Contact Information

Table of Contents

How to Use This Guide

Gameplay.....................................................GP00

Controls & Icons..........................................GP01

Game Mechanics............................................GP02

Radiant AI.............................................GP02-A

The Leveled System.....................................GP02-B

Time, Waiting & Resting................................GP02-C

Travel, Horses & Quest Markers.........................GP02-D

Mini-games: Lockpicking & Persuasion...................GP02-E

Enchanting, Spellmaking & Soul Gems....................GP02-F

Combat....................................................GP03

Heavy Melee............................................GP03-A

Light Melee............................................GP03-B

Archer.................................................GP03-C

Magic..................................................GP03-D

Magicka Effects...........................................GP04

Frequently Asked Questions................................GP05

Main Story...................................................MS00

Tutorial..................................................MS01

Deliver the Amulet........................................MS02

Find the Heir.............................................MS03

Breaking the Siege of Kvatch..............................MS04

Weynon Priory.............................................MS05

The Path of Dawn..........................................MS06

Dagon Shrine..............................................MS07

Spies.....................................................MS08

Blood of the Daedra.......................................MS09

Blood of the Divines......................................MS10

Miscarcand................................................MS11

Bruma Gate................................................MS12

Allies for Bruma..........................................MS13

The Wayward Knight (Cheydinhal)........................MS13-A

Bravil.................................................MS13-B

Anvil..................................................MS13-C

Chorrol................................................MS13-D

The Battle for Castle Kvatch...........................MS13-E

Leyawiin...............................................MS13-F

Skingrad...............................................MS13-G

Defense of Bruma..........................................MS14

Great Gate................................................MS15

Paradise..................................................MS16

Light the Dragonfires.....................................MS17

Imperial Dragon Armor.....................................MS18

Fighters Guild...............................................FG00

A Rat Problem.............................................FG01

The Unfortunate Shopkeeper................................FG02

The Desolate Mine.........................................FG03

Unfinished Business.......................................FG04

Drunk and Disorderly......................................FG05

Den of Thieves............................................FG06

Amelion's Debt............................................FG07

The Master's Son..........................................FG08

More Unfinished Business..................................FG09

Azani Blackheart..........................................FG10

The Wandering Scholar.....................................FG11

The Fugitives.............................................FG12

Trolls of Forsaken Mine...................................FG13

The Stone of St. Alessia..................................FG14

The Noble's Daughter......................................FG15

Mystery at Harlun's Watch.................................FG16

Information Gathering.....................................FG17

Infiltration..............................................FG18

The Hist..................................................FG19

Expelled From the Fighters Guild..........................FG20

Mages Guild..................................................MG00

Anvil Recommendation......................................MG01

Bravil Recommendation.....................................MG02

Bruma Recommendation......................................MG03

Cheydinhal Recommendation.................................MG04

Chorrol Recommendation....................................MG05

Fingers of the Mountain................................MG05-A

Fingers of the Mountain, Part II.......................MG05-B

Leyawiin Recommendation...................................MG06

Skingrad Recommendation...................................MG07

A Mage's Staff............................................MG08

Ulterior Motives..........................................MG09

Vahtacen's Secret.........................................MG10

Necromancer's Moon........................................MG11

Liberation or Apprehension?...............................MG12

Information at a Price....................................MG13

A Plot Revealed...........................................MG14

The Bloodworm Helm........................................MG15

The Necromancer's Amulet..................................MG16

Ambush....................................................MG17

Confront the King.........................................MG18

Mages Guild Suspension....................................MG19

Thieves Guild................................................TG00

May the Best Thief Win....................................TG01

Independent Thievery......................................TG02

Untaxing the Poor.........................................TG03

The Elven Maiden..........................................TG04

Ahdarji's Heirloom........................................TG05

Misdirection..............................................TG06

Lost Histories............................................TG07

Taking Care of Lex........................................TG08

Turning a Blind Eye.......................................TG09

Arrow of Extrication......................................TG10

Boots of Springheel Jak...................................TG11

The Ultimate Heist........................................TG12

Cast Out of the Thieves Guild.............................TG13

Dark Brotherhood.............................................DB00

A Knife in the Dark.......................................DB01

A Watery Grave............................................DB02

Accidents Happen..........................................DB03

Scheduled for Execution...................................DB04

The Renegade Shadowscale..................................DB05

The Assassinated Man......................................DB06

The Lonely Wanderer.......................................DB07

Bad Medicine..............................................DB08

Whodunit?.................................................DB09

Permanent Retirement......................................DB10

Of Secret and Shadow......................................DB11

The Purification..........................................DB12

Affairs of a Wizard.......................................DB13

Next of Kin...............................................DB14

Broken Vows...............................................DB15

Final Justice.............................................DB16

A Matter of Honor.........................................DB17

The Coldest Sleep.........................................DB18

A Kiss Before Dying.......................................DB19

Following a Lead..........................................DB20

Honor Thy Mother..........................................DB21

Whispers of Death.........................................DB22

Dark Exile................................................DB23

Knights of the Nine..........................................KN00

Pilgrimage................................................KN01

The Shrine of the Crusader................................KN02

Priory of the Nine........................................KN03

Nature's Fury.............................................KN04

The Path of the Righteous.................................KN05

Stendarr's Mercy..........................................KN06

Wisdom of the Ages........................................KN07

The Faithful Squire.......................................KN08

The Sword of the Crusader.................................KN09

The Blessing of Talos.....................................KN10

Umaril the Unfeathered....................................KN11

Epilogue..................................................KN12

Side Quests..................................................SQ00

Quest Index..................................................QL00

Alphabetical Index........................................QL01

City/Region Index.........................................QL02

Miscellaneous Adventures.....................................MA00

Home Ownership............................................MA01

Skill Training............................................MA02

Vampirism.................................................MA03

Alchemy...................................................MA04

Expanding Your Game..........................................XP00

PC Optimization...........................................XP01

PC Console Commands.......................................XP02

Mods......................................................XP03

Version History & Credits....................................VH00

Legal........................................................LG00

To quickly jump to a section, copy the section code, press CTRL-F and paste

the section code in the search box.

~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

Oblivion is a huge game, and very much free-form. You can spend 100 hours

playing the game and never touch the main quest. You can play through the main

quest a half-dozen times and never do the same side quests twice. In addition,

some dungeons and quests are randomly generated. There's no way to write a

typical linear walkthrough for this game.

So here's how the walkthroughs are organized:

* Main Story: First up is a step-by-step walkthrough of the main story quests.

The main story does advance in a fairly linear manner, so each step along the

journey will be laid out. Of course, you do not have to complete the main

story in any sort of time limit and you can take your time and do lots of side

quests during the main story. However, the Main Story walkthrough will concern

itself only with the quests that are directly connected to the main story.

* Guild Quests: There are four guilds in Oblivion--Fighters, Mages, Thieves

and the Dark Brotherhood (assassins). Each guild has numerous quests

associated with it, and each has its own section in this part of the guide.

* Knights of the Nine: This mini-expansion to Oblivion includes previously

released material through Bethesda's official mods store (both for PC and

X360). The main KoN quest is described after the guild quests; other KoN

content is scattered through the Side Quests and Expanding Your Game sections.

* Side Quests: Everything that doesn't fit into the previous categories is

organized here in alphabetical order by quest name.

Before all the walkthroughs is a rundown of basic gameplay in Oblivion,

including the controls, how the Radiant AI works, combat hints and frequently

asked questions.

At the end of the walkthroughs is an index of every quest in the game, with

the section number where you can find the mini-walkthrough for that quest. The

index is organized both alphabetically and by city/region.

A complete breakdown of the character system in Oblivion, including all the

skills, races, birthsigns, etc. is in a separate document, located at:

http://www.papagamer.com/faqs/oblivion_character.txt

After the quest walkthroughs is Miscellaneous Adventures, which covers buying

and furnishing houses, vampirism and training your skills (including the

Master Training quests).

The guide wraps up with Expanding Your Game, which covers optimizing your PC

to run Oblivion well, using console commands (on the PC) for that extra edge

and mods (mostly for PC, but some for X360 as well).

The main point of Oblivion is to explore, have fun and immerse yourself in the

world. The game simply cannot be adequately covered in words; you have to

experience it for yourself. But, if you get stuck, feel like you're in over

your head, or just can't figure out how to do that one little thing...then

this guide is here for you.

[GP00]

~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GAMEPLAY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

*SAVE EARLY*

*SAVE OFTEN*

*KEEP LOTS OF SAVES*

Oblivion, like any major, western-style RPG, has its share of glitches and

ways things can go wrong. Frequently, the only solution is to go to an earlier

save. You should make a new save at least every 15 or 30 minutes and keep at

least 15 to 20 savegames. The number of savegames is limited only by your hard

drive capacity and many people keep hundreds of saves. (That's probably a

little over-board; but, still...) It's easy to find that a decision you made

three or four hours ago, playing time, was a bad one and you will want to go

back and fix it. On the other hand, you don't want to go back to a several-

hour-old savegame if all you need to do is get around a glitch that just

happened.

*SAVE EARLY*

*SAVE OFTEN*

*KEEP LOTS OF SAVES*

It can't be repeated too often.

[GP01]

<~~~~~~ CONTROLS & ICONS ~~~~~~>

These are the default controls for the game:

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

| ACTION | PC (keyboard/mouse)+ | XBOX 360* |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Movement | W, A, S, D | Left stick |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Camera | Move mouse | Right stick |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Activate | SPACE | A button |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Jump | E | Y button |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Run | Left SHIFT | Movement speed is |

|------------------------+------------------------| controlled by the |

| Always Run (toggle) | CAPS LOCK | force on the left stick|

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Ready/Sheath Weapon | F | X button |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Attack | Left mouse button | R trigger |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Power Attack | Hold left mouse button | Hold R trigger + |

| | + movement key | move left stick |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Shoot Arrow | Hold left mouse button | Hold R trigger to aim, |

| | to aim, release to fire| release to fire |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Block/Bow Zoom | Right mouse button | L trigger |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Cast Spell | C | R button |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Grab | Z press-and-hold | L button press-and-hold|

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Sneak | Left CTRL | Press left stick |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Journal | TAB; You can also open | B button |

| | a journal tab directly | |

| | F1 - Stats | |

| | F2 - Inventory | |

| | F3 - Spells | |

| | F4 - Map/Quests | |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Hotkeys | 1 - 8 | D-pad |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Assign Hotkeys | Press-and-hold 1 - 8 | Press-and-hold D-pad |

| w/Inventory Open | and click item | and select item (A) |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Game Menu | ESC | Start |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Wait | T | Back |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Switch View (1st/3rd) | R | Press right stick |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Vanity Mode | Press-and-hold R | Press-and-hold rt stick|

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Quicksave | F5 | |

|------------------------+------------------------+------------------------|

| Quickload | F9 | |

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

* Xbox 360 Controls list courtesy of Styck and GOSFreak from GameFAQs.

+ The PC version does support gamepads; however, there are some problems with

the default control setup. Find your Oblivion.ini file (typically in

My Documents\My Games\Oblivion) and open this file in a *text* editor such

as Notepad. (Don't use Word or WordPad or other word processing program.

Stick with a simple, plain text editor.)

Find these lines in the section headed [Controls]:

fMouseSensitivity=0.0020

;X = 1, Y = 2, Z = 3, XRot = 4, YRot = 5, ZRot = 6

iJoystickMoveFrontBack=2

iJoystickMoveLeftRight=1

fJoystickMoveFBMult=1.0000

fJoystickMoveLRMult=1.0000

iJoystickLookUpDown=6

iJoystickLookLeftRight=3

fJoystickLookUDMult=0.0020

fJoystickLookLRMult=0.0020

These are the default movement (left analog stick) and camera (right analog

stick) controls. Specifically, the Look (i.e. camera) controls may not be

set properly for your joystick. If moving the right analog stick has no

effect on the camera, change these two lines:

fJoystickLookUDMult=0.0020

fJoystickLookLRMult=0.0020

Increase the value of 0.0020 to something significantly larger, such as

0.5000. If the camera still does not respond or is sluggish, increase to

1.0000 and so on until the camera responds to the right joystick in a way

that works for you.

Additionally, you may find the camera movement does not correspond

correctly to the joystick movement: i.e. the camera moves up and down

as you move the stick left and right. In that case, switch these values:

iJoystickLookUpDown=6

iJoystickLookLeftRight=3

so that you have:

iJoystickLookUpDown=3

iJoystickLookLeftRight=6

You may also need to change some of these values completely depending on

your controller and your controller's drivers. You can set the buttons

within the Controls Options of the game.

| Icons

+-------

When in first-person perspective, the center of the screen is occupied by a

crosshair. When you mouse over a target, the crosshair changes depending on

the target.

* Face: NPC, Activate the NPC to talk to him or her

* Crown: plot critical NPC, Activate the NPC to talk to him or her

* Open hand: a loose item, press Activate to take the item

* Closed fist: something that can be manipulated (such as a door or switch),

press Activate to...well...activate the item

* Pottery jar: container, press Activate to open the container

* Door: a door, Activating may open the door or take you to another area

depending on the door

* Lock: this icon appears in the lower right corner of the screen when a door

or container is locked.

* Moon and stars: a bed, Activate to sleep in the bed

* Book: a book or note, Activate it to read the item

* Stool: a chair, bench, etc., Activate it to sit down, press Activate again

while not targeting anything to stand up

* Horseshoe: a horse, press Activate to mount the horse, press Activate again

while not targeting anything to dismount

* Bat: NPC, Activate the NPC to feed on him or her (can only be used when you

are a vampire)

* Eye: indicates you are in Sneak mode

Sometimes icons display in red. When you see a red icon, don't touch the item

or you'll be accused of a crime. Unless, of course, you're trying to commit a

crime, then go ahead and touch away...

[GP02]

<~~~~~~ GAME MECHANICS ~~~~~~>

Most of the basic gameplay elements are dealt with during the tutorial. How to

pick things up, how to drop them, how to equip weapons and spells, how to

Sneak, etc. But, there are a lot of things going on under the hood that the

tutorial never mentions. This section covers all those extra game mechanics.

| Radiant AI [GP02-A]

+---------------------

Radiant AI is Bethesda's name for its NPC scripts. NPCs in Oblivion are

supposed to "act like real people". At first, this really seems to be the

case. After a few hours invested in a city, you'll see it's just another bunch

of scripts strung together with some pseudo-random events to give the feel of

actual intelligence.

Here are some of the things the Radiant AI does:

* NPCs keep a schedule. Their schedule is occasionally randomized, but, for

the most part, these characters move around eating, working, sleeping and

other activities at different times of the day on a regular schedule.

* NPCs react to crimes. Enter one's house uninvited and they'll call for

the gendarmes. Hit someone and they'll scream, "Assault!" Etc.

* NPCs talk to one another as they pass on the street. After spending a

couple hours in a city, you'll have heard every variation on conversation

there is. (Since everything in Oblivion is voice acted, the number of

conversations is quite limited.) Sometimes, hearing these conversations

opens up a new topic for you, often leading to a quest.

Here are some things the Radiant AI does not do:

* Force you to keep a schedule. For the most part, if someone tells you to

meet them at midnight tonight or else, you can show up at midnight three

weeks later and they'll be there waiting patiently for you. There are very,

very few quests in Oblivion that actually require you to act within time

constraints.

* React to assaults on allies. The vision/hearing of every NPC in Oblivion

must be impaired. If you have two enemy mages on opposite sides of a large

room, you can blow one of them to smithereens while the other wonders

aloud about the rats. This does help with combat since you don't want lots

of bad guys swarming you, but it is kind of ridiculous.

Example: right after killing the captain of a ship, two sailors barged into

the cabin. The PC was hidden in the back room. Seeing the captain dead on

the floor, the sailors proceeded to engage in a random conversation. The PC

steps out of the back room and fires a spell at one of the sailors. That

sailor charges and is dispatched. The other sailor, still behind the

partition at the front of the cabin, complains about the loud noises made

by the rats.

That's the Radiant AI for you!

* Care much about the world around them. There are scripted instances where

you can't get help from someone because of an Oblivion gate nearby, but,

for the most part, while the big, bad demonic invasion is happening, most

NPCs still just want you to kill (or protect, depending on the situation)

the rats in their basement.

So, don't get your hopes up too high over the Radiant AI. The NPCs in Oblivion

pretty much act like the NPCs in every other RPG, except they don't just stand

around waiting for you to show up (unless you're in the middle of a quest

requiring they just stand around until you show up--in which case they'll wait

for months).

And, even if a quest-target NPC is moving around, the convenient objective

marker on your map will always show you where he or she is.

| The Leveled System [GP02-B]

+-----------------------------

Oblivion uses a system that matches enemy levels to your PC's level. It does

this in two ways:

* Changes the type or number of creatures you face. For example, at low

level, the daedra you fight inside Oblivion are mostly scamps and the

occasional clannfear runt. At higher levels, you'll start seeing dremora,

adult clannfear, atronachs, etc.

* Increases the level of the enemy. This is mostly used on boss creatures.

For example, the opponents you face in the Arena are always the same, but

their level, skills and equipment increase in power as you increase in

power.

The leveled system means you never get in over your head. Whatever challenge

you face is always scaled to your level, so you can do anything at the

beginning of the game. This is also a drawback, as being able to complete any

quest even at level 1 is somewhat unrealistic.

The leveled system also means you never overpower your opponents. There are

never any "easy" fights against overwhelmed opponents. When you encounter

bandits at level 1, they are clad in fur and wield rusty daggers. If you

encounter them at level 20, they are clad in mithril and wield enchanted glass

short swords.

Treasure and store inventories are likewise leveled. At level one, you can

fight for your life through a three-level ruin, dispatching dozens of undead

and come away with a grand total of 32 gold, a flawed jewel and some day-old

bread. Going through the same ruin at level 10 can yield a couple hundred

gold, some soul gems and an enchanted weapon.

The leveled system also affects quest rewards. Finish Fingers of the Mountain

at level 3 and the spell you get is, to say the least, underwhelming. Finish

it at level 25 and you get one of the most powerful spells in the game

(assuming you have the Magicka to cast it). A sigil stone collected at level 5

is a lot less powerful than a sigil stone collected at level 15.

(*NOTE*: PC users can download a mod that corrects this problem.)

The leveled system does present some problems, especially in the main story.

There are a few quests where you have to defeat hordes of enemies, and you are

given help; or, you have to protect someone from enemies. In these cases,

having a higher level PC works against you since your allies do not similarly

increase in power. The last thing you want is a dozen dremora overwhelming the

guards around you, then turning all their attention on you. No matter how uber

you think your gear, you're not going to survive that.

There are some ways to work around this system:

1) Increase your class levels slowly. If you work mostly with minor skills,

and only increase your major skills (and, thus, your class level) when you've

locked in +5 modifiers for your attributes, then you'll run far ahead of the

NPCs of similar level. For more info on the skill/class system, see the

PapaGamer Character Build Guide at:

http://www.papagamer.com/faqs/oblivion_character.txt

2) Play at a lower difficulty level. If a quest is just too hard, turn the

difficulty down until you complete the quest.

3) Use a modded leveling system (see the Mods section near the end of the

guide). This will allow you to level more reasonably without having to pay a

lot of attention to the math. There are also mods that affect enemy leveling,

which makes the game much more interesting.

4) Use the Quest Reward Leveling mod (see the Mods section near the end of the

guide). This mod levels up quest rewards with your class level, so you'll

always have a use for those special gifts.

| Time, Waiting & Resting [GP02-C]

+----------------------------------

Time in Oblivion passes at the rate of 30 minutes for every one real minute

spent playing the game (not in Pause). So a 24-hour day takes 48 minutes of

real time to play through.

NPCs operate on schedules during the game day. Normal operating hours for

merchants are 8am to 8pm every day. In the cities, most of the rulers hold

court from 8am to 6pm every day. You can find a lot of NPCs at dinner in the

local tavern or castle dining hall around 8pm to 11pm most days. Etc. If

you're looking for someone and you don't have a quest marker for that person,

you can assume that person will be at home, sleeping, during the night. Etc.

