3.1 patch…

Just used a quickstart save made just after creating my Malk char… Didn't seem to
matter initially (didnt think it would since I hadn't taken any quests). I hope I didnt
screw my game elsewhere (i.e main quest, too late to restart now)…

Anyway thanks for your suggestions. I'll try them out.