The calendar is just like the Gregorian calendar, albeit with different names:

Gregorian - Oblivion Gregorian - Oblivion

--------- ------------ --------- ------------

January - Morning Star July - Sun's Height

February - Sun's Dawn August - Last Seed

March - First Seed September - Heartfire

April - Rain's Hand October - Frost Fall

May - Second Seed November - Sun's Dusk

June - Mid-Year December - Evening Star

Gregorian - Oblivion

--------- --------

Sunday - Sundas

Monday - Morndas

Tuesday - Tirdas

Wednesday - Middas

Thursday - Turdas

Friday - Fredas

Saturday - Loredas

The months have the same number of days as the Gregorian calendar, thus Last

Seed has 31 days, Heartfire has only 30, etc. The game begins the 27th of Last

Seed, Third Empire, year 433 (7/27/433--The in-game calendar displayed with

the debug console counts the months from 0 to 11, so August/Last Seed is month

7, not 8). You can see the current date by turning on the debug console (tdt)

and choosing page 0 (sdt 0).

What does all this mean?

Well, not much, unless you need to figure out an NPC's schedule. If a

character does activity X on weekdays, you know that means Morndas, Tirdas,

Middas, Turdas and Fredas. If it's currently Loredas, you've got to Wait two

days to catch the NPC. And so on and so forth.

At any time there are no enemies nearby and you are not trespassing you can

use the Wait command (default PC key 'T', Xbox 360 button 'Back'). You can

Wait in one hour increments up to 24 hours (one full day). Waiting any period

of time, even just one hour, fully restores your Health, Magicka and Fatigue.

This is a kind of cheap way to heal yourself up while spelunking--clear out

enough enemies and you can just Wait one hour.

You can also sleep, if you have a bed handy. The only times you have to sleep

are:

1) To increase your class level. Unless you're using a mod, or have turned on

instant leveling in your INI file, you must sleep in a bed to level up.

2) Certain quests require you to sleep in a bed; e.g. "Where Spirits Have

Lease" or during Dark Brotherhood quests.

An easy way to have access to cheap (i.e. free) beds is to join either the

Fighters Guild or Mages Guild. Just asking to join gives you a key to all the

guild halls, all of which have beds to sleep in. You don't even have to

perform any quests. Every city except Kvatch and Imperial City have halls for

both the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild.

| Travel, Horses & Quest Markers [GP02-D]

+-----------------------------------------

There are three ways to travel in Cyrodiil:

1) On foot, either walking or running.

2) By horse. Horse travel is faster than running (unless you have a very high

Speed attribute), but somewhat unreliable. You cannot fight while you're on a

horse, they're difficult to steer and they sometimes wander away while you're

dungeon delving.

There are seven horses or types of horses available (the Speed attributes in

these lists are somewhat misleading, as horses can move a lot faster than

humans, so only compare the Speed of a horse against other horses, not

humanoids):

* Paint: Speed 23, Combat 40, Attack Damage 10, Health 300

Paint horses are available in Bruma, Leyawiin and from Prior Maborel as part

of the "Find the Heir" main quest. Paint horses are the slowest, least combat-

worthy horses in the game. However, they are sturdy (300 Health), cheap and

you can get one free two minutes after you leave the tutorial dungeon.

* Bay: Speed 26, Combat 30, Attack Damage 10, Health 250

Bay horses are sold at the stables outside Bravil and Skingrad. They are not

as sturdy as Paint horses, but are faster.

* Chestnut: Speed 29, Combat 20, Attack Damage 10, Health 200

Chestnuts horses are faster; but, not as hardy as the Bay. They are sold in

Chorrol.

* White: Speed 29, Combat 50, Attack Damage 12, Health 400

The white horses of Anvil are the sturdiest regular horses available. They're

also pretty fast.

* Black: Speed 33, Combat 60, Attack Damage 15, Health 325

Cheydinhal's black horses are good combat companions and the fastest regular

horses in the game.

* Shadowmere: Speed 33, Combat 50, Attack Damage 20, Health 500

You obtain Shadowmere during the Dark Brotherhood quests. He is as fast as the

black horses of Cheydinhal and a better fighter, plus, he can never be killed!

(He just falls unconscious.)

* Unicorn: Speed 29, Combat 70, Attack Damage 45, Health 350

The unicorn is the target of a hunt instigated by the daedric lord Hircine.

While a fearsome combatant, he's not particularly suited to be your regular

mount. He doesn't like drawn weapons and will attack even you if you show

steel in his presence.

3) Fast Travel: while outdoors, open your World Map, choose a location and

click its icon. As long as there are no enemies nearby, you'll be asked if you

want to Travel there. Choose yes, and hey! There you are. Some caveats about

Fast Travel:

* Except for the city markers and a few quest-related locations (Weynon

Priory, Cloud Ruler Temple and a couple of others) you must have actually

visited the location to Fast Travel there. Even though someone marks the

location on your map, you must still get there by foot or horse first. Once

you have "discovered" a place, you can Fast Travel there as much as you want.

* If you own a horse, the horse Fast Travels with you (and is used to

calculate time passed, see below) even if you aren't mounted on the horse.

When Fast Traveling to a city, your horse is automatically stabled outside the

walls. There's no fee for stabling your horse.

* Time does pass when you Fast Travel, based on whether you're on foot or on

horse. It's not a large amount of time. Traveling from Cheydinhal in the east

to Anvil in the west takes only 11 hours on foot or 5 hours on a black horse.

* If you use the console to turn on all map markers (tmm 1), you can Fast

Travel to every marker.

QUEST MARKERS

---------------

Of course, all these travel options don't mean jack if you don't know where to

go. That's where the quest or objective marker comes in. On local maps, world

maps and your HUD compass, you'll see either a green or red arrow marker--

provided you have an active quest. This marker shows you the location or

direction in which your current objective is located.

This is why, many times in this walkthrough, you are told to go through

certain steps. You could, conceivably, skip some of the interrogations and

move straight to the target; however, without questioning people, you won't

get the quest marker on your maps and you'll be trying to find a marble in

oatmeal.

A red quest marker indicates the target is *not* in the same area as you. A

green quest marker indicates the target *is* in the same area as you. "Area"

in this sense does not mean the small "areas" loaded by the game as you

travel. You are in the same "area" if you are in the same world-space. This

means a target that is in the world-at-large is in the same area as you if you

are both outside cities and outside any building/dungeon--even if you are on

opposite sides of the map. Multiple arrows mean there are multiple targets--

i.e. more than one enemy you must kill or more than one location you must

visit.

Your quest journal has three tabs: active quest, open quests and completed

quests. Quest markers only show for the active quest, and there can be only

one active quest at a time. To change active quests, select an open quest and

click it. The open quest you selected becomes the new active quest and quest

markers change to reflect the new quest.

If you have no active quest, and you get a new quest, it automatically becomes

active. If you have an active quest, and you get a new quest, you are asked if

you want to Continue or Make This My Active Quest. Continuing adds the new

quest to open quests, but does not make it active. The second option,

obviously, marks the quest as active.

| Mini-games [GP02-E]

+---------------------

LOCKPICKING

-------------

Whenever you Activate a locked door or container, the lockpicking mini-game

starts. You'll see a stylized rendition of the internal workings of a lock.

Through the middle runs a hollow bolt into which your pick is inserted. This

bolt is held in place by from one (very easy locks) to five (very hard locks)

tumblers.

You may attempt to automatically open the lock using the Auto Attempt button,

or you may pick the lock manually. Move the pick under a tumbler and push up

(move your mouse up or press up on the control pad) to push the tumbler out of

the bolt. The tumblers are spring-loaded and will pop back down either

immediately or after a one- or two-second delay. While the tumbler is still

seated in the up position, LEFT-CLICK or press the right trigger to set the

tumbler. If you click at the wrong time, the tumbler falls back into place and

breaks your pick. Depending on your Security skill, other tumblers you have

already set will also fall and you'll have to set them all over again.

Security controls the lockpicking mini-game in three ways:

* Higher Security provides a more likely chance of success if you use the Auto

Attempt button to try to pick the lock.

* Higher Security keeps set tumblers in place when you break a pick by failing

to properly set a tumbler.

Novice: all set tumblers fall

Apprentice: up to three set tumblers fall

Journeyman: up to two set tumblers fall

Expert: only one other set tumbler will fall

Master: no other tumblers fall.)

* Higher Security causes tumblers to drop back down more slowly.

You can figure out when to set a tumbler into place in one of two ways:

* Keep pushing it up and letting it fall and watch the pattern. On more

complex locks the tumbler's pattern can be quite long. For example, an easy

lock might have a tumbler with a pattern of short-long-short-short. A more

complex lock might have patterns like short-long-long-short-short-short-long-

short-long. Once you've got the pattern, click to set on a long segment of the

pattern.

* Listen to the sound of the tumbler moving up. There is an extra, very quiet

click when the tumbler is going to stay seated for a second or two. That's

when you can set the tumbler. Once you learn how to recognize that little

extra click, you can pick locks very easily.

There are two ways to get around this mini-game:

1) Work on your Alteration skill and use Open Lock spells.

2) Perform Nocturnal's quest (as soon as you reach level 10) and get the

Skeleton Key. This unbreakable lockpick allows you to pick any lock just by

clicking Auto-Attempt until the lock opens.

PERSUASION

------------

Each NPC has a Disposition score that indicates how likely they are to give

you important information or Haggle with you (if a merchant). You can increase

an NPC's Disposition using a Persuasion mini-game. In some cases, getting or

continuing a quest requires you to get a high Disposition score with the

target.

*NOTE* You can also increase Disposition by using Charm spells, the Imperial

ability, "Voice of the Emperor", or the vampire ability, "Vampire's

Seduction".

To play the Persuasion mini-game, click the Persuade button (face icon on the

left of the conversation menu) during conversation. A segmented wheel opens

next to the NPC. There are four segments: Admire, Boast, Joke and Coerce.

During each round of play, you must perform each action once.

To perform an action, select it and LEFT-CLICK or Right Trigger. Of the four

actions, the NPC will love one, like one, dislike one and hate one. You can

tell the NPC's reaction by examining his or her face when you select the

action. Inside each action's segment of the wheel is a wedge. After each

selection, the wedges "rotate", changing their position.

There are four wedges: 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. They always rotate clockwise

and their order will differ from round to round. The actions the NPC loves,

likes, dislikes and hates will always be the same, so you only need to test

them at the beginning of the mini-game.

Basic gameplay involves choosing liked or loved responses when they are filled

with a medium or large wedge and choosing disliked and hated actions when they

have only a small wedge in them. All the while you're deciding which action to

pick, the NPC's Disposition is falling.

First, get a blank sheet of paper and sketch four large X's on it:

\ / \ / \ / \ /

\ / \ / \ / \ /

\/ \/ \/ \/

/\ /\ /\ /\

/ \ / \ / \ / \

/ \ / \ / \ / \

Start the Persuasion mini-game and quickly examine the NPC's reactions to each

action. Pause the game and note these reactions in the appropriate section of

your diagrams. In this example, the NPC (a city guard) loves Admire, likes

Boast, dislikes Joke and hates Coerce:

LV LV LV LV

\ / \ / \ / \ /

\ / \ / \ / \ /

LK \/ D LK \/ D LK \/ D LK \/ D

/\ /\ /\ /\

/ \ / \ / \ / \

/ \ / \ / \ / \

H H H H

Next, quickly examine the current position of the wedges, pause the game and

note these in your first X:

LV

\ 25 /

\ /

LK \/ D

75 /\ 50

/ \

/100 \

H

You can now extrapolate where each wedge will be for each selection:

LV LV LV LV

\ 25 / \ 75 / \100 / \ 50 /

\ / \ / \ / \ /

LK \/ D LK \/ D LK \/ D LK \/ D

75 /\ 50 100 /\ 25 50 /\ 75 25 /\100

/ \ / \ / \ / \

/100 \ / 50 \ / 25 \ / 75 \

H H H H

The strategy is simple: First determine in which turn you get the 25% wedge in

Hate and take that--in this example, it is the third turn. Then you want the

100% wedge in Love, or, if that's unavailable (because it occurs in the same

turn as 25% in Hate), then take 75% in Love (second turn in this example).

Then Dislike when it is lower--of the remaining turns (first and fourth),

Dislike is lower in the first. So, the correct strategy for this round is:

Dislike (50%), Love (75%), Hate (25%), Like (25%). You then start the next

round and your opening looks like this:

LV

\100 /

\ /

LK \/ D

25 /\ 75

/ \

/ 50 \

H

Planning ahead yields: Love (100%), Like (50%), Dislike (25%), Hate (25%).

You'll get a greater increase in Disposition this round than the previous

round. Continue until you've maximized the NPC's Disposition.

Your Speechcraft skill can help with the Persuasion mini-game in several ways:

* At Apprentice rank, you can get a free rotation of the wheel during

the mini-game.

* At Journeyman rank, the NPC's Disposition falls more slowly while

you're making your decisions.

* At Expert rank, there is less reduction in Disposition from the

hated response.

Once you get good at this mini-game, you won't need to sketch out your moves;

you'll be able to do it in your head, which dramatically decreases the time it

takes to sweet-talk NPCs.

| Enchanting, Spellmaking & Soul Gems [GP02-F]

+----------------------------------------------

Sooner, rather than later, you're going to be depending on enchanted weapons

and/or armor for survival. You may also find that you want a specific type of

spell that you can't find anywhere from a spell merchant--perhaps you want a

stronger healing spell, but the only stronger ones sold are too high in level

for you to use.

Regardless, you're going to be interested in three things:

* Enchanting your own items (armor, clothing, weapons and jewelry)

* Recharging enchanted weapons

* Making your own spells

SPELLMAKING

-------------

To make your own spells requires access to an Altar of Spellmaking. In the

base game, Altars of Spellmaking are only available in Arcane University to

Apprentices (and higher) of the Mages Guild. That means you have to complete

the seven Recommendation quests. You can get an Altar of Spellmaking in

Frostcrag Spire if you buy the Wizard's Tower official plug-in -- no guild

membership necessary.

Activate an Altar of Spellmaking and you'll be presented with a simple menu.

At the top is a box where you enter your spell's name. On the left is a list

of effects from spells currently in your spellbook. You can only create new

spells using effects you already know--magnitude isn't relevant.

So, if you want to create a spell that does 50 points of fire damage and you

still have Flare (5 points fire damage) in your spellbook (the spell you're

given in the starter dungeon), you can create your 50-point fire damage spell.

When you choose an effect, you get a new window with four controls:

* Range: one of Self, Touch or Target

* Magnitude: strength of the spell

* Area: how large of an area will be affected by the spell (if you select

Self as the Range, this option disappears)

* Duration: how long the spell lasts

(Some of the sliders may not show depending on the effect. For example, Detect

Life only shows Magnitude and Duration. Other effects may show additional

controls, for example an Attribute control for picking an Attribute to Fortify

or Drain.)

Along the bottom of this window you will see the current number of Magicka

points required to cast the spell based on your skill rank in the appropriate

spell school (next to the lightning bolt icon), the cost to create the spell

(next to the gold coin icon with the arrow) and the total gold you currently

possess (next to the right-most coin icon).

You can manipulate these sliders to get similar effects at different costs.

For example, a spell causing 50 points of fire damage on Target costs 33

Magicka to cast and 99 gold to create. A spell causing 10 points of fire

damage for 5 seconds (total 50 points) costs only 21 Magicka to cast and 63

gold to create. Add a 10-foot explosion to that spell, and it still only costs

32 Magicka to cast and 96 gold to create. (Magicka costs based on Destruction

rank of 100.)

You can combine effects, even effects from different spell schools in a single

spell. The spell school under which the spell falls is determined by the first

listed effect. The skill rank needed to cast the spell is determined by the

spell cost.

ENCHANTING

------------

In addition to finding a lot of enchanted equipment in the world, you can make

your own. To do so, you need to use an Altar of Enchanting or a sigil stone

(the ones you collect when you close an Oblivion gate). The only Altars of

Enchanting in Cyrodiil are in Arcane University--so you'll have to complete

the Mages Guild Recommendation quests to get in there. (Alternately, you can

buy the Wizard's Tower official plug-in and get your own Altar of Enchanting

without joining the Mages Guild.)

To enchant an item with a sigil stone, simple select the sigil stone in your

inventory. Each sigil stone shows two effects: one defensive/buffing effect

and one offensive effect. For example, a stone may show the effects of Fire

Resist and Fire Damage. When you select the stone and click it (or press the A

button), you get a menu showing your available weapons and worn items that

have no enchantments. Select a weapon to get the offensive effect added to

that weapon. Select an item of wear to get the defensive effect added to that

item. You can also name your item. No altars or soul gems are needed to

enchant the item. You will still need soul gems or varla stones to recharge

the item.

In order to enchant an item without using a sigil stone, you must have a soul

gem with a captured soul. Souls and soul gems come in five sizes: petty,

lesser, common, greater and grand. The enchantment ability is determined by

the size of the soul, not the size of the gem.

When you Activate an Altar of Enchanting, you get a menu showing a box across

the top for the name of your item. On the left you can Add Item--you can

enchant any weapon or item you can wear (clothing, armor, rings or amulets).

On the right you can Add Soul Gem, selecting the filled gem you want to use

from your inventory.

After you've selected an item, a list of effects--governed by the effects you

know how to cast (i.e. have similar spells in your spell book)--shows in the

left-hand box. Effects you have added to your item show in the right-hand box

as you add them.

ENCHANTING WEAPONS

--------------------

Weapons can have multiple enchantments, but you must add all enchantments at

one time. Once an enchanted weapon has been made, you cannot add enchantments

to it. The size of the soul you use to enchant the weapon determines how many

total charges the weapon will have:

Petty: 150 charges

Lesser: 300 charges

Common: 800 charges

Greater: 1200 charges

Grand: 1600 charges

When you choose an effect to add to the weapon, you get a window with three

controls:

Magnitude: strength of the effect

Area: how large of an area will be affected by the weapon

Duration: how long the effect will last

(Some effects, such as Drain Skill, will show an additional control.)

Below you can see (from right to left): the number of charges used per hit

with the weapon, the number of uses you'll get before the weapon needs to be

recharged (this is the total charges from the soul divided by the number of

charges used per hit), the cost to create the weapon and the total gold you

have in your pockets.

As you manipulate the sliders to create the effect, the number of charges per

hit will go up (or down) with corresponding dips or increases in the number of

uses.

To recharge any enchanted weapon:

* Use a filled soul gem from your inventory, the number of charges restored

from the soul is the same as the number of charges that size soul provides

when enchanting (i.e. 150, 300, 800, 1200 or 1600)

* Use a varla stone in your inventory. Varla stones fully recharge every

enchanted weapon in your inventory.

* Pay a recharger. Various merchants (most in the Mages Guild halls) will

recharge your weapons. They charge one gold per charge restored.

ENCHANTING ARMOR, CLOTHING AND JEWELRY

----------------------------------------

Items you wear can only have one enchantment placed on them. You select the

item, the soul gem and the effect. The magnitude of the effect is determined

by the size of the soul in the gem. The range is always self and the duration

is always constant. Enchanted wear items do not have charges associated with

them.

SOUL GEMS

-----------

For purposes of enchanting and recharging, soul gems are highly useful. Of

course, they must first be filled with a soul. You capture souls using a Soul

Trap spell. Cast Soul Trap on an enemy and kill that enemy before the Trap

spell wears off. The enemy's soul will go into the smallest empty gem in your

inventory that is still big enough to hold the soul.

For example, you have an empty lesser and an empty greater soul gem. If you

capture a petty or lesser soul, it will go into the lesser gem. If you capture

a common or greater soul, it will go into the greater gem. If you capture a

grand soul, it will be wasted because you don't have an empty grand soul gem

available. If you capture a lesser soul, then a petty soul, the lesser will go

to the lesser gem and the petty will end up in the greater gem.

You can only capture the souls of creatures that are not one of the ten player

races (Argonian, Breton, Dark Elf, High Elf, Imperial, Khajiit, Nord, Orc,

Redguard or Wood Elf). Using Soul Trap on a "sentient" race is a waste of the

spell.

The exception is the black soul gem. Black soul gems are grand soul gems that

can be used to capture "human" souls. There are a few black soul gems that are

found as treasure. You can also make your own black soul gems using a

necromancer altar. To make a black soul gem, you need an empty grand soul gem

and a Soul Trap spell (any level spell will do).

Find a necromancer altar (there's one in front of Dark Fissure in eastern

Cyrodiil). Wait until midnight. Look for a bright cone of light shining down

around the altar. (It's easier to see this cone if you look up into the sky,

rather than looking at the altar.) If there's no bright light, Wait 24 hours

and try again. Sometime during the week, a bright cone of light will shine

down on the altar; when you see the light, put your empty grand soul gem in

the altar and cast Soul Trap on the altar. Remove your shiny new black soul

gem.

AZURA'S STAR

--------------

Azura's Star is your reward for completing Azura's quest (one of the Daedric

quests). Azura's Star is a refillable grand soul gem. Normal soul gems

disappear when you use them to make or recharge an item. Azura's Star does not

disappear. You can use it over and over again, as many times as you like. You

cannot convert Azura's Star into a refillable black soul gem.

Azura's Star is a very useful item, especially for fighters relying on

enchanted weapons. If you enchant your own weapons, add a short Soul Trap

effect to each weapon, this way you will always capture the soul of whatever

you kill. You can then instantly recharge your weapon before attacking the

next creature. If you do not enchant your own weapons, be sure to use as long

a duration Soul Trap spell as you can cast on each creature you fight.

Always make sure to recharge your weapon as soon as you've killed a creature,

so you don't waste any souls (i.e. charges).

SOULS

-------

Here is a short list of soul sizes for commonly encountered creatures. These

sizes are for the base creatures. Leveled creatures will have larger souls.

* Petty: Deer, Dog, Goblin, Mud Crab, Rat, Sheep, Skeleton, Slaughterfish,

Stunted Scamp, Wolf

* Lesser: Boar, Clannfear Runt, Deranged Zombie, Ghost, Goblin Skirmisher,

Horse, Imp, Timber Wolf, Troll, Zombie

* Common: Ancient Ghost, Black Bear, Clannfear, Faded Wraith, Flame Atronach,

Goblin Berserker, Goblin Shaman, Goblin Warlord, Headless Zombie, Minotaur,

Mountain Lion, Ogre, Scamp, Skeleton Hero, Spriggan, Will-o-the-Wisp

* Greater: Brown Bear, Daedroth, Dread Zombie, Frost Atronach, Land Dreugh,

Nether Lich, Skeleton Champion, Spider Daedra, Storm Atronach, Wraith

* Grand: Gloom Wraith, Lich, Minotaur Lord, Xivilai

[GP03]

<~~~~~~ COMBAT ~~~~~~>

As would be the case in any adventure/RPG style game, there is plenty of

combat in Oblivion. There are four basic types of combat in Oblivion: heavy

melee (tank), light melee (scout), archer and magic. There are two basic rules

that apply to all four types of combat...

| Divide and Conquer

+--------------------

The combat in Oblivion is real-time and based on simple physics: if you swing

at the right time and in the right place, you hit. If you aim your arrow

properly, you hit. If you don't do these things right, you miss. There are no

dice rolls going on "in the background". Nobody stands around "waiting their

turn". If you get surrounded by three or more enemies, you're dead.

Fortunately, the developers, for the most part, spaced enemies out so you

don't typically walk in on a horde that's just sat down for lunch. Most rooms

have only one or two mobs in them. Larger rooms may have three or four, but

widely spaced out. You need to learn to draw enemies to you one (or, at worst,

two) at a time. Use arrows, ranged spells or jump up-and-down to attract the

attention of the closest to you, then turn and run back a ways so your foe

will foolishly charge after you, not waiting for his/her/its compatriots.

Once you learn how to deal with enemies in *very small* numbers, combat

becomes a lot easier.

| Everyone Uses Magic

+---------------------

Regardless of your play style or character type, you need magic. All

characters can use buffs, regardless of class type. Melee fighters will want

to enchant their own weapons, which means having spells with the right effects

in your spellbook. Melee fighters will also benefit from paralyzing-type

spells used against archer and mages so they can close in without taking a lot

of damage. Archers and light melee fighters sometimes need a summoned creature

to help with mobs. And, of course, there are the always useful Restoration

spells to restore health or damage abilities.

So, don't neglect your inner Breton. Learn some useful spells and keep scrolls

handy. Keep welkynd stones and Magicka-restoring potions in your pockets in

case you suffer a sudden loss of Magicka. Learn to use magic as part of your

tactics and you'll be much more successful.

| The Numbers Game

+------------------

Some numbers you need to know before you go about fitting out your character:

* Armor

Your armor rating is the *percentage* of *physical* damage deducted from hits

on you. The max is 85: 85% of physical damage is deducted from any hits on you

(i.e. you only take 15% damage from physical attacks). Armor doesn't affect

elemental damage--fire, frost and shock. Both Light Armor and Heavy Armor can

be maxed out, though it will take longer with Light Armor (you'll need Elven

or glass and Master Light Armor skill).

* Weapon damage

The higher your weapon skill, the more damage you do with that type of weapon.

Blades tend to be more powerful than blunts, and more plentiful as well.

Strength also affects melee weapon damage. Agility affects bow weapon damage.

* Spells

The potency of your spells is not changed by your skill level in that spell

school, your Intelligence or your Willpower. When you increase in a spell

skill, you have the opportunity to buy or make stronger spells. Higher ranks

in a spell skill also decrease the Magicka needed to cast spells in that

school. Your Intelligence directly affects your total Magicka. Your Willpower

determines how fast your Magicka regenerates.

* Damage Over Time

If something is listed as "5 points fire damage for 5 seconds", it means

you'll get a total of 25 points fire damage from the effect (5 damage each

second x 5 seconds = 25 damage). Damage over time spells are cheaper to make

and cheaper to cast.

* Spell Effectiveness

Wearing armor decreases the effectiveness of your spells. As your armor skill

increases, so does the effectiveness of your spells. The highest effectiveness

rate of spells while wearing armor is 95%. E.g. a spell that is listed as "20

fire damage" only does 19 damage at 95% effective, 16 damage at 80% effective,

etc. All fractions are dropped (i.e. rounded down), so 80% of 5 is 4 and 95%

of 5 is 4. If you want 100% effectiveness from your spells, you can't wear any

armor--not even gloves or boots.

| Heavy Melee [GP03-A]

+----------------------

First, give up on two-handed weapons. There is little additional benefit and a

couple of negatives to fighting that way. You give up speed, so you make fewer

attacks; and, you give up a shield, so you can't block as effectively. In

return, you get a minor increase in damage.

For example, a steel long sword has a base attack rating of 12; a steel

claymore or battle axe has a base attack rating of 14. The steel war hammer

gives a base attack of 16. This spread (2 extra points for the claymore or

battle axe, 4 points for the war hammer) carries through the different weapon

types (i.e. a daedric war hammer does 4 points more damage than a daedric long

sword).

Once you layer on enchantments, power attacks, poisons, etc., the small

difference in base attack is not worth losing your shield and not being able

to swing as fast.

As a tank, your focus is on absorbing damage. You want the best heavy armor

you can obtain, and you want to make sure you level up your Block, Heavy Armor

and Armorer skills. Focus on boosting your Strength (for damage and carrying

capacity), Endurance (for health) and Agility (to avoid being staggered).

FIGHTING TACTICS

------------------

Against other melee fighters: Step in and trade blows. Block when the other

guy starts to swing, then smash him with power attacks when he pauses. Nothing

could be simpler.

Against archers: You have to run them down, which can be tricky in large

areas. Having a paralyze spell or poison for an arrow of your own will stop

them long enough for you to close in and smash them. Many archers make things

easier by pulling a sword when you get close, much to their detriment. When

charging an archer, keep your shield up to avoid being staggered by their

arrows, and try weaving a bit to throw off their aim.

Against mages: This is tricky. If you get hit with a burden spell, you'll

likely be easy pickins'. A weapon with Silence is deadly against mages--

especially a bow. Sneak up on them and hit them with a Silence arrow and you

can then bull-rush them and take them out easily. Another good tactic, since

mages tend to be weaklings, is to use Sneak Attacks with a powerful weapon.

You can often drop them in one hit.

EQUIPMENT

-----------

Heavy armor enchanted against elemental damage and with spell reflection or

absorption to help against mages. You don't need Shield effects as your armor

rating is going to get maxed out anyway.

You'll want a silver, daedric or enchanted one-handed weapon, preferably a

blade. There are better and more numerous blades than blunts available in the

game. As you increase in level, you should fill out your arsenal with at least

one weapon enchanted with each elemental damage type (fire, frost and shock).

If you enchant your own weapons, you can add a small (1-2 second duration)

Soul Trap spell to the weapon when you add the elemental damage. Get Azura's

Star as soon as you can and you can instantly recharge your weapon after each

fight.

Rings and amulets with Feather or Fortify Strength bonuses. You're going to be

carrying a lot of weight just in the equipment you use regularly, so you'll

want the ability to increase your max encumbrance or decrease your current

encumbrance so you can properly loot dungeons.

| Light Melee [GP03-B]

+----------------------

While you can, eventually, get as high an armor rating with light armor as you

can with heavy armor, it is going to take a lot longer. Your fighting style is

going to depend more on giving damage without taking much in return. You will

rely more on Stealth for Sneak Attacks; and, when in melee, use your Speed to

dance in and out of range, dishing out short, quick strikes before running

away.

You want to focus on your Speed, Agility and Strength attributes and your

Stealth and weapon skills. You won't block as much (the idea is to avoid being

hit, not blocking some of the damage) and you'll probably use spells a bit

more, so you want to pick a school and level it up. A Magicka-enhancing

birthsign wouldn't hurt as well as increasing your Intelligence and/or

Willpower.

FIGHTING TACTICS

------------------

Against other melee fighters: You want to stay out of range of the other

character's weapon. This will be most difficult against some of the beast and

melee creatures (clannfear, mountain lions, etc.) as they can move very fast.

Leading with a paralyze, burden or Drain Strength spell can help a lot--

especially against the heavy tanks. Start with either a Sneak Attack from

Stealth mode, or by firing arrows or spells until the enemy rushes you; the

more damage you can do before the fighting starts, the better off you will be.

Against archers and mages: The basic tactic here is the same--avoid getting

into a long-range battle with these types of characters. You're not built to

absorb damage the way a heavy tank is, so your best friend is a Stealth

attack, preferably a melee attack to get the extra bonus damage. If you put

some type of poison on your blade (Silence against mages, paralyze or Drain

Marksman skill for archers), so much the better.

EQUIPMENT

-----------

Light armor with Shield enchantments early. Later, as you get better armor and

your Light Armor skill increases, you can trade in Shield enchantments for

Reflection and Absorption enhancements.

Wearable items that Fortify your Speed attribute and your Sneak skill.

Boosting Strength wouldn't hurt either; but, your focus should be effective

Sneak Attacks rather than raw damage. A Feather effect will help with looting.

A good bow and some enchanted arrows. While you won't be dependent on ranged

attacks, you will lead with them--especially from Sneak mode.

Of course, you'll want an array of enchanted melee weapons--preferably light,

fast blades; and, Azura's Star for quick recharging between fights.

| Archer [GP03-C]

+-----------------

Early in the game, Oblivion is much more suited for melee fighters than for

ranged fighters--either archers or mages. Once you work through a few levels

and increase your Marksman skill--not to mention pick up enchanted bows and

arrows--archery is very effective.

Make no mistake about it, being a good archer means careful race, class and

birthsign selection, lots of hard work and smart battle tactics. It is also

extremely satisfying, especially when you're able to start killing enemies

before they even have a chance to reach you.

The biggest downside to archery is you need room to maneuver. There's lots of

dungeon delving in Oblivion, and the tight spaces underground are not suitable

for ranged attacks. You will need to be a good melee fighter as well.

FIGHTING TACTICS

------------------

Sneak attacks + poisoned arrows.

That's pretty much it. You can one-shot kill common mobs with a Sneak attack

even early in the game. Your biggest fear playing as an archer is getting

mobbed. You want to pick your enemies off from a distance, so the more you can

kill quickly, while staying hidden, the better. You'll want to work hard on

your Alchemy so you can brew your own poisons. The more pain you can dish out

per shot, the better.

Chameleon and Summoning spells are your friends. Chameleon gives some of the

benefits of invisibility; but, maintains the effect even when you attack.

(Which is why 100% Chameleon breaks the game--you can attack with impunity and

enemies can never see you to return the favor.) When things get tight, you

whip out a daedra or undead to do the dirty in-fighting for you while you stay

back and snipe.

You'll want to improve your Marksman skill as quickly as possible. The quicker

you can get the "scope" effect (the ability to zoom in on a target) at

Journeyman level, the more effective you will be at picking off your enemies

before they can close with you. Once you reach Expert Marksman, you can

stagger enemies, which makes you more-or-less unstoppable.

EQUIPMENT

-----------

Throughout all stages of your character development, you will be especially

vulnerable to spellcasters and other archers. Since you have to stand still,

aim and shoot, ranged mobs have an advantage against you. Furthermore, any

time you end up in a hand-to-hand scuffle, you'll be at a disadvantage.

So, you want to have decent armor. While most people think of archers as

light-armored fighters, a heavy armor archer is not out of the question. The

more protection you can layer on yourself, the more you can stand in and take

physical punishment--whether from arrows or melee weapons.

You also need to have spell absorption, spell reflection or magic-resistant

equipment. Don't forget to find or enchant some items with permanent Chameleon

effects to improve your chances of making Sneak attacks. (But, don't layer on

so much Chameleon you break the game. It's really no fun.) Since you won't be

carting around as many heavy melee weapons as the hand-to-hand fighters,

Feather spells and Strength-boosting effects are not as beneficial. (Though,

in the long run, all adventurers benefit from higher encumbrance.)

| Magic [GP03-D]

+----------------

There are lots of different mage "classes" in Oblivion. However, you can boil

them down to three distinct types:

* Battlemage: "Battlemage" is really just a term applied to a melee fighter or

archer that uses a bit more magic than is typical. A battlemage isn't really a

mage so much as a magic-using fighter. Use the tactics and equipment lists for

the type of fighter you'll be; but, you may want to use a race and birthsign

that emphasize Magicka.

* Summoner: Summoners concentrate on hanging back, out of range of attacks,

calling forth a daedric or undead minion and using a few ranged offensive

spells against the enemy; or, using buffing spells on the summoned creature.

Within Oblivion, summoners are usually called Necromancers because many of the

best summoned creatures are undead. Tactics for summoning are fairly simple:

train up your Conjuration skill (which is the easiest magic skill to train)

and have Restoration spells ready to heal and buff your summons. Try to stay

out of the fight and let your summons do the work for you. Since your

Conjuration skill will be high, you'll want a high-level Bound weapon spell

available for when the action gets too close (mainly for blocking, since

you're an ineffectual fighter).

* Sorcerer: This is the offensive mage archetype. Sorcerers are all about

raining death and destruction on their enemies using only magic. A sorcerer

disdains mundane weapons, using them only when required (and frequently

falling back on Bound Daedric weapons conjured up when necessary rather than

carting around a sword).

Both the Summoner and Sorcerer style of playing will be covered in this

section.

SPELL-CHAINING

----------------

Spell-chaining is the tactic of chaining weakness spells with damage spells to

increase the overall damage of the spell. For example, if you first hit your

target with Weakness to Shock 100; then, while the Weakness to Shock spell is

still in effect, you hit with a Shock 10 spell, the Shock 10 spell actually

does 20 points of damage (10 + 100% or 10 + 10). The idea behind spell-

chaining is to radically increase damage at a minimal cost in Magicka.

Three notes about spell-chaining:

1) You have to make your own spells. You won't find the right types of spells

for chaining in the wild or in stores. So, you must reach Apprentice level in

the Mages Guild or buy the Wizard's Tower official plug-in.

2) Spell-chaining uses short duration spells (thus minimizing the Magicka cost

of the spells). Each spell only needs a long enough duration in order for you

to hit with the next spell in the chain. Thus, you need to tailor the duration

of the spells to your ability to switch and cast a spell--typically five or

six seconds will be enough; less once you have become experienced. You also

should use touch spells rather than ranged spells, as this allows you to avoid

the duration of the spell traveling over distance and makes hitting with each

spell in the chain more of a sure thing.

3) Use damage-over-time spells as they are cheaper to make and to cast. A 5

Fire Damage for 5 Seconds and a 25 Fire Damage both do the same total amount

of damage (25 points); but, the 5x5 spell will use less Magicka.

Example

---------

Spell 1: Weakness to Magicka 100 for 5 seconds

-> Start by increasing the target's vulnerability to all spells by 100%;

this doubles the effect of the next spell that hits

Spell 2: Weakness to Magicka 100 for 5 seconds,

Weakness to Shock 100 for 5 seconds

-> The next spell that hits increases the target's vulnerability to all

Spells by 200% (100% doubled by the first spell = 200%) and to Shock

Damage by 200%

Spell 3: Shock 5 Damage for 10 seconds

-> By now, the first spell has worn off; but, that's OK. The second spell

is still in effect. First, the Shock damage is increased by 200%, or

tripled. 5x10 becomes 15x10. This is then run through the Weakness to

Magicka 200 effect, which triples it again. 15x10 becomes 45x10. You've

just increased the magnitude of your spell by 800%: from 50 total

damage to 450 total damage. At a total cost of Magicka, you can cast this

chain pretty much constantly (not that you'll need to, dishing out 450

damage every ten seconds.

Spell-chaining is not an original idea; it's been around at least since Elder

Scrolls III: Morrowind. Just Google oblivion spell-chaining and you'll find a

number of treatises on the subject.

FIGHTING TACTICS

------------------

If you don't want to do spell-chaining, as described above, then your tactics

are going to be similar to an archer. You want to stay back, out of range, and

let loose targeted Destruction spells at your enemies. You should also work on

your Conjuration so you can call for help when things get sticky. You should

always carry a weapon and use it to block when attackers get too close. Have

some powerful touch spells ready (touch spells do more damage per Magicka

spent than ranged spells) to use when an opponent closes up.

Some other things you can do:

* Burden your enemies to keep them from moving (works especially well on

heavy-armor tanks).

* Lower your enemy's resistances and then follow up with a spell that exploits

that weakness (similar to spell-chaining, but you'll need longer-lasting

Weakness spells and more powerful Destruction spells).

* Buff yourself into a melee monster (Shield, Fortify Strength) and use Bound

weapons to whale on an unsuspecting foe.

* Use Sneak Attacks (preferably with a bow) before opening with magic. You

don't get any Sneak bonus when using magic, but you do when shooting an arrow.

EQUIPMENT

-----------

As a spellcaster, one of your biggest problems is spell reflection--i.e.

enemies with lots of spell reflection. If you've built yourself into a

powerhouse, you don't really want your spells coming back to bite you in the

rear. Therefore, you want to load up on items, potions and spells that provide

magic resistance. If you can ameliorate the damage being reflected back to you

(not to mention the spells of enemy casters), so much the better.

You'll also want plenty of Feather spells or potions so you can properly loot

all the dungeons you clean out. And, you'll need plenty of Shielding unless

you decide you can get by wearing light armor and taking the hit in spell

effectiveness. If you want full power from your spells, then you'll have to

replace normal armor with Shield spells.

Finally, the best equipment any mage can have is an Altar of Spellmaking. You

can get one of these by purchasing the Wizard's Tower official plug-in and

buying the necessary equipment in-game. You could also join the Mages Guild

and complete the seven Recommendation quests--this gives you access to

spellmaking at Arcane University.

[GP04]

<~~~~~~ MAGICKA EFFECTS ~~~~~~>

This is a brief rundown of the different types of effects in the game and how

to deal with them.

*NOTE 1*

You can get rid of most harmful effects by praying at the altar (Activate the

altar) in a Great Chapel in one of the major cities. In order for you to

receive restoration, your Fame must be higher than your Infamy and you cannot

have any outstanding bounty.

*NOTE 2*

Most effects are temporary unless you enchant them into an item. If you wear

an enchanted item, the effects are permanent until you remove the item.

* Absorb Attribute/Skill

Temporarily transfers some attribute or skill points from the affected

character to the affecting character. For example, if you have Absorb Magicka

on your weapon, any creature you hit with that weapon will lose some Magicka

and you will gain the same amount.

* Burden

Increase the encumbrance value of all items in your Inventory. If the total

encumbrance value of all items is more than your maximum encumbrance you are

over-encumbered and cannot move (though you can still use a weapon or cast a

spell). Using Burden spells/poisons on characters in heavy armor might just

root them in place, allowing you to pick them off from a distance.

* Chameleon

You will blend in with your environment, making it more difficult for enemies

to see you and increasing your Sneak effectiveness. Chameleon, unlike

Invisibility, is not canceled when you attack someone; thus, 100% Chameleon

essentially breaks the game by making it impossible for enemies to attack you

or react when you attack them. (And 100% Chameleon is not hard to get either.)

* Damage Attribute/Skill

Take a few points off the named attribute or skill. Damaged attributes and

skills do not restore themselves. You must use a Restore spell/potion or pray

at the altar in one of the Great Chapels in a city.

* Detect Life

You can see all animate creatures in the radius of the spell. This includes

undead. (So, why is it called Detect "Life" when it can detect non-life? Who

knows?) Animate creatures will be highlighted in a purple glow. The spell

works through walls, allowing you to see enemies in the next room (or even

down through the floor or up through the ceiling in multi-level areas).

* Disease

There are a number of different diseases in the game. You will typically be

affected when hit by certain creatures. Use a Cure Disease spell or potion, or

pray at the altar in one of the Great Chapels in a city.

* Dispel

You can rid yourself or the target of Magicka effects, harmful or beneficial.

Useful if you've been hit with Drain, Burden, Paralyze, etc. and need to get

rid of the effect fast. It can also be used to cancel your enemy's buffs.

* Drain Attribute/Skill

Similar to Damage Attribute/Skill, but the effects are temporary.

* Feather

Decrease the encumbrance value of all items in your Inventory. This will show

as an increase in your maximum encumbrance value, but that's not actually what

is happening. For example, if you are carrying 30 pounds of equipment, and you

use a Feather 50 spell, you only get the effect of Feather 30, since there

aren't 50 pounds of equipment to reduce. To avoid problems, make sure you only

use a Feather effect that is less than your current encumbrance.

* Fire Damage

Cause an additional amount of damage of type "fire". This is elemental damage

and not reduced by armor; however, it is affected by Fire Resistance, Spell

Absorption and Reflection.

* Fortify Attribute/Skill

Increase the number of points in an attribute or skill.

* Frost Damage

Cause an additional amount of damage of type "frost". This is elemental damage

and not reduced by armor; however, it is affected by Fire Resistance, Spell

Absorption and Reflection.

* Invisibility

You become invisible and impossible to detect. Attacking another character

cancels the invisibility.

* Light

Gives light in a radius around the target.

* Night-Eye

Essentially, this is ultraviolet vision. Lets you see in the dark, but

everything is bluish-gray in color.

* Open Lock

Allows you to open locks. Each spell is rated for the maximum difficulty lock

it will open. Using Open Lock on a "red" door is not considered a crime

(unlike lockpicking). Open Lock spells increase your Alteration skill and do

not affect your Security skill.

* Paralyze

Binds the target and knocks it to the ground where you can have your way with

it.

* Poison

Poisons are another way of causing the various different effects listed here.

You can instantly recover from a poison by using a Cure Poison spell or

potion. You can also pray at the altar in one of the Great Chapels in a city.

* Reflect Damage

Reflect a certain amount of damage done to you back on the character doing the

damage.

* Resist Damage

You will shrug off some of a specific type of damage. E.g. Resist Fire 10%

gets rid of the first 10% of fire damage that hits you. Resist Normal Weapons

50% deducts half the damage from normal (non-silver, non-daedric, non-

enchanted) weapons.

* Restore Attribute/Skill

Heal a damaged, drained or absorbed attribute or skill.

* Shield

Increase your armor rating; e.g. Shield 20 increases your armor rating by 20

points. You can also have a Fire/Frost/Shock Shield, which increases your

armor rating and gives you resistance to the named elemental damage type. E.g.

Shock Shield 20 increases your armor rating by 20 points and provides 20

points of Shock resistance.

* Shock Damage

Cause an additional amount of damage of type "shock". This is elemental damage

and not reduced by armor; however, it is affected by Fire Resistance, Spell

Absorption and Reflection.

* Spell Absorption

Nullify a percentage of a spell's effect.

* Spell Reflection

Reflect a percentage of a spell's effect back on the caster.

* Weakness to Damage

Make the target more vulnerable to a specific type of damage. For example,

Weakness to Frost 50 means frost effects cause 50% more damage to the weak

character.

HOW TO GET 100% CHAMELEON

---------------------------

*WARNING* 100% Chameleon breaks the game. If you do this, you won't have any

fun--unless you like playing in god mode.

You need a Chameleon spell (any level) in your spellbook (i.e. not a scroll);

five grand soul gems, each with a grand soul; about 8,000 gold; five pieces of

un-enchanted wearable equipment (e.g. two rings, an amulet, gloves and boots)

and the ability to enchant items (Apprentice in the Mages Guild or owner of

the Wizard's Tower official plug-in). Use the soul gems to enchant each piece

of equipment with 20% Chameleon for a total of 100% Chameleon.

Alternately, you can get 100% Chameleon (well, actually 120%) by waiting until

you are high level (over 16) before getting into the main quest. Then go

around closing Oblivion Gates and collecting the Sigil Stones. Save right

before taking the stone; if it doesn't offer the Chameleon effect, reload and

take it again. When you have four Transcendent Sigil Stones with Chameleon

(30%), enchant four items and get your 120% Chameleon.

Put on your equipment. You are now completely invisible all the time and can

do whatever you want whenever you want.

Have fun.

[GP05]

<~~~~~~ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ~~~~~~>

Q. Where's my horse?

A. Horses are, overall, far more trouble than they are worth. You can't fight

while you're on a horse (unless you download a mod for the PC version of the

game). Horses frequently wander off while you're spelunking. And Fast

Traveling while you're on a horse sometimes causes a glitch where either your

horse disappears from the game entirely or ends up in the city with you. If

you're having a lot of trouble keeping track of your horse, just work on

training your Speed and do without the four-legged beasts.

Q. OK, but where's Shadowmere?

A. Shadowmere, as a plot NPC, can't be killed and doesn't generally wander off

or glitch out of the game. If Shadowmere can't be found where you left him, go

back to Fort Farragut (Lucien Lachance's headquarters). Shadowmere generally

returns there whenever the game loses track of him.

Q. What's the best Daedric artifact to give to Martin? (Blood of the Daedra

quest)

A. Wabbajack, the staff you get from Sheogorath's quest. Sheogorath's quest is

easy (no combat), can be done at level 2 and Wabbajack is a fun item, but not

one you're actually going to want to use in any serious way.

Q. How do I build the best character?

A. There's lots of different answers to that quest. Hopefully I've provided

most of them in my Character Build FAQ:

http://www.papagamer.com/faqs/oblivion_character.txt

Q. I can't find the body in the well! (Cheydinhal Mages Guild Recommendation

quest)

A. This is a known glitch. There's no solution other than loading up an

earlier savegame.

Q. Can I give the Honorblade of Chorrol to the Countess and then steal it

back?

A. Yes. The solution comes from Karkianman:

"I have a high stealth rating, and was wearing the Gray Cowl as well as some

Chameleon enchantments, and found it impossible to pickpocket the sword from

the countess. However, lo and behold, you can knock her unconscious, and at

some point during her forced slumber you can take items off of her body,

including the weightless sword. Wearing the Gray Cowl during this leaves you

innocent. Do note that she has to be asleep already before you knock her out

for this to work. During the day she equips the sword, and so even though

she’s knocked out, it can’t be taken. I have no idea if a similar thing can be

accomplished by giving the sword to Fathis Ules instead."

Q. The priests in the Elder Scrolls Library (Thieves Guild Ultimate Heist

quest) won't talk to me or are hostile. How do I complete the quest?

A. Back up to an earlier savegame and try again. Make sure you Sneak around to

open the door (you're a thief, right?) and be extra careful you don't talk to

(Activate) any NPC in the area.

Q. There's a chest in Pale Pass (Lifting the Vale side quest) that has a key?

What does that key fit?

A. There's an undocumented side quest in Pale Pass involving four chests. The

first chest is right next to the fort, and the key in that chest fits the next

chest and that chest has a key and so on. Unfortunately, I have not yet fully

documented that side quest. If you search around on GameFAQs or other FAQ-

related sources, you may find someone who has fully explained that little

quest.

Q. I'm trying to do the Fighters Guild quest Mystery at Harlun's Watch, but

there are no villager bodies in the cave! How do I complete the quest.

A. This bug is caused if you clear out Swampy Cave before you start this

quest. The bug is fixed by the v1.1.511 patch. Install the patch, then back up

to an earlier save from before starting that quest.

Q. Where can I get the best gear?

A. All loot and store merchandise in Oblivion is leveled. As you increase in

level, so does the material you find in chests and the gear you buy from

stores. All merchants have one "special" item that they always offer for sale

(until you buy it, that is). In the long run, the best gear is enchanted stuff

you make for yourself.

Q. What are the best enchantments?

A. Every adventurer needs Feather so you can haul your bounty out of the

dungeons you explore, and Resist effects to ameliorate damage from elemental

and magic attacks. Melee fighters need Strength for increasing damage. Mages

can use boosts to their Magicka total and regeneration rate. Archers will want

boosts to their Stealth and Agility, and a bow that does extra damage.

Q. How do I get black soul gems?

A. You can generally find them in necromancer dungeons. You can also make your

own. Details on making black soul gems is in the Enchanting, Spellmaking &

Soul Gems section above.

Q. My skills or attributes have been damaged. What can I do?

A. If your Infamy is lower than your Fame and you have no Bounty, you can pray

at an altar in any Temple in the large cities. This will fully restore all

your damaged attributes. If your Infamy is larger than your Fame, then you'll

need to use Restore spells or potions; or, purchase the Vile Lair and activate

the Altar of Sithis. It works just like Temple altars, but for "evil"

characters. If your Infamy is low, but you have a Bounty, find the nearest

guard and pay off your bounty, then pray at a Temple.

Q. I'm doing the quest, Where Spirits Have Lease. I've tracked Velwyn Benirus

in Imperial City, but he refuses to talk to me about the house?

A. This is a known glitch and the only solution is to back up to an earlier

save.

Q. Can I save attribute bonuses between levels?

A. No, unless you delay leveling up. As long as you don't level up, your

attribute bonuses accumulate and you'll be able to get them all the next time

you sleep, as you'll level up two or more times. Once you do level up, all

your attribute bonuses are reset.

Q. Do I get to be emperor when I finish the main quest?

A. No. You become the Champion of Cyrodiil and get to wear the emperor's

armor, but you're not large and in charge.

Q. I'm trying to close an Oblivion gate, but Activating the Sigil Stone has no

effect! What can I do?

A. Back up to an earlier save? This glitch has hit many people, but I've seen

no solution.

Q. What are runestones, doomstones, Ayleid wells and wayshrines?

A. These artifacts of an earlier age are scattered around Cyrodiil. Each one

gives you some type of boost when you Activate (use) it. They are never marked

on your map in game. Maps are available on GameFAQs.com. Wayshrines are

essential in the Knights of the Nine quest.

Q. How can I get more money at the merchants? What's the maximum amount of

money that any merchant has?

A. In the base game, the most any normal merchant has is 1200 gold. I.e. you

make any sale over 1200 gold. The Wizard's Tower official plug-in adds a

merchant with 2000 gold. Fences have up to 1500 gold, but are only available

to Thieves Guild members, or owners of the Thieves Den official plug-in. You

can add more barter gold to any merchant by increasing your Mercantile skill.

At Expert Mercantile, you can give (invest) 500 gold to any merchant. At

Master Mercantile, all merchants have 500 more barter gold. Thus, with

Wizard's Tower + investing in the 2000 gold merchant + Master Mercantile, the

most you can get for any item is 3000 gold.

Or, if you're on the PC, you can install a mod that gives all merchants more

money.

Q. I exploited the item cloning/bound weapon/whatever glitch and now my game

keeps crashing. What do I do.

A. Back up to an earlier save and don't use exploits. Most exploits in these

games are very risky and can lead to unintended consequences.

Q. I'm trying to get out of Dagon Shrine, but the exit door is locked and says

it needs a key!

A. Wrong door. When you're escaping from the cave, it's easy to think the

highly visible door just across from you is the exit. It's not. As you come

out of the secret exit from the Living Quarters, the cave exit is to your

right, at the end of a twisting tunnel. It's easily recognizable during the

day because sunlight will be streaming through it.

Q. How do I get rid of spells I don't use any more?

A. The only way to take spells out of your spellbook is to use a console

command:

player.removespell hhhhhhhh

where hhhhhhhh is the hex code for the spell. Details are in the PC Console

Commands section of this guide. If you're playing on X360 or PS3...Sorry,

you're out of luck.

Q. I've finished all the quests. Is there anything else I can do?

A. There are at least a couple dozen dungeons that aren't connected to any

quest. You can explore those. PC users can download fan-made mods that add

additional quests. Otherwise, you have to wait until the expansion set,

Shivering Isles, is released in Spring 2007.

[MS00]

~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MAIN STORY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

[MS01]

<~~~~~~ TUTORIAL ~~~~~~>

This starter dungeon is your tutorial for the game. It covers most of the

basics. You start by choosing your race. Later you'll choose your birthsign

and class. You'll be given the opportunity to change all of these at the end

of the tutorial.

| Imperial Prison

+-----------------

Wander around your cell, playing with the chains and listening to the Dark Elf

across the way taunt you. Soon, Uriel Septim himself, accompanied by some of

his Blades, will show up and give you a way out. Follow them down into the

escape tunnel. You'll soon reach a place where the Emperor is attacked and

Renault is killed--stay out of this fight, as you don't have a weapon or armor

and you can't change the outcome anyway.

Loot Renault's corpse for her sword and a torch and search the assassin bodies

for miscellaneous stuff (mostly potions). From this point, you can't follow

the Emperor's party, but a convenient hole in the wall to the southeast soon

opens and a couple of rats run through.

Kill the rats, jump through the hole and watch out for more rats. Thoroughly

search this large cavern. A skeleton near the entrance has a bow and some

arrows, so you can start working on your Marksman skill. There are a number of

corpses--one has several lockpicks and another has a key to the exit door. The

exit is to the southeast; the lock can be picked if you haven't found the key.

(The body with the key is near the door.)

| Imperial Substructure

+-----------------------

There's a zombie at the bottom of the slope leading out of the first room.

This will be the strongest foe you've faced thus far. Other than that bit of

excitement, you're mostly just fighting rats and collecting loot. Near the

exit is a goblin early-warning system consisting of skulls hanging from the

ceiling.

| Natural Caverns

+-----------------

Soon after entering the caverns, you'll get your first lesson in sneaking. You

can just sneak past the goblin; but, might as well sneak up to him and give

him the business end of your weapon. Around the next corner is a tripwire. You

can jump the tripwire and then fight the goblin beyond it; or, try to run

through the tripwire and speed past the goblin, who will then take the brunt

of the swinging maces. Don't try this unless you have a Speed rating of 40 or

higher.

Not far past the swinging mace trap, you'll come upon a pile of logs at the

top of a slope. Activate the logs to take out the two goblins at the bottom of

the slope. Advance slowly down the slope to a very large cavern. There will be

three or four goblins in here, one of which is a witch with a lightning staff.

Use a bow or ranged spell to draw the weaker goblins to you, then bull-rush

the witch. The tunnel exit from this room eventually leads into the Imperial

Subteranne.

| Imperial Subteranne

+---------------------

You come out on a high ledge looking over Uriel Septim and his bodyguards.

Jump down into the room and Septim invites you to join the party. During the

conversation you'll select a birthsign. Don't worry too much about your

selection; you'll get to change it later. Follow the emperor and guards,

helping with the assassins as they attack. You'll eventually reach...

| The Sanctum

+-------------

Soon after entering the Sanctum, Baurus and the other guard go to scout ahead,

leaving you to guard the Emperor in a side room. Uriel Septim initiates

another conversation with you, this time charging you to take his Amulet of

Kings to Jauffre, who will know where to find the last remaining son of the

Emperor. As soon as you have the amulet, a Mythic Dawn assassin jumps through

a secret door and kills Septim.

[MS02]

<~~~~~~ DELIVER THE AMULET ~~~~~~>

| Sewers

+--------

Baurus and the other guard return in time to help you deal with the assassin.

You can then talk to Baurus about Jauffre. Jauffre is the Grandmaster of the

Blades--the Emperor's personal guard--and he bides his time at Weynon Priory

outside Chorrol.

Baurus also initiates your first chance to choose a class. Don't spend too

much time on it now; you can change it later (along with your race and

birthsign). He'll then point you through the door the assassin came through,

saying it leads to the sewers and freedom.

Follow the hall to the sewer entrance, then advance through the sewers. Soon

after entering, you'll come to a large room divided by water. There are two

exits. The left--north--exit leads to some loot guarded by goblins. The right-

-southeast--exit eventually leads to the long tunnel out of the sewers.

About halfway down the tunnel you'll come to a gate. When you Activate the

gate, you'll get a menu allowing you to change your race, birthsign, class or

exit the sewers.

*SAVE YOUR GAME*

You may even want to use the console command SaveGame to create a specially-

named save. Never delete this savegame. Whenever you want to start the game

over with a "new" character, just load this savegame and change your race,

birthsign and class, then exit the sewers. You never have to go through the

starter dungeon again. (Well, unless you go through the Dark Brotherhood

quests, but that's different.)

When you're happy with your choice of character, exit the sewers. You find

yourself looking out over a river toward some ruins. Behind you rises the

Imperial Prison and, beyond that, Imperial City itself.

| Imperial City

+---------------

You can, if you like, immediately Fast Travel to Weynon Priory; however, you

will probably want to stop in Imperial City and sell off any useless items you

collected in the starter dungeon. The main story beckons, but so does the

entire land of Cyrodiil. To quest, or not to quest, that is the question.

There are several reasons for starting the main story right away and leaving

everything else until later:

1) Several times during the main story you will be required either to protect

an NPC or fight a pitched battle against hordes of daedra with the help of

other NPCs. If you wait until you are higher level, the daedra you fight will

also be higher level. Alas, the NPCs around you will not. Once you get into

the late teens in level, the daedra you fight will have your allies for lunch

and come looking for you as dessert.

Fighting a mob of mid-level daedra isn't healthy. Not at all. You could wait

until your power rivals the Nine (around 35th or 40th level), at which point

the daedra you face simply can't keep up and you'll mow them down with ease.

That doesn't necessarily help in the "protect the NPC" quests, though.

At low levels, the daedra that spew forth from Oblivion are also low-level and

your allies can pitch in and actually do more than contribute to some demon's

indigestion. In this case, the leveled system works as intended and keeps the

tasks challenging, but not impossible.

2) If you do a little bit of the main story, up to taking Martin back to

Weynon Priory, you'll start the part of the game where random Oblivion gates

pop up around Cyrodiil. If you get up to that point in the main story, then go

side questing for a while, your way will eventually be impeded by all the

daedra roaming the countryside. Better to get to the end of the main story and

clear all that up.

3) When you finish the main story, you are proclaimed the Champion of Cyrodiil

and everyone loves you. Literally. You get a big Disposition increase with all

the NPCs, which makes all the side quests (many of which require a high

Disposition score with an NPC somewhere along the way) much easier. No mucking

about with the Disposition mini-game, or Charm spells or any thing like that.

Just chat with the people and they'll do whatever you want or tell you

anything you want to know. Makes the side quests a breeze.

4) A lot of the rewards for side quests are special enchanted items that are

keyed to your level--the higher your level, the more powerful the item. If you

collect all this junk at low levels, that's exactly what they will be...junk.

(PC users can download a mod that fixes this problem. See the Mods section at

the end of this guide.) Better to do all these side quests later and get the

uber leet gear instead of the fancy baubles.

Of course, you can ignore the voice of reason and go off side questing, in

which case, just skip on down to the section you want to see. For those of you

with a bit more wisdom, Fast Travel to...

| Weynon Priory

+---------------

Weynon Priory is located southeast of Chorrol. You can Fast Travel there from

the beginning of the game. Jauffre is typically found upstairs in the main

priory house, usually sitting at his desk. Talk to him for a history of the

kings, the Dragonfires and Oblivion. He'll also point you to Septim's lone

surviving heir, Martin, who serves as a priest of Akatosh in Kvatch.

Jauffre will take the amulet and charge you with finding Martin and bringing

him to Weynon Priory. After, ask Jauffre about assistance. He'll open his

chest and you can loot it for better armor, weapons and other things.

Downstairs, talk to Prior Maborel, who will offer the loan of his horse.

Accept, with thanks.

You now have some decent equipment and a horse, the world is yours! Or you can

get on with your mission to Kvatch. Now that you have a horse, you might want

to go overland to Kvatch rather than Fast Travel. You'll discover a lot of

locations that will be important for later quests.

[MS03]

<~~~~~~ FIND THE HEIR ~~~~~~>

| Outskirts of Kvatch

+---------------------

When you reach the outskirts of Kvatch, you find the city in flames. To the

south is a refugee camp, where you get the full story of daedra spewing forth

from an Oblivion gate. Questions about Martin lead you to Savlian Matius,

captain of the Kvatch guard, who is holding the line against the demons at the

entrance to Kvatch.

Wind your way up the hill and find Matius and a few troops fighting daedra.

(The specific type of daedra depend on your class level.) Pitch in, if you

wish. When the fighting is over, talk to Matius, who tells you Martin is holed

up inside the chapel in the city. Your only hope is to find out how to close

the Oblivion gate, so the soldiers can retake the city.

[MS04]

<~~~~~~ BREAKING THE SIEGE OF KVATCH ~~~~~~>

| Oblivion: Kvatch Gate

+-----------------------

Welcome to your primary task in the main story of Oblivion. You will soon grow

to hate Oblivion gates. Ah well, no better time than the present. Step up to

the glowing portal and Activate it and go to hell.

Literally.

Fire resistance is a good thing. Fire spells--not so good. Almost everything

you encounter in Oblivion is resistant to fire, but weak against shock damage.

Load up on shocking spells, or shock-enchanted weapons. (Funny--you would

think the weakness would be to frost. Anyway...) If you start encountering

Flame Atronachs, you can use frost against them. (Similarly, use fire against

Frost Atronachs. Against Storm Atronachs, use anything other than shock.)

As you enter Oblivion, you'll find a Kvatch guard under attack by daedra. If

the guard survives--his name is Ilend Vonius--talk to him and either send him

back to Matius, or ask him to come along and watch your back. Ahead of you

(north) is a bridge blocked by a gate. To the east is a dead end. Your path

lies to the west.

First note about Oblivion: these areas are all very linear. If you get lost,

just look at your map. There's usually only one way you can go.

Wind your way around the west side of this island, until you reach the

northwest section. Then you head back south--and a little east--eventually

reaching the large round tower in the center of the north sector of the

island.

This is a Sigil Keep. You'll get to know these well. This particular keep is

called Blood Feast. Lovely, isn't it? All Oblivion towers follow the same

basic layout:

* The tower is hollow in its center, with a Sigillum Sanguis at the top. To

reach the Sanguis, you have to climb through one to three side areas.

* Most Sigil Keeps have two side areas: Rending Halls and Corridors of Dark

Salvation. These areas are relatively small and feature a few daedra and

traps.

* In between the side areas, you'll climb some ramps around the central

hollow core of the tower.

First up in Blood Feast, as in most Sigil Keeps, is the Rending Halls. Enter

and climb the ramp, which takes a 90-degree turn. At the top, kill the daedra

and use the Blood Fountain for some health regeneration. Re-enter the tower

core through one of the two doors to the south.

Climb a ramp around the tower core to reach an entrance to the Corridors of

Dark Salvation. Wind your way up the ramp to a large room and dispose of the

daedra. The only unlocked exit from this room (besides the hall you just came

through) is to the west. This leads to a bridge over to a smaller tower.

In the small tower (Reapers Sprawl), climb the ramp and kill the Sigil Keeper.

Take a key from his body. Inside a cage is another Kvatch guard--still alive!

Talk to him to learn what you must do: enter the Sigillum Sanguis at the top

of the tower and remove the sigil stone. That will close the gate.

Go back to Blood Feast. You can now leave this room through either the north

or southwest door. The southwest door eventually leads back to the tower core,

but on a dead-end balcony. There is some loot here (in bloody hunks of meat

called "The Punished"). The north door leads to a ramp that curves to the

east.

At the top of the ramp, you'll see another ramp going down to the east and a

door to the south. The door goes to your objective. The ramp going down

eventually leads to another small tower, with some minor loot. Leave through

the south door at the top of the ramp, re-entering the core of Blood Feast.

Wind your way up the ramps to what looks like a dead end.

Find the round platform surrounded by spikes. It's a teleporter (only a few of

the Sigil Keeps have these). Step on it, Activate one of the spikes and you'll

reach the level where you can enter the Sigillum Sanguis.

All the Sanguis you enter are round rooms with three levels--you always enter

at the bottom of the room and the sigil stone is always at the top. Of course.

Fight your way up the stairs, and then up a ramp. When you reach the sigil

stone at the top, simply Activate it.

Things blow up. Lots of flashing. You're back in front of Kvatch with only a

burned out relic to remind you of the lovely Oblivion gate. Find and talk to

Matius. He wants you to come with them as they fight through to the survivors

in the chapel.

| Kvatch

+--------

*NOTE*: The only way to get Martin out of the chapel is to let Matius and his

men go in, going with them, and kill all the daedra inside the gates. If you

try to go it alone, the daedra keep respawning and you can't get the survivors

(including Martin) out of the church.

Charge into Kvatch with Matius and his men and kill daedra (about four or

five). Once you get a message that all the daedra are dead, enter the Temple

of Akatosh. Matius will get a report from one of his guards inside the temple,

and the survivors will head out to the refugee camp--Martin among them.

You have a couple of choices:

* Buttonhole Martin now and convince him to go with you to Weynon Priory. You

then leave Matius and company to their own devices (which is to stand

around and do nothing).

* Let Martin go on down to the refugee camp. You can find him there later,

perfectly safe, and have your heart-to-heart with him then. This frees you

up to do the "Battle for Castle Kvatch" sub-quest.

Regardless of what you decide to do, you must talk to Matius to officially end

Breaking the Siege of Kvatch. Matius will ask for your help re-taking the

Castle of Kvatch and finding the count. This is an optional sub-quest that

relates to the optional "Allies for Bruma" quest that comes later on. This

quest is covered under "Allies for Bruma", so if you want to do it now, skip

down a few sections and get the low-down on your tasks.

*NOTE* It is possible to do everything in Kvatch before ever visiting Jauffre

at Weynon Priory. But, if you do that, you won't be able to recognize Brother

Martin (he'll be labeled as a generic priest) and you won't be able to talk to

him about being the heir to the throne. If you do break the siege before

talking to Jauffre, you'll have to go talk to him, return to the refugee camp,

and there you will find Martin wandering about.

[MS05]

<~~~~~~ WEYNON PRIORY ~~~~~~>

When you're ready to get on with the main quest, talk to Martin and then Fast

Travel to Weynon Priory. (You do not want to walk all that way when leading

someone. They never run and it will take a long, long time.)

You arrive in the middle of an attack. The Priory's shepherd runs up, with a

Mythic Dawn assassin on his heels, and fills you in. Maborel is dead. (Yay!

His horse is, ipso facto, yours now!) Jauffre is holed up in the chapel. Kill

the assassins outside (with Martin's help, Brother Piner will join in as

well), then enter the chapel and kill the assassins inside. You must keep

Martin and Jauffre alive, else it's reload time.

Once the assassins are dead, Jauffre thinks of the Amulet of Kings. Follow him

to his loft room so you can be there to witness the look of shock on his face

when he finds the Amulet is gone.

Yeah. Never saw that coming.

Jauffre decides the safest place for Martin is the headquarters of the Blades:

Cloud Ruler Temple. The temple will be marked for you on your map and you can

even Fast Travel there. (Hooray!) When you arrive, Martin is introduced as the

Emperor, gives a little speech and heads off to settle in. Jauffre offers you

membership in the Blades. Go ahead and accept--especially if you are a heavy

armor fighter. There's a full set of kit (helm, gauntlets, cuirass, greaves,

boots, shield and katana) for every Blade. This equipment is the equivalent of

steel armor, so it's pretty good if you're still low level.

<~~~~~~ RANDOM OBLIVION GATES ~~~~~~>

This isn't really a quest. You get no journal entry, and there are no rewards

(beyond any normal loot you may collect). You don't even have to worry about

this at all; however...

Once you go to Weynon Priory, the main story advances to the point where

Oblivion gates begin popping up in random spots around Cyrodiil. The further

you are in the main story, the higher the chance a gate will open in whatever

region you are in.

These gates not only open in random places, they point to random Oblivion

worlds. All Oblivion worlds are roughly the same, but there's no way to

predict the exact layout you'll get when going through a gate. Enter at your

own risk.

You can:

* Ignore them. When you finish the main story, they will close automatically.

You'll still have whatever daedra came out of them to deal with, but that's

just a nuisance. (Especially since the first daedra to come out will be

commensurate with your level at the time the gate opened--not your level

when you come back through to sweep the area clean.)

* Close them. They don't stay closed. But if you want the extra experience

and/or loot and/or alchemical ingredients found only in Oblivion, then you

can go in and close them (temporarily).

[MS06]

<~~~~~~ THE PATH OF DAWN ~~~~~~>

Once you've settled in, talk to Jauffre. He wants you to track down the Mythic

Dawn and find the Amulet. He points you to an old friend, Baurus (the guy who

failed to properly guard Uriel Septim), who is hanging out at Luther Broad's

Boarding House in Imperial City.

Luther Broad's is in the Elven Gardens district. You can Fast Travel there, or

walk/run/ride. Your choice. During normal hours, Baurus is sitting at the bar

in Luther's place, having a pint (or two or three). Check out the guy sitting

over in the corner, name of Astav Wirich. This will be your target.

Have a seat next to Baurus (target the stool and Activate it) and have a

little chat. Baurus has been intelligence-gathering and now he's being

followed. He wants you to help him pin his shadow. Baurus will get up and

leave, heading down to Luther's basement. Wirich will get up and follow him.

You do the same.

Once down in the basement, Wirich transforms himself into a Mythic Dawn

assassin. Help Baurus dispose of him. Frisk the body to find a book: Mankar

Camoran's Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book 1. (This is a skill book,

and will increase your Conjuration skill by 1 when you read it.). Talk to

Baurus about the book. He suggests taking it to Tar-Meena, at the Arcane

University.

Go to college. If you're a member in good standing of the Mages Guild (i.e.

you've completed enough of their tasks to have access to the University),

you'll find Tar-Meena in the library. If not, she'll be hanging around in the

lobby, just in case a visitor with a strange book happens to drop in and need

help.

Show her the book and she'll tell you this is the first of four Commentaries.

She supposes having all four commentaries will reveal the location of the

Mythic Dawn's headquarters. She just happens to have Book 2 (skill,

Destruction +1) and suggests the bookstore First Edition in Imperial City for

the other two.

Go to the Market District of Imperial City. First Edition is located on the

main SW to NE street near the gate to Green Emperor Way. Talk to Phintias, the

merchant about the Books. Yes, he just so happens to have Book 3, but another

customer, Gwinas, has already reserved the book and Phintias is holding it for

Gwinas.

Gwinas is the key to both Book 3 and Book 4. He's coming to buy Book 3 and he

has a note setting up a meeting at which he'll receive Book 4.

You have several options:

1) (Preferred): Wait in First Edition (you won't have to wait long), for

Gwinas to show up. As soon as Gwinas has bought the book, corner him and

reveal to him the Mythic Dawn is the group that killed the Emperor. Gwinas

will re-think his idea of joining the cult, give you Book 3 (skill,

Illusion +1) and the note about the meeting.

2) Get Phintias' Disposition north of 70 and he'll sell you Book 3 without

waiting for Gwinas to come get it. You'll still have to get the note from

Gwinas, which you can do by confronting him as in option #1. Since Gwinas

will give you Book 3 free, but Phintias won't, option #1 is better.

3) Follow Gwinas back to his hotel, and either pick-pocket Book 3 and the

note from him, or kill him and take them from his corpse.

*HINT* Visit Edgar's Discount Spells in the Market District and pick up a

Convalescence spell. (Convalescence allows you to heal a target.) Very useful

for keeping NPCs alive during the tasks ahead.

Once you have Book 3 and the note, return to Baurus. He'll tell you he knows

exactly where this meeting is to take place. Follow him to the Elven Gardens

district and a sewer entrance. Baurus leads you on a winding path through the

sewers, impeded by the occasional rat, mud crab or goblin.

Finally, he'll stop and tell you the meeting is to take place just beyond a

door. He suggests you go up some stairs to the left and spy on the proceedings

from above. You can either acquiesce or demand to be the one who has the

meeting and Baurus can be the cover. Either way works.

The meeting is with Raven Camoran, Mankar's son. Not long into the meeting, a

couple of assassins find whoever is handling backup duty on the upper floor

and your cover is blown. It's a 3-on-2 fight, unless you let Baurus get

killed, then you're in trouble. Once all the assassins are dead, loot Raven's

corpse for Book 4 (skill, Mysticism +1) and a key to another exit from the

sewers.

Talk to Baurus (if he's still alive). He's going to Cloud Ruler Temple to take

up his duties under Martin. You need to get out of the sewers. Use the key you

took from Raven to go out the way he came in and loot their hideout. If you

keep heading north, you'll reach the Talos Plaza sewers, which is a slightly

shorter way out; but, hasn't been cleared of enemies (and you're on your own

now). You can also go back the way you came in--if you can remember which

turns to take.

Once out of the sewers, return to Tar-Meena at Arcane University. She'll say

she has to study the books in order to find the hidden message. It takes her

three days to figure out the hidden message, which is "Green Emperor Way Where

Tower Touches Midday Sun". (Read the first letter of each paragraph of each

book.)

You don't have to wait for Tar-Meena. Go to Green Emperor Way (middle section

of Imperial City, where the palace is located). The palace is surrounded by a

cemetery and you're looking for the tomb of Prince Camarril. His tomb is

located in the southwest portion of the district. It's not marked on your map;

look for a large, domed tomb and target the door to find out if it's his.

Once you've found the tomb, Wait until the 11:00am hour and then sit and wait

for the light show to begin. When you see a glowing map appear on the door of

the tomb, step up close enough to get the message you've found the

headquarters of the Mythic Dawn.

Mission accomplished.

[MS07]

<~~~~~~ DAGON SHRINE ~~~~~~>

Your next step is obvious: invade HQ and get the Amulet of Kings back. You can

return to Cloud Ruler Temple if you wish, but Jauffre and Martin aren't going

to tell you any different.

The Lake Arrius Caverns now marked for you on your map are northwest of

Cheydinhal, so Fast Travel to the city and then hoof it north. The caverns are

on the north shore of Lake Arrius. When you enter, you'll meet a non-hostile

Mythic Dawn member. He'll give you a pass code and you give him the reply. He

then instructs you to proceed through the door and see Harrow.

Now, before you actually go any further, you need to know some things. If you

play this undercover, you'll be stripped of all your non-quest items such as

armor, weapons, potions--*everything*. Or, you can try to bull your way

through, which means fights with a *lot* of Mythic Dawn assassins. Here's the

rundown for each method:

1) You're going to play it "safe", so you decide to continue the deception.

This is a good choice for a very low level character. Before continuing,

Fast Travel back to Cheydinhal and stow your gear. You can join the

Fighter or Mages Guilds just by asking and get a free place to stash your

wares--but on the floor, not in a chest (the chests reset every few days).

You can't drop gold, so use it to buy potions and other good stuff,

because you don't want to just give it to Harrow.

Alternately, you can drop everything on the floor of the entrance room of

the caverns, but it will be hard to pick it back up when you come flying

through later with a dozen assassins on your tail.

Fast Travel back to the caverns and go through the door to your meeting

with Harrow. Harrow will lead you to the main shrine and you'll hear

Mankar Camoran himself give a little speech before disappearing into his

own little "Paradise". He takes the Amulet of Kings with him (you didn't

think it was going to be that easy did you?), but leaves behind the

Mysterium Xarxes, which could prove useful.

Harrow will lead you down and tell Remora Camoran (Mankar's daughter) that

you've come to be initiated. She'll invite you up to the dais and offer to

let you kill the Argonian tied to the altar. Regardless of what you do

with the Argonian, you're going to end up in a fight.

The wisest course of action is to agree to kill the prisoner, take the

silver dagger laying next to the book, then Activate the prisoner to free

him. Grab the book from the altar. Now everyone in the room has gone

hostile. It's time to run, crying like a baby.

You can't get out the way you came in. Your exit is up the stairs you came

down, but turning to the right rather than the left. At the top is a door

that leads to the Living Quarters. Head through the door and skip down

to the Living Quarters section below.

2) If you're a little bit higher level, have decent kit and don't want to

risk losing it, you can probably fight your way through to the shrine.

Kill the guard in the entrance cavern and get a key from his body. This

key will open the door into the next cave--just a tunnel, with possibly

one cultist.

The door at the end of the tunnel leads to the Shrine Antechamber. Read

these directions carefully--you do not want to stop long enough to fight

anyone, as that just brings hordes of cultists down on your head. And you

can't handle hordes, no matter how high level you are.

As you enter the Antechamber, you are in a large room. Your path is to the

south. Book it to a tunnel and take the first left. You're going to have

cultists nipping at your heals. Equip a healing spell and cast it as you

need it. The key you got from the entrance guard should unlock the door

here leading to the shrine. If you reach the end of the tunnel, where it

turns right (east), you went too far. Good luck trying to turn around and

go back.

As you enter the shrine, a gate drops behind you, shutting off pursuit.

You're on a high ledge looking over the altar. No one will notice your

presence as you listen to Mankar Camoran's speech and watch him disappear

with the Amulet of Kings. Once he's gone, you're in excellent position

to snipe at the cultists below with arrows or spells.

They will eventually respond, running up the stairs, but you should be

able to get them one or two at a time, which is Magickageable. Once they

are all dead, you can descend to the lower level, free the prisoner, and

get the Mysterium Xarxes from the altar. You can't go back the way you

came, so go up the stairs, taking a right instead of a left, and take the

door at the top into the Living Quarters.

3) You can exploit a little bit of bad programming by the developers. Strip

all your gear and drop it on the cave floor. Then agree to Harrow's

request to be inducted into the order. Before following him through the

door into the temple, go back and pick up your kit and re-equip yourself.

Nobody will notice, and, since they are still peaceful toward you, you can

depopulate the place with near impunity before going into the shrine.

(Exploit submitted by smjellish.)

| Living Quarters

+-----------------

Whether you're fully suited up or wearing only a red robe and carrying a

dagger, there's only one way through here: running for your life. The Living

Quarters are full of cultists, many of whom will use hit-and-run tactics.

Stopping to fight just means getting beaten by as many as a dozen Mythic Dawn

assassins at once. You can't survive that.

So, running it is. Get a healing spell ready, sheathe your weapon (if you have

one) and start pumping.

From your entry point, run down the tunnel and take a right at the end. Take

the next left and run until you can take a right turn. This leads into a room

with two or more cultists. The exit is to the southwest--as you enter the

room, take a hard left and hug the wall to find your way into the escape

tunnel.

This tunnel will turn south (left) and deposit you in a large room with at

least two assassins. Take the stairs to the west (to your right as you come

into the room) and run around the upper level to the exit in the southeast

corner of the room.

This tunnel turns south, then east and dumps you in another large room. You

may find up to a dozen cultists in here having "worship services". Lucky you.

The exit is in the middle of the south wall, so take a right as you come into

the room and run through the middle of the mob to make your escape.

This is a short tunnel that slopes up. At the top, turn left to find a door

that leads back into the entrance cavern. Run down this tunnel to a small

room. The exit tunnel is to your left (east). At the start of the tunnel is a

turn-lever on the wall. Activate it to open the secret door just ahead and run

through into the main entrance to the caverns. The exit to the outside world

is straight ahead.

As soon as you are outside, attempt to Fast Travel. If you were quick enough,

you got out before any cultists and you'll be able to Fast Travel. If you get

the "You cannot travel while enemies are near" message, then start running

again in the direction of Cheydinhal. Speed is your only concern now.

Once you are safe and have re-equipped yourself (if you decided on the

undercover method), you can think about going back to the Caverns and

methodically cleaning them out. There's a lot of loot in there. Or you can

just count yourself lucky and Fast Travel to Cloud Ruler Temple. Martin wants

that book you stole.

[MS08]

<~~~~~~ SPIES ~~~~~~>

By now, if Baurus survived your earlier dustup with the Mythic Dawn, you'll

find him wandering around Cloud Ruler Temple. Talk to him for boosts in your

Blade, Block and Heavy Armor skills. Find Martin (he's usually in the main

hall) and give him Mysterium Xarxes. He gets pumped over getting into a little

dark magic, then sends you to Jauffre, who's got some "concerns". Jauffre,

indeed, is concerned. It appears strangers have been loitering about the

Temple; but, despite having a huge building full of fighters, Jauffre can't

spare anyone but you to check into it.

Funny. Anyway, Jauffre refers you to Captain Steffan of the Blades or Captain

Burd of the Bruma constabulary. Your quickest route through the task ahead is

to track down Steffan. He's usually patrolling, during the day, follow your

quest marker to find him. He reports some strangers hanging out around a

runestone just south of the Temple.

Walk down the slope to the runestone (it's kind of hard to miss, since it's

big and has glowing runes on it). Take up position near the stone and Wait

until dark (around 7 or 8 p.m.). You'll soon be attacked by two Mythic Dawn

assassins, who shouldn't be too much trouble to take out. Search their bodies

for some keys, including one labeled "Jearl's House Key". Jearl, eh?

Go down to Bruma and find Jearl's house, it's in the southwest corner of town,

behind the Chapel of Talos. Enter and find the trapdoor down into the

basement, one of the keys you looted will open it. In the basement you will

find a note outlining the Mythic Dawn's plan to open a Great Gate at Bruma in

order to get to Martin.

Return to Jauffre with the information, and then talk to Martin about his

progress with the book.

*PROGRESS NOTE*

-----------------

At this point in the game, you get two divergent, parallel paths. One involves

collecting items for Martin to use in opening a portal to Paradise. The other

involves getting Bruma ready for the opening of the Great Gate. The quests for

Martin are Blood of the Daedra, Blood of the Divines and Miscarcand. The

quests from Jauffre are Bruma Gate and Allies for Bruma (which includes a

couple of sub-quests). You can do these in whatever order you wish.

Eventually, the main story will merge in the quest Defense of Bruma.

[MS09]

<~~~~~~ BLOOD OF THE DAEDRA ~~~~~~>

The first item on Martin's shopping list is an artifact of a daedra lord.

These are, actually, fairly easy to come by. There are fifteen, total, and

obtaining each one involves it's own set of tasks. These are detailed in the

Side Quests section under Daedric Quests.

Read through about the Daedric Quests and decide which artifact you are

willing to give up, then go complete that task. The game suggests Azura, but

many players like to keep her re-useable soul gem, Azura's Star. The best bet

is Wabbajack. This staff from Sheogorath is: 1) easy to obtain, since the

quest requires no combat, just pranks; and, 2) useless except as a novelty

item.

Once you have a daedric artifact, return to Martin.* He now wants the blood of

a god.

* A bug prevents Spell Breaker, the Peryite artifact, from being recognized by

Martin. This is fixed with patch 1.1; however, why you would want to give up

Spell Breaker is a mystery.

[MS10]

<~~~~~~ BLOOD OF THE DIVINES ~~~~~~>

Martin refers you to Jauffre, who knows the location of Tiber Septim's armor.

(The first emperor, Tiber eventually became the god Talos.) Speak to Jauffre.

First, Jauffre wants you to go help close an Oblivion gate that's opened

outside Bruma. This is the Bruma Gate quest. You can choose to do it now, or

wait until later. Ask Jauffre about the armor of Tiber Septim.

Jauffre directs you to Sancre Tor, which used to be a holy site for the

Blades. He'll give you a key and directions, then it's up to you. Sancre Tor

is west-southwest of Cloud Ruler Temple, almost due north of Chorrol. You'll

need to prep for ghosts and wraiths in this dungeon. That means a magic or

silver weapon or lots of spells. Suit up and hike on over.

As you enter Sancre Tor, you'll find an enchanted weapon--if you don't already

have one. Follow the hall to the first large room, and watch out for the dart

traps surrounding the loot chests. Continue northwest and then northeast until

you come to a large room. Be careful entering the room, this if the first of

four boss fights you'll have in this dungeon.

You may recall from Jauffre's conversation that the four greatest Blades of

Tiber Septim's era lost their lives in Sancre Tor. Well, their skeletons are

still prowling the corridors, and you have to kill them to release their

spirits. They are each using enchanted Ancient Blades equipment.

Oh. Goody.

Pepper the skeletons from range first to soften them up. They move fast, so

you won't get many shots in. Try to keep the fights in the large rooms where

you find them, rather than retreating up hallways. You don't want to get into

confined places with these guys.

First up is Rielus. After he's defeated, his ghost appears and gives you the

whole story. You'll need to release his "brothers" as well, so they can break

the final evil enchantment on Sancre Tor. Loot his skeletal corpse for the

Amulet of the Ansei.

Head southeast out of this room and follow the corridor to a door that leads

to the Entry Hall. There will be a couple of ghosts here. Down in the pit is a

huge door that leads to the Tomb of the Reman Emperors. That's the ultimate

goal, but it is inaccessible until you kill (re-kill?) the four undead Blades.

Go down into the pit, near the door to the Tomb. Jump into the water to your

right and find the door that's underneath the upper level of this room. This

leads to the Catacombs. You'll make your way through several tunnels and two

larger rooms before reaching the room with Alain, an undead Blade.

Alain drops Northwind, a one-handed katana with frost damage. Behind Alain, to

the northeast, is a door leading to the Hall of Judgment. In the hall, go

through the first room, exiting to the northwest to find your way to Casnar,

your next target. He is using Mishaxhi's Cleaver, a two-handed sword with

Disintegrate Armor enchantment. (Hopefully, you remembered to bring repair

hammers with you.)

From Casnar's room, find the tunnel leading northeast (the exit is along the

east wall of the room) and follow this back to the Entry Hall. In the Entry

Hall, take the east exit to get to the Prison. When you enter the first large

room, you'll fight the skeleton of Warden Kastav. He's not as tough as the

Blades, but he's no patsy. There will probably be a ghost or two joining in

the fight.

Loot his corpse for his key, which opens the door at the top of the ramp. At

the second four-way intersection, take a right and then take your third left.

The next left leads to Valdemar's room. Defeat him and take his enchanted

shield. That should be all four undead Blades. Return to the Entry Hall and

head for the Tomb.

The spirits of the four Blades should be here, and they'll take up positions

to bring down the magical barriers protecting the armor of Tiber Septim. Once

the barriers are down, pick up the armor and head back to Cloud Ruler Temple.

(Yes, that really is it. There's no more fighting unless you left some ghosts

behind you.)

[MS11]

<~~~~~~ MISCARCAND ~~~~~~>

Upon your return, Martin reveals the third item necessary for a portal to

Paradise: a great welkynd stone. If you've been exploring any Ayleid ruins

prior to this point, you may have pockets full of the normal welkynd stones

(they fully restore your Magicka when used). But Martin doesn't want just any

old welkynd stone, so he directs you to the ancient Ayleid capital of

Miscarcand.

This ruin is between Skingrad and Kvatch, not far north of the main road. It

is filled with mostly skeletons, zombies and goblins. The goblins are engaged

in running fights with the undead. You'll frequently be able to stand by and

watch them kill each other before you finish off the survivors.

From the entrance, take a left and head down the long hall to a four-way

intersection. The gate in front of you cannot be opened from this side. To

your right, stairs go down to the large room you just passed, which is mainly

a looting opportunity. To the left is a hall that leads to a raised corridor

over a large room.

Snipe the goblins and undead from your raised position. Eventually, you will

have to jump down. After looting the room, take the exit in the northwest

corner and go up the stairs. Find the button on the first landing and push it.

This opens a gate leading south from the raised corridor. Go up more stairs

and step on the pressure plate at the top to open the gate at the four-way

intersection.

Head south and enter the second level, Sel Vanua. In the first room is a varla

stone under a cover. The button to lift the cover is on the east wall. (Varla

stones fully recharge all enchanted weapons in your inventory.) Take the south

exit from this room to reach another large room with a raised corridor

crossing it. Again, you can snipe from the raised position.

Eventually, you'll have to jump down. The gate leading out of this area is to

the north. The button that opens that gate is in a side passage on the south

side of the room. Once the gate is open, enter the third level, Morimath.

Make your way through a series of halls to a large room with a platform in the

middle. In the center of the platform is the great welkynd stone, ripe for the

picking. Before you pick it, get ready for battle. If you have fire spells or

weapons, now is the time to get them ready. Wait for one hour to fully restore

your health and Magicka.

Ready? Pick up the stone. Some stairs rise from the lower floor up to the

platform. (All the easier for the zombies to get you.) Behind you, a door

opens letting out a lich, the King of Miscarcand. Jump down to the lower floor

and deal with the zombies as quickly as you can. Then you can concentrate on

the lich. It's resistant to frost and magic, and weak to fire. It's primarily

a spellcaster, so try to close with it and smash it good.

After the lich is dead, loot its remains for a key. Go back up the platform

and go north into the alcove from which the lich came. Step on the pressure

plate, kill the zombies and exit to the west. The key you got from the lich

will open the gate and you've got a shortcut straight back to the top level of

the ruin. Another pressure plate opens the secret door leading to the main

exit from Miscarcand.

Return to Martin with your booty. He's still working on the final item needed

for the portal. Now it's time to deal with the Oblivion gate in front of

Bruma.

[MS12]

<~~~~~~ BRUMA GATE ~~~~~~>

Assuming you've already talked to Jauffre about the Bruma gate, head down to

the city and report to Captain Burd. He wants you to show the city guard how

to close a gate. Agree and you'll take Burd and two of his men with you into

Oblivion.

The Bruma Oblivion world is semi-circular and filled with daedra. (You're

supposed to be here with allies, so there are more than the usual number of

demons.) You'll work your way around a semi-circular island to the north side,

then head south to the Sigil Keep, this one called The Fury Spike.

There are no side towers or anything here. This is a straight run up the tower

to the Sigillum Sanguis. The Rending Halls is a two-level affair. When you

reach the top of the first ramp, clear the room, use the Blood Fountain, then

exit to the east. Climb the curving ramp. When the hall makes a sharp left,

look for a lever on the wall to spring the blade trap ahead.

Climb the final ramps and return to the Fury Spike core. The Corridors of Dark

Salvation are next, and it's a simple loop-back climb up a couple of ramps.

Then it's on to the Sanguis and the sigil stone. Activate it and get thrown

(along with Burd and whoever else survived) back to Bruma. Burd now thinks he

and his soldiers can handle any new gates that pop up around Bruma. Return to

Jauffre at Cloud Ruler Temple.

[MS13]

<~~~~~~ ALLIES FOR BRUMA ~~~~~~>

*NOTE* These quests are completely optional. However, if you want a chance of

making it to the end of the main story, and you're not 50th level, then you

probably want to enlist some help.

Jauffre wants you to travel to the other cities in Cyrodiil and ask for aid

for Bruma. (He suggests seeing the Elder Council in Imperial City, but you can

skip them. They're not going to help.) You must travel to each of the other

seven cities--or fewer if you feel you don't need as much help--close an

Oblivion gate (except for Kvatch, which has a different requirement) and then

ask the ruler of the city for Aid for Bruma.

Cheydinhal and Bravil are your best stops. Each sends a high-level Captain;

Cheydinhal also sends a soldier. Anvil and Chorrol each send two soldiers.

Kvatch, Leyawiin and Skingrad send only one soldier each. At a minimum, you

should get aid from Cheydinhal, Bravil, Anvil and Chorrol. If you want to make

the next quest (Defense of Bruma) ridiculously easy, get aid from all seven

cities.

In each city, you can go speak to the count or countess first, which will mark

the Oblivion gate for you. Or you can just go close the gate and speak to the

ruler after. Speaking to the ruler before offers no special advantage other

than the map marker. Most of these rulers hold court from 8am until 6pm. You

can find the castle for each city on your world map and Fast Travel there

though you've never set foot in their doors.

You should also note some of these worlds use one of the seven random Oblivion

worlds you can enter through the random gates that pop up here and there in

the wilderness. For example, Bravil uses the #1 random world, Chorrol uses #2.

You'll always get the same world when you go through those city gates, but you

won't always get the same Sigil Keep since the random worlds link to random

Keep interiors.

| The Wayward Knight (Cheydinhal) [MS13-A]

+------------------------------------------

The gate near Cheydinhal is west of the city. If you speak to the count of

Cheydinhal first, or speak to one of the soldiers guarding the gate, you'll

get a new quest: The Wayward Knight. It seems the count's son fancies himself

a great knight, and has a group of friends who play at being knights with him.

These impetuous youths charged into Oblivion when the gate opened, and the

count wants you to bring his son out of there.

Make sure you have a spell to restore health on a target (along with your

normal Oblivion kit) before entering the gate. You'll come out at the top of a

large mountain. You'll be required to jump your way down here and there, and

it will be impossible to get back up. You're in this one for the long haul.

Once you've reached the bottom of the mountain, you'll find Farwil, the

count's son, and one other knight on the east side of the mountain, near the

bridge that crosses to the Sigil Keep. Talk to Farwil and they'll agree to

follow you and help you close the gate.

Advance across the bridge and into the tower. This is just like any other

Sigil Keep, but you have to concern yourself with keeping Farwil (at least)

alive. If he does die, you can take his signet ring from the body as proof of

his heroism.

After the gate is closed, if Farwil survived, he makes you an honorary Knight

of the Thorn and gives you an amulet with a Speechcraft enhancement. His

father then will offer you the choice of a magic sword or staff. If Farwil

didn't make it, the count will still give you some gold for your effort.

Either way, he'll offer up the services of his captain of the guard and a

soldier for the defense of Bruma.

| Bravil [MS13-B]

+-----------------

The Bravil gate is located northwest of the city. Inside you arrive facing a

bridge leading to the Sigil Keep, but a gate blocks your way. To open the

gate, you must throw a switch at the top of one of the two small towers

southeast (Spindle Shrine) and southwest (Blood Well) of the Sigil Keep. There

are three ways to get to one of those towers.

1) Go around the long way. Begin by going west, then north, then east across

a long bridge with a sunken tower in the middle, then south to the Spindle

Shrine. Fight your way up the tower (it's like a mini-keep) and throw the

switch at the top to open the gate across the main bridge.

2) If you have some decent Acrobatics skill, you can turn southwest from your

entry point and pick your way across a series of small islands that curve

to the east and then north, leading you to the Spindle Shrine. Throw the

switch at the top to open the gate across the main bridge.

3) Start by going west from the gate until you come to the bridge going

north. Look around for a cave entrance, then work your way through the

caves to the basement of the Blood Well (southwest) tower. Work your way

to the top to find the switch that opens the main gate.

Once the Sigil Keep is accessible, you're all set. Note this Keep is randomly

determined when you open the door. Some of the random Keeps have one side

area, some two and some three. There's no telling what you're going to get.

When you've got the sigil stone and have closed the Oblivion gate, see Count

Terentius for your high-level soldier.

| Anvil [MS13-C]

+----------------

You'll find the Anvil gate northwest of the city. This Oblivion world is easy,

from a pathing perspective. The Sigil Keep is on top of a mountain, you come

in at the bottom. Just follow the path as it goes through several switchbacks

up the face of the mountain and you're there. After the Oblivion gate is

closed, visit Countess Umbranox for your promise of aid, which is two standard

soldiers.

| Chorrol [MS13-D]

+------------------

This Oblivion gate is south of the city, in the woods just beyond the stables.

You enter Oblivion on the north side of the area, facing the Sigil Keep

surrounded by six towers. You enter the Sigil Keep through a connecting bridge

from the east (Earthquake) or west (Hurricane) tower. To get to one of those

two keeps, you have to open the gates that block your way.

Pick any one of the four "corner" towers: Tsunami, Eruption, Tornado or

Landslide. Ride the "corpse masher" elevator to the middle of the tower, then

climb the ramp to the top and throw the switch. This opens the gate next to

that tower. (You can, from the top of any of these towers, cross over to the

Sigil Keep; however, you can't go anywhere inside the Keep except to one of

the other four corner towers.)

Go back down, exit the tower and head through the now open gate. Enter one of

the two side towers and ride the elevator to the middle of the tower. There's

a door right at the top of the elevator to a bridge over to the Sigil Keep.

Inside the Keep you'll find the doors to the Rending Halls and you're on your

way.

Countess Valga spends a lot of time in the chapel, in addition to standard

court hours, so you should be able to find her most any time of the day.

She'll send two soldiers to the aid of Bruma.

| The Battle for Castle Kvatch [MS13-E]

+---------------------------------------

You may have already done this after Breaking the Siege of Kvatch. If so,

you'll find Savlian Matius where you left him, in the castle of Kvatch. Speak

to him about Aid for Bruma and he promises to send what he can (which is one

soldier).

If you haven't done this quest yet, Matius and his guards will still be in the

Temple of Akatosh in Kvatch. Speak to Matius and agree to help him retake the

castle. He takes off with some men through the north door of the church.

Follow him outside and help cut through the daedra between the church and the

castle.

When you reach the castle gates, you find them locked. Matius instructs you to

go through the North Guard House, under the wall, to the inside of the gates

and unlock them. Berich Inian, a guard still in the church, has the key.

Return to the church and talk to Inian. He tells you he'll take you through

the passage. You'll also find some Imperial legionnaires. Speak to them and

they agree to help out. Follow Inian down into the chapel's crypt. Take it

easy through here, there are a lot of daedra. With Inian and the legionnaires,

the demons shouldn't be much trouble. You'll exit the crypt and wind your way

through more daedra until you reach the North Guard House. If Inian dies along

the way, make sure you frisk him for the key.

Once you reach the Guard House, all you have to do is drop down into the

tunnel, run to the far end (no enemies) and climb up to find yourself on the

inside of the castle gate. Turn the wheel to open the gate and let Matius and

his men through. There's a pitched battle in the courtyard and then more

fighting in the main hall of the castle.

Matius now instructs you to go find the count. You'll be aided by any

surviving legionnaires, so you probably won't have to fight through the castle

alone. When you reach the count's quarters, you'll find his body. Get his

signet ring off the body and return it to Matius.

Matius, at this point, suddenly decides to retire and gives you his armor. He

then spends the remainder of the game standing in the castle in his civvies.

You can also ask him for Aid for Bruma and get one Kvatch soldier for your

trouble.

| Leyawiin [MS13-F]

+-------------------

The Oblivion gate is east-northeast of Leyawiin. From the entry point, go west

and find a cave door. The caves, like many Oblivion things, are random. Just

keep plugging along and you'll eventually reach the main island.

When you finally make it out, there are Spindle Shrines to the east and west.

Pick either one and climb to the top. Here you can get to a bridge that leads

to one of the Blood Well towers. Throw the switch at the top of the Blood Well

tower to open gates leading to the Sigil Keep. Go down to the bottom of the

Blood Well, exit onto the bridge and fight your way to the Keep.

Once the gate is closed, you can find Count Caro in Castle Leyawiin during

normal court hours.

| Skingrad [MS13-G]

+-------------------

The Skingrad gate is just east of Castle Skingrad, at the top of a small hill.

Inside, you find yourself facing three towers. The two towers to your left and

right are the Anguish Keep and the Sorrow Keep. Each is a full keep, with two

side areas and a shrine at the top.

Fight your way to the top of either keep and throw the switch. This will

extend a bridge across to the top of the other side keep. Cross the bridge and

throw a switch in the second tower. The bridge between the towers retracts,

but bridges extend from each side keep to the main Sigil Keep. You'll have to

fight your way down one level in the second keep in order to take the bridge

over to the Sigil Keep.

Entering the Sigil Keep, you're already about halfway up the tower and only

have to fight your way through one side area in order to reach the Sigillum

Sanguis. You know what to do by now.

The peculiarity in Skingrad occurs after you've closed the gate and want to

get aid from Count Hassildor. You can only talk to the count by going through

an intermediary. If you are in the middle of the Mages Guild quest, "Ulterior

Motives", then Hassildor will refuse to speak to you until you fully complete

that quest (which means reporting in to Raminus Polus). Otherwise, if you have

not done "Ulterior Motives", then you must speak to the steward, Mercator

Hosidus about Aid for Bruma. If you have done "Ulterior Motives", you must

speak to Hal-Liurz.

[MS14]

<~~~~~~ DEFENSE OF BRUMA ~~~~~~>

You can open this quest any time after finishing the three "relic hunts" for

Martin and the Bruma Gate quest. Talk to Martin and he'll reveal the final

item he needs for a portal to Paradise: a great sigil stone. You can only get

these by entering a great gate. So Martin proposes to let the enemy open a

great gate next to Bruma and then send you in to get the great sigil stone

before the enemy gets its siege machine out and destroys Bruma.

It's goofy plans like this that make him the Emperor, see?

You've no choice but to agree. Martin asks that you personally see Countess

Carvain in Bruma and fill her in on the plan. So head off to Bruma and the

Countess, who agrees with the plan. (Must be the royal blood that causes this

idiocy.) She'll head off to the chapel of Talos.

Follow her down to the chapel and witness the meeting between Martin and

Carvain. After they've chatted, talk to Carvain again. At this point you have,

essentially, two choices: "Let's go" or "I'm not ready yet". (If you haven't

completed all the Allies for Bruma quests, you will also have a "Recruit more

soldiers" response, which is the same thing as "I'm not ready".)

Save your game! Martin and Carvain will stand in the chapel until the cows

come home waiting for you to get ready. So...get ready. The mission ahead is a

timed run through an Oblivion world. You'll not be able to Wait at any point,

so you'll need a full set of healing potions, Magicka-restoring potions, etc.

Make sure your enchanted weapons are recharged and all your armor and weapons

are fully repaired. Feel like you need more support? Go finish more Allies for

Bruma quests.

When you're ready, give Carvain the go ahead and follow Martin and company out

the East Gate of Bruma. Your little army heads towards an Oblivion gate that

has just opened, Martin gives a speech, then the battle is on. Your primary

job is to keep Martin alive until the great gate opens. If you recruited all

the available soldiers in Allies for Bruma, this is really easy. There are

more than enough guards to control the daedra popping through the lesser

gates.

After a few minutes, you'll get the message the great gate has opened. The

timer has started! Get moving through the gate...

[MS15]

<~~~~~~ GREAT GATE ~~~~~~>

This Oblivion world is different in two ways: There's a giant siege engine

moving toward the gate and you have about 15 minutes to get to the top of the

Sigil Keep and get the great sigil stone. That's 15 minutes real time, but

don't dawdle. Try not to spend too much time fighting. Use a potion, spell or

equipment to Fortify your Speed and try just racing past most enemies. Keep a

healing spell equipped and boost your health as you run.

There are two towers in front of you, head to the west (left) one. Climb to

the top and exit onto a north-bound bridge that leads to another tower. Go

down that tower and exit onto a large bridge. There's a jump here across

broken pieces of the bridge, but if you miss the jump, you fall down in front

of a cave entrance that might actually be an easier path.

If you decided to take the eastern route north, the jump across the broken

bridge is much more difficult and drops you into lava. Plus, there's no

convenient cave to take you under the fire-spitting guard towers. Your choice.

Regardless, your goal is one of the two towers flanking the Sigil Keep. If you

use the cave at the base of the western bridge, it takes you directing into

the western guard tower. At the tops of these two towers are switches that

open the gates leading to the Sigil Keep.

This Keep has only one side area, the Vaults of End Times. However, you do

need a Sigil Key from one of two Sigil Keepers. There's a Keeper on the ground

floor, and another near the door to the Sigillum Sanguis. Kill either one,

enter the Sanguis and run for the great sigil stone. Provided you got there in

time, everything, including the large siege engine, blows up and Bruma is

saved!

Your reward is a standard sigil stone lying in front of the burned-out hulk of

the siege engine (which somehow Magickages to blow up right outside Bruma) and

the opportunity to go after Mankar Camoran.

Aren't you lucky?

[MS16]

<~~~~~~ PARADISE ~~~~~~>

After the battle for Bruma, return to Cloud Ruler Temple. Tend to your

equipment and talk to Martin. He's ready to open a portal to Camoran's

Paradise. The question is, are you ready? Once you enter Paradise, you can't

get out until Camoran is dead. He's a high-level mage, so kit yourself out

appropriately. Some Dispel scrolls or potions would be useful. Plenty of

damage resistance, magic resistance, spell absorption...you know the drill.

Once you're ready to live off what you can carry, tell Martin to open the

portal. Enter the portal to find yourself in Paradise.

Literally.

Camoran's little slice of reality is a pleasant garden environment with blue

skies and fluffy white clouds. Oh, and the occasional daedra ready to tear

your head off...Nothing's perfect. Head off down the white brick path,

listening to Camoran lecture you. Along the way, in addition to the occasional

daedra, you'll find Ascended Immortals. These dead Mythic Dawn cultists are

waiting in Paradise for Dagon's victory over Tamriel.

You can talk to these cultists and learn some of the history of this place.

You also learn the only way to Camoran is through the Forbidden Grotto. And

you can only get in there if you have the Bands of the Chosen.

As you follow the path, you'll eventually encounter a dremora named Kathutet.

He wants to talk (so watch your trigger finger). He'll give you Bands of the

Chosen if you serve him or beat him in a fight. Choose to serve him and he'll

send you on an errand to free one of his subordinates, Anaxes, who has been

imprisoned by the Ascended Immortals.

Beating Kathutet is the easier and quicker course of action. But, if you

decide to serve him, Anaxes' lair is to the northwest. Enter and find the

boulder wedged in place by logs. Stand to the side and Activate the logs to

push them out of the way. Return to where you met Kathutet.

Cross the bridge going east and enter the Flooded Grotto. At the end of the

grotto, if you freed Anaxes, you'll meet Kathutet again and he gives you the

Bands of the Chosen. If you killed Kathutet, you already have the Bands. Equip

them and open the door to the Forbidden Grotto.

The Forbidden Grotto turns out to be a torture chamber. As you leave the first

large room, you'll be intercepted by an Ascended Immortal named Eldamil. He

wants to help, and, you want his help. Really, you do. Agree to Eldamil's

plan. He directs you into one of the cages. While in the cage, Eldamil's boss,

Orthe, comes to check on things.

Eldamil's ruse works, and he lets you out on the east side of the chasm. You

can now head south, through another torture chamber and through the door into

the next section of the Grotto.

If you chose to turn down Eldamil, then you have to head north from Eldamil's

room and fight Orthe and two of his buddies. This is not good for your health.

But, if you insist on trying, you'll have to kill them all and get Orthe's key

from a loot sack in the corner of their room. This key opens the portcullis

leading east and eventually to the exit.

In the second part of the Grotto you'll meet Eldamil again. (Even if you

turned him down or killed him.) He removes your Bands of the Chosen and offers

again to help you out. You really should accept his offer. Work your way

through the Grotto until you encounter a xivilai named Medrike. He has the key

to the exit. Take it from him.

Outside, follow the path until you run into Mankar's children, Raven and

Remora. They lead you inside Mankar's palace, where Mankar begins making a

speech. Don't bother listening. Walk up to him and smack him. Mankar has a lot

of spell absorption and damage reflection, so attacking him from range,

especially with spells, is not a good option.

Ignore the children; if you kill them, they just respawn. Mankar is your only

concern. You want to keep him off balance, preferably with power attacks that

stagger or stun him. You might also be able to paralyze him with poison put on

your weapon. If you brought Eldamil along, he can help distract the two kids

and let you focus on Mankar. If you're an Orc or Redguard, use your greater

power and just bash Mankar as hard as you can.

As soon as Mankar is dead, Paradise collapses and you find yourself back in

Cloud Ruler Temple, the Amulet of Kings in hand. It's time to close the

Oblivion gates once and for all.

[MS17]

<~~~~~~ LIGHT THE DRAGONFIRES ~~~~~~>

After your return from Paradise, Martin says it's time to go to Imperial City

and the Temple of the One. Fast Travel down to the Palace district of Imperial

City and enter the Elder Council Chambers. Once Martin's joined you, he and

Ocato begin discussing Martin's claim to the throne and re-lighting the

Dragonfires.

Unfortunately, you're interrupted by a couple of dremora. Oblivion gates have

sprung up in Imperial City and daedra are rampaging in the streets. Your final

mission is at hand: protect Martin. Follow the group outside and help deal

with the daedra; make sure Martin stays healthy.

Once this initial wave of daedra are dead, you're joined by a small group of

Imperial Legion soldiers. This is your army. Martin says he must get to the

Temple of the One, so join the soldiers as they run toward the Temple

District.

When you reach the Temple district, you find it overrun by daedra. Don't spend

too much time on them--as you kill them, more jump out of the two gates in

this district. Just run to your right around the temple, making sure Martin is

keeping up with you.

You'll soon run into Mehrunes Dagon himself. You can't kill this monster, but

you can hurt him. Your only task is to get Martin inside the Temple and the

door is just past Dagon. Run up and power attack one of Dagon's legs. He'll

lift the foot as he staggers back, so take that time to run to the door and

Activate it. Martin will follow you inside.

At this point, there's nothing you can do but watch. Enjoy the show!

[MS18]

<~~~~~~ IMPERIAL DRAGON ARMOR ~~~~~~>

This isn't really a quest, more of an epilogue. After all the shouting is

done, Chancellor Ocato has a chat with you. He names you Champion of Cyrodiil

and says he's ordered up a suit of Imperial Dragon Armor--normally only worn

by the emperor--for you. Two weeks later, you'll be able to go to the Imperial

Legion armory in the Imperial City Prison district and pick up a suit of

either Light or Heavy Imperial Dragon Armor. (The type of armor is determined

by which of your two armor skills is higher rank.) The armor not only looks

nice, it's got some decent enchantments on it as well.

That's it! You've finished the main story of Oblivion. But the game is far

from over...

[FG00]

~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FIGHTERS GUILD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

The Fighters Guild specializes in solving problems--any problem. Whether it's

rats in the basement, thieves in the store or goblins overrunning a

settlement, the Guild gets called in to take care of the situation.

The Fighters Guild isn't for everyone. Several times you will be fighting in

close quarters with multiple enemies. Tanking is highly suggested. The

problems presented in this series of quests are to be met with sword or axe

and do not lend themselves to sneaking around or blowing things up from range.

Joining the Guild is easy, talk to Vilena Donton at the Chorrol Guild, Azzan

at the Anvil Guild or Burz gro-Khash at the Cheydinhal Guild. You must not

have any outstanding bounty and your Infamy score must be less than 100. If

your Infamy score is 100 or higher, get your Fame score to 100 or higher and

you'll be able to join.

Vilena Donton is the guild master, but doesn't directly issue any orders. You

get about half of your contracts from Azzan and gro-Khash; the remainder of

your jobs come from Donton's assistant, Modryn Oreyn. Your first three

contracts come from Azzan and gro-Khash.

[FG01]

<~~~~~~ A RAT PROBLEM ~~~~~~>

Azzan, in Anvil, sends you to see Arvena Thelas, who is having a problem with

the rats in her basement.

Not that kind of problem. It seems Ms. Thelas actually *likes* the rats, but

someone or something is killing them. Get down there and identify the culprit.

When you enter the basement, you'll find a mountain lion chewing on the corpse

of a rat.

Yeah, a mountain lion. Kill it (not necessarily an easy task) and report back

to Thelas. She worries more might follow this one, and recommends you seek out

a hunter, Pinarus Inventius. Together, you should be able to track down and

kill any remaining mountain lions in the vicinity of Anvil.

Use your quest marker to track down Inventius; he roams around a lot and may

even be out hunting. When you find him, he agrees to lead you to a suspected

lair just northwest of the city. You'll find four lions have set up camp among

some rocks. Make sure you stick close to Inventius. Lions are fast and strong.

Let one of them stagger you and the rest will close in and then you're cat

chow. One possibility is to get up on the rocks from the "back" side and snipe

the lions where they can't reach you.

When the lions are dead, return to Thelas. She's still upset. There's

*another* mountain lion in the basement! Get down there and kill it and return

to Thelas. She suspects her neighbor, Quill-Weave, of luring the lions into

Thelas' basement. Find a good hiding spot in the back yard of Thelas' house

and go into Sneak mode. Wait until dark (around 8pm) and you'll see Quill-

Weave sneak into the yard and leave a piece of meat near the hole in the

basement wall.

Step out and confront her. She admits to trying to lure the rats out of the

basement (she finds them disgusting, which means she's perfectly normal). She

never intended lions to get in. She promises to leave Thelas alone and offers

you free Acrobatics training, as long as you don't rat her out to Thelas.

* Rat her out to Thelas. Thelas is quite pleased with the outcome and boosts

your Speechcraft skill by one point, plus your pay for fulfilling the

contract.

* Keep Quill-Weave's secret. Thelas thinks you're holding out on her, but

pays you for fulfilling the contract. Track down Quill-Weave and get a

one-point boost in your Acrobatics skill.

Return to Azzan at the guild hall for another assignment.

[FG02]

<~~~~~~ THE UNFORTUNATE SHOPKEEPER ~~~~~~>

Once you've dealt with the lions, Azzan sends you to see Norbert Lelles, of

Lelles's Quality Merchandise. Lelles's store is located on the waterfront,

outside the Dock Gate of Anvil. Thieves have been breaking into his store and

he wants you to play security guard.

Stand behind the counter and Wait until midnight. Three thieves will sneak

into the store. If you're a basic tank, you should be able to handle these

guys. Stay behind the counter and try to take them one-at-a-time as they come

around to get you.

If you're more a ranged/stealth fighter, now's the time to pull out a shield

and block a lot--or use a Shield spell. This is just the first of several

fights you're going to have in cramped quarters with multiple opponents.

This is the Fighters Guild, after all.

When you've disposed of the thieves, find Lelles in the Flowing Bowl for your

payment. Return to Azzan. He's got nothing more for you. If you've already

done "The Desolate Mine", he kicks you on to Vilena Donton in Chorrol,

otherwise he suggests you go visit gro-Khash in Cheydinhal.

[FG03]

<~~~~~~ THE DESOLATE MINE ~~~~~~>

Burz gro-Khash wants you to play delivery boy. He gives you a bow, war hammer

and long sword and tells you to deliver them to Fighters Guild members at

Desolate Mine, just a short jaunt to the northwest.

You'll find a couple of goblins outside the mine entrance. Inside, in the

first room, are the three fighters. Speak to Rienna, who explains the

situation (goblin hunting) and takes the bow. Give the war hammer to Brag gro-

Bharg and the sword to Elidor.

As soon as all three have a weapon, they take off after goblins. Desolate Mine

is fairly small, but has a number of twists. Your main objective is to stay

near the other three and keep them alive. The more that survive this trip, the

higher your payment.

Once your journal informs you all the goblins are dead, return to gro-Khash

and he'll pay you. If you haven't completed Azzan's quests yet, you're told to

see him, otherwise you're sent to Chorrol to speak to Guild Master Donton.

[FG04]

<~~~~~~ UNFINISHED BUSINESS ~~~~~~>

Vilena Donton doesn't have time to waste on peons such as yourself. She tells

you to talk to Modryn Oreyn about any duties to be performed. Oreyn, indeed,

has something he wants you to look in to.

Another new recruit, Maglir, has defaulted on a contract in Skingrad. You're

to find him and figure out what's gone wrong. Travel to Skingrad and ask

around town about Maglir. You'll be directed to the West Weald Inn, where

you'll find the little squirt drowning his sorrows.

Maglir complains about not getting paid enough for the job, which is to

recover the journal of Brenus Astis from Fallen Rock Cave. Maglir's not going

to go back in there, so you're going to have to go in after the journal.

Fallen Rock Cave is just a bit northwest of Skingrad. Undead roam it's depths,

including spirits--make sure you have a silver, daedric or enchanted weapon.

Fallen Rock Cave is fairly small; take the first right and follow it around to

a large room. Exit through the northwest tunnel and continue straight,

entering a flooded area, and, eventually, a flooded room with a body and the

journal. Make sure you collect all the ectoplasm dropped by the spirits and

save it. You'll want it for the next task.

You can return and talk to Maglir if you like, but it's not required. Report

back to Oreyn. You can give Maglir the credit for collecting the journal,

which will help you later on, or claim credit for yourself. Either way, you

get paid and another assignment.

[FG05]

<~~~~~~ DRUNK AND DISORDERLY ~~~~~~>

Three Fighters Guild members are drinking on the job down in Leyawiin. You're

sent to deal with them; you'll find them at the Five Claws Lodge. Turns out

they're not actually drunk on the job, since they have no job. The Blackwood

Company is taking all the work. Your mission, should you choose to accept it,

is to find some work for these guys.

Talk to any townie and they'll point you to Margarte. You should now get a

quest marker pointing to her, which makes it a lot easier to track her down.

When you find her, she'll reveal she's in the market for various alchemical

ingredients, especially ogre's teeth and minotaur horns. She doesn't trust the

Blackwood Company to collect these ingredients, but she's not ready to hire

the Fighters Guild either.

She wants you to prove the Guild's worth by bringing her five samples of

ectoplasm. If you got lucky in Fallen Rock Cave, you've got the five samples

in your pockets right now. If not, you can try scouring the nearby countryside

for caves or ruins, which may contain ghosts or wraiths. Or, try an alchemy

dealer at the local Mages Guild, to see if they have any in stock.

Once you have the five samples of ectoplasm, Margarte will agree to hire your

three gadabouts to hunt ogres and minotaurs for her. (Good work if you can get

it?) She'll also buy ogre's teeth and minotaur horns from you in lots of five

(100 gold for teeth, 50 gold for horns). This really isn't much, considering

the base price of those ingredients; an alchemist will pay you (assuming a

measly 40% buy rate) 150 gold for 5 ogre's teeth and 110 gold for five

minotaur horns.

Report the good news to the three Guild members at Five Claws, then return to

Oreyn. Oreyn is troubled by news of the Blackwood Company's success, and has

nothing further for you. He suggests you go see Azzan or gro-Khash for more

contracts.

[FG06]

<~~~~~~ DEN OF THIEVES ~~~~~~>

*NOTE* There's a side quest, "Newheim's Flagon", that's tied up with this

quest. You complete the side quest as you complete the Fighters Guild quest.

Azzan in Anvil has a job for you, and a partner--Maglir, the whiny little wood

elf you covered for in Skingrad. Reports of a gang of thieves have been

filtering into the Guild, and Azzan wants the two of you to look into it. Ask

around town and you'll be pointed to Newheim the Portly. Seek him out (he

typically wanders the docks) and he'll fill in the details.

In addition to other things, the thieves stole Newheim's family tankard, and

they're hiding out in Hrota Cave, which is close to Anvil, just north of the

city. Take Maglir and head out there. Your job is to clean out the caves;

don't worry about your buddy, for plot reasons he can't die just yet. The

flagon is sitting on a barrel in the only large room inside the cave.

Return the flagon to Newheim and report back to Azzan. You don't have to

travel with Maglir any more. If you haven't finished "Amelion's Debt" for gro-

Khash, you're sent packing for Cheydinhal, otherwise you're told to report to

Oreyn in Chorrol.

[FG07]

<~~~~~~ AMELION'S DEBT ~~~~~~>

If you've got a bit of cash on you and are feeling generous (or lazy), this

will be a very short mission. Otherwise, you're in for some serious undead

carnage. Burz gro-Khash sends you to Water's Edge, a farmstead down near

Leyawiin. You're to recover some family artifacts for Biene Amelion.

When you arrive at Water's Edge, Biene explains she needs to pay off her

father's gambling debts. She hopes to sell her grandfather's enchanted armor

and weapon for the money. Here's where you get to decide how energetic you

are. If you have 1,000 gold to spare, you can simply give her the money to pay

off her debt and then be on your way.

Otherwise, you have to clean out Amelion's Tomb, which is located further

south and on the other side of the Niben River. Fight your way through a lot

of undead and two small levels. You'll find Brusef's cuirass and sword on a

sarcophagus in the second level. You can also find other pieces of his armor

scattered about. (If you pay off Biene's debt, you can still raid the tomb and

keep the armor for yourself.)

Once Biene has the gold or the armor and sword, return to gro-Khash for

payment. He then sends you to Anvil if you haven't finished "Den of Thieves"

or to Chorrol for more duties from Oreyn.

[FG08]

<~~~~~~ THE MASTER'S SON ~~~~~~>

Modryn Oreyn has a couple of problems, and thinks you can solve them both in

one go. First, Guild member Galtus Previa has vanished while spelunking in

Nonwyll Cavern. Second, Vilena Donton's younger son, Viranus, is green around

the gills and needs seasoning. (Seems Ms. Donton is coddling the youngster

after older brother, Vitellus, died in an earlier Guild mission.)

Anyway, you're to take young Donton with you to Nonwyll Cavern and keep him

alive. Run down Viranus using your quest marker and tell him to come along and

not to tell Mommy about it. Nonwyll Cavern is north of Chorrol and full of

trolls; not to mention the occasional ogre and a minotaur boss. Don't worry

about Viranus, he's a plot NPC and can't be killed, so let him charge in and

take the hits for you.

At the "bottom" of the cavern, you'll find Previa's body. When you get the

journal update, head out and report back to Oreyn. He's perturbed, and

comments that it's strange Previa wasn't chewed up.

[FG09]

<~~~~~~ MORE UNFINISHED BUSINESS ~~~~~~>

Maglir is at it again. Or, more accurately, not at it. Oreyn sends you to

Bravil to find out why the little snot hasn't fulfilled a contract with a mage

there. You'll find Maglir at the Lonely Suitor Lodge, and he's wearing a

different uniform. Seems he decided to join the Blackwood Company.

If, during "Unfinished Business", you gave credit to Maglir for recovering the

journal, then Maglir will have pity on you and give you the name of the mage

he is supposed to be working for, Aryarie of the Bravil Mages Guild. If you

took credit yourself earlier, Maglir has nothing more to say. If that's the

case, you either have to hunt Aryarie down yourself (she may or may not be in

the Mages Guild) or return to Oreyn in Chorrol to get the name (which includes

the convenient quest marker).

Aryarie wants 10 portions of imp gall, which, predictably, can be obtained

from imps. She points you to Robber's Glen Cave, a short distance north of the

city. Indeed, there are at least a dozen imps in this complex, along with a

handful of other critters. Return with the imp gall to Aryarie, who gives you

an enchanted ring as a bonus.

[FG10]

<~~~~~~ AZANI BLACKHEART ~~~~~~>

Back in Chorrol, Oreyn has a "side" job for you and asks that you meet him at

his house after dark. Oreyn lives in the south-western most corner of Chorrol,

in a small hut. Follow him to his house (if it's already dark), or Wait until

after 8pm and then meet him there.

Oreyn goes into a long rant over duplicity on the part of the Blackwood

Company. It seems they've been a thorn in his side since before they started

stealing contracts in Leyawiin or wimpy wood elves from the ranks of the

Guild. Specifically, he suspects them of interfering in a job to retrieve a

valuable artifact from Azani Blackheart.

Oreyn wants to expose the Blackwood Company, and he wants you to come along

for the ride. He wants you to meet him at the Leyawiin Guild and then go to an

Ayleid ruin, Arpenia, with him. Fast Travel down to Leyawiin and meet up with

Oreyn. You can then trudge down to Arpenia together.

Arpenia is mostly empty (a few low-level critters and some traps are all that

remain). Not far into the ruin, in a large room, Oreyn decides he's seen

enough and tells you the Blackwood Company must have struck a deal with

Blackheart. He now wants to find Blackheart; he thinks he might be up the road

in another Ayleid ruin, Atatar.

Blackheart is, indeed, in Atatar. Along with a dozen or more of his friends

and a bunch of other creatures. There are four levels in Atatar, and, of

course, Blackheart is in the last level. The route is circuitous, but, there's

always only one way you can go.

Fortunately for you, Oreyn is a plot NPC and can't be killed, just knocked

unconscious (which might happen a lot depending on your level). You'll need

his help against Blackheart. Once Azani is down, loot his body and give his

ring to Oreyn. He thanks you, tells you to go see Azzan or gro-Khash and takes

off, leaving you to get out of Atatar on your own.

[FG11]

<~~~~~~ THE WANDERING SCHOLAR ~~~~~~>

Azzan wants you to accompany a scholar, Elante, to a supposed daedric shrine

in Brittlerock Cave. You can complete this quest even if Elante dies, but you

don't get paid if that happens. Brittlerock Cave is northeast of Anvil and

quite a trek. If you've previously done work around Fort Sutch ("Assault on

Fort Sutch" side quest or "Bad Medicine" Dark Brotherhood quest), that's the

nearest Fast Travel point.

You'll find a couple of creatures outside the mine and the scholar just inside

the door. (Makes you wonder how she got in there, doesn't it?) Elante wants to

take the lead, and this is both a blessing and a curse. The curse is she

wanders through every side passage in the cavern before finding the shrine.

The blessing is you have a trick to keep her alive.

You may have noticed, when NPCs lead you, they will stop if you get too far

behind. Actually, they stop if you get too far away in any direction. So, what

you do is run past Elante and keep running until you run into your first group

of daedra. As you blow past Elante, she will stop and wait patiently for you

to "catch up". This allows you to deal with the demons while Elante is safe

further up the tunnel.

You can clean out the caverns one room at a time, returning to "follow" Elante

as you go, or you can clear the entire complex (it's not large) all at once

and then meekly trail after Elante down to the shrine. Elante decides to stay

and study the shrine a bit longer. You can go back the way you came, or take

the door behind the altar. It leads to another section of the cave, with more

daedra, and another exit back into the world above.

Azzan thanks you for dedication and sends you to see gro-Khash, unless you've

already completed "The Fugitives", in which case you're told to report to

Oreyn.

[FG12]

<~~~~~~ THE FUGITIVES ~~~~~~>

This is a simple quest. gro-Khash reports a group of four prisoners escaped

the Bravil jail and have decided to stick around and prey on the citizens of

that fair city. He sends you to deal with the problem. (Just in case you were

wondering, "deal with" is a euphemism for kill. There's no other way to finish

this quest.)

Go to Bravil and ask around. You need to get an NPCs Disposition over 60 in

order to get the location of the fugitives: Bloodmayne Cave. The cave is

northwest of Bravil and the ex-cons are somewhat spread out. You shouldn't

have to face more than two at once.

When they're dead, return to gro-Khash for your pay and marching orders from

Oreyn. (Or referral to Azzan if you haven't completed "The Wandering

Scholar".)

[FG13]

<~~~~~~ TROLLS OF FORSAKEN MINE ~~~~~~>

Oreyn sent a group of Guild members to Forsaken Mine to clear out the trolls.

It's been days and he hasn't heard from them. You're to investigate. Fast

Travel to Leyawiin and head southwest. Forsaken Mine is just about as far

south as you can go in Cyrodiil. Use the entrance marked for you on your map.

(There's another entrance to the mine, but it leads directly into some trolls

that are better approached from behind.)

The first level of the mine is basically empty except for corpses--mostly

Fighters Guild, but one or two will be Blackwood Company fighters. You won't

encounter your first troll until you hit the door to the second level of the

mine. From here, there are about 10 trolls that you must kill. Make sure you

get every one.

Along the way you'll find Viranus Donton's body--you just know Mommy's going

to be happy about this. His journal suggests the trolls weren't the problem.

Something's fishy in Leyawiin, and it's not the Niben River. When you get the

journal entry that you've killed all the trolls (a high-powered Detect Life

spell is good for finding any that are eluding you), return to Oreyn.

He's not happy, but is ready to face the axe himself. He sends you to Anvil or

Cheydinhal to get away from the wrath of Donton.

[FG14]

<~~~~~~ THE STONE OF ST. ALESSIA ~~~~~~>

In Anvil, Azzan tells you of the theft of a religious relic from the temple in

Bruma. He sends you there to recover the Stone of St. Alessia. In Bruma, you

need to track down Cirroc, who is normally in the Chapel of Talos. He says

four or five men were seen heading east out of town about the time the stone

was discovered missing.

Your quest marker updates to a point along the east road out of Bruma. Follow

it to find the lone remaining bandit, a Khajiit. He confesses to the crime,

but says he and his buddies were ambushed by ogres and he's the only surviving

member. The ogres now have the stone and are holed up in an Ayleid ruin,

Sedor, a little further east and a bit south.

The path through Sedor is simple, but you will have to deal with ogres (by

combat or stealth). Return the stone to Cirroc and then report back to Azzan.

Azzan doesn't have any more work for you. Literally, this is your last quest

for the leader of the Anvil guild. If you have finished gro-Khash's quests,

Azzan tells you Oreyn is looking for you.

[FG15]

<~~~~~~ THE NOBLE'S DAUGHTER ~~~~~~>

This is the first of two quests gro-Khash has for you, and they're the last he

will give you. It's a simple kidnapping. gro-Khash refers you to Lord

Rugdumph; his estate is a fair walk north-northeast of Cheydinhal. Azura's

Shrine or the Lake Arrius Caverns (Dagon Shrine from the main story) are the

closest quest-related Fast Travel points.

Lord Rugdumph doesn't have great command of English (or Imperial or whatever

it is that they speak in Cyrodiil), but you get the gist. His daughter was

kidnapped by ogres, who then headed east. Follow your quest marker almost due

east of the estate to find the young lady and her three ogreish "protectors".

This can be a bit tricky, as the ogres sometimes clump up around the orc and

make it difficult to pick them off (and you definitely don't want to use an

explosive spell on them when they're near the target of your quest). Approach

in Stealth mode and wait until the ogres are spread out. Then use bow or spell

to attract one to you and kill it. Rinse-and-repeat for the other two.

Talk to the orc woman and she'll agree to follow you back to her home. Lead

her there, get more entertainment from Rugdumph's language lessons and his

special sword. Then return to gro-Khash, who has another assignment for you.

[FG16]

<~~~~~~ MYSTERY AT HARLUN'S WATCH ~~~~~~>

People are disappearing from Harlun's Watch and gro-Khash wants you to find

out why. Harlun's Watch is just south of Cheydinhal; your contact is Drarana

Thelis. She tells of strange lights near Swampy Cave. Some villagers sent to

investigate have not returned.

Swampy Cave is a short distance to the southeast. If you haven't encountered

will-o-the-wisps before, you're about to. You need a couple of things to fight

wisps: a silver, daedric or enchanted weapon (or spells); and a Detect Life

spell (or enchanted equipment). Wisps like to go invisible and you don't want

them sneaking up on you and draining your health.

There are three to four wisps clustered outside the entrance to Swampy Cave.

Try to deal with them at a distance; up close they have a Drain Health ability

that basically ignores your armor. Spell Absorption or Reflection wouldn't

hurt. When the wisps are dead, your journal suggests that explains the strange

lights, but not the missing townsfolk.

Enter Swampy Cave and start killing trolls. There are a lot of trolls spread

over two levels. You'll have to kill them all to complete this quest. Your

Detect Life spell will now come in handy for finding all the trolls. In the

southernmost part of the first level of the caves, you'll find the bodies of

the missing villagers*. Your journal should update at this point.

* There's a bug in the game caused by clearing out Swampy Cave before you get

this quest. If you've already been through here, the dead villager won't spawn

and the quest won't advance. You can fix this by downloading the v1.1 patch.

Once the trolls are all dead (your journal should update again), return to

Thelis in Harlun's Watch with the bad news. Then see gro-Khash for your

payment and word that Oreyn wants to see you. (Unless you haven't finished

"The Stone of St. Alessia", then gro-Khash tells you to talk to Azzan.)

[FG17]

<~~~~~~ INFORMATION GATHERING ~~~~~~>

You'll find Modryn Oreyn in his house, as, basically, he has nothing better to

do these days than sit and chew his nails over his dismissal from the Guild.

He thinks the Blackwood Company is a bunch bad guys (no kidding!) and he's

determined to bring them down. But, even though he has lots of time on his

hands, he wants you to do the bringing down.

Nice of him to think of you, isn't it?

For starters, he wants you to capture one of the Blackwood leaders, Ajum

Kagin, from his headquarters in Glademist Cave. The cave is east of the city,

not far, and it's very small. Kagin has six to seven Blackwood Company

fighters holed up in there with him.

Now is actually a good time to work on your Sneak skill. This little cave is

rather overflowing with bad guys (other than Kagin, they don't want to talk)

and you'll want to work as hard as you can to separate them. That means bow

attacks while in Sneak mode, to try to force a single foe out of his cozy

cavern he's sharing with his buddies and into the tunnels where you can

dispatch him.

Kagin is in the far room of the cavern, behind a wood door. Don't go in until

you've killed everyone else. Confront him and he'll meekly surrender and

follow you to Oreyn's house. Oreyn orders you to conduct the interrogation.

You have two choices:

1) Use the Persuasion mini-game and/or Charm spells to raise Kagin's

Disposition. You'll need it over 90 to get all the information he has

to offer.

2) Use your fists to beat on Kagin until he talks.

Either method works, just don't kill Kagin. He'll eventually give you the

number of Blackwood Company recruits (100) and the name of the leader

(Ri'Zakar). Once he's spilled Ri'Zakar's name, he kills himself rather than

reveal the recipe for the Company's secret sauce.

Oreyn is satisfied, but wants more. He wants you to join the Blackwood Company

and find out what they're up to.

[FG18]

<~~~~~~ INFILTRATION ~~~~~~>

Joining the Company is easy. Fast Travel to Leyawiin and find the Company's

main HQ right across the street from the Fighters Guild. Talk to Jeetum-Zee

and he'll take you right in.

Must be a lot of defectors from the Guild.

Zee takes you down to the Training Room and briefs you and three other

recruits on a goblin hunting mission. During the conversations, you discover

the source of the Company's wild successes: sap from the Hist tree. This tree

normally only grows in the swamps of Black Marsh, the Argonian homeland, and

the narcotic produced from its sap is illegal in Cyrodiil. Rather than smuggle

the sap in, the Company has figured out how to keep a Hist tree alive in this

very building, so they've got plenty of sap for everyone.

You have no choice but to drink some Hist along with the other three recruits.

You automatically Fast Travel to Water's Edge (you may remember this hamlet

from a previous task). There are several goblins roaming around, and your

brother Blackwoods lay into them immediately. The goblins are strangely

passive and very weak.

After the goblins outside are dead, you're ordered to check the houses. Sure

enough, you'll find four more passive, weak goblins inside the various houses.

Kill them and you'll pass out.

You wake up in Oreyn's house in Chorrol. You were found in the streets of

Leyawiin by Guild members and brought to him. Explain the Hist tree. He says

he'll look into it and sends you to Water's Edge to check on its inhabitants.

There you find a truly tragic scene. Seven dead sheep, and four dead people,

including the lovely Biene Amelion. Standing over the carnage is Biene's

father, Marcel, recently released after Biene paid his debt. He wonders who

could have done this.

You know, but you can't confess. All you can do is return to Oreyn.

[FG19]

<~~~~~~ THE HIST ~~~~~~>

If, after the scene with the elder Amelion, you're not ready to lay some smack

down on the Blackwood Company, there's something wrong with you. Fortunately,

Oreyn knows just how you're feeling. He tells you to get to Leyawiin and take

out the Hist tree. If some Company fighters go down with it...well, that's

just collateral damage.

Fast Travel to Leyawiin, enter the Blackwood Company HQ and express your

displeasure to the three to four fighters on the ground floor. (Don't try any

sweet-talking, they attack on sight. So should you.) When you're finished

pounding on them, find the body named Ja'Fazir and get the key to Jeetum-Zee's

room.

Go upstairs to Jeetum-Zee's room and explain what the pointy thing on the end

of your sword is for. From his corpse you get the key to Ri'Zakar's room on

the third floor. You haven't met Ri'Zakar yet; he's going to wish you never

did. Take the key to the basement from him.

Find the basement door on the first floor and enter. There's a huge tree

growing in the center of the room with complex machinery on either side of it.

There are also two Argonian mages. Make them regret ever leaving Black Marsh.

Once they're dead, find two loose pipes laying on the floor and pick them up.

With the pipes in your inventory, Activate each large machine to destroy them.

The Hist tree goes up in flames and you can start breathing again. On your way

out, Maglir shows up.

It's OK. You get to kill him now.

Return to Oreyn, who sends you on to Vilena Donton to explain everything.

While initially ticked you and Oreyn have been working behind her back, she

ultimately decides the real problem is herself. She's getting too old and too

shell-shocked to lead a guild of fighters.

So, she hands the reins over to you and recommends you appoint Oreyn your

second-in-command. Oreyn initially complains about missing out on retirement,

but then decides you need someone to look after you.

Once each calendar month, you can give Oreyn new orders from a list of three:

1) Focus on getting new recruits.

2) Focus on drumming up business.

3) Focus on both equally.

On the first of each month, you get a stipend placed in the guild master's

chest in your office in the Chorrol guild hall. It will contain a mixture of

gold and magic items. If you instruct Oreyn to concentrate on recruitment,

you'll get more items. If the focus is on contracts, you get more gold.

Balancing the two will balance your monthly reward.

Take your boots off and relax a bit. You get to collect loot without doing any

of the work.

It's good to be the boss.

[FG20]

<~~~~~~ EXPELLED FROM THE FIGHTERS GUILD ~~~~~~>

Like the other guilds, you are not permitted to steal from, attack or kill

other members of the guild. (Non-members are fair game.) The Fighters Guild

operates on a three-strikes and you're out policy. The first two times you

commit a crime against a guild member, you can earn your way back in. The

third time, you're out for good.

The first time you are expelled, you must bring 20 bear pelts back to Vilena

Donton in Chorrol to be re-instated. The second time you are expelled, you

must bring Donton 20 minotaur horns. Neither are particularly easy tasks,

especially since bears and minotaurs are leveled creatures that only appear

when you're at the right level.

The best policy is to avoid committing crimes against fellow guild members. If

you suspect you might get a little out of control, stockpile bear pelts and

minotaur horns as you find them. If you commit a third offense against a guild

member, you're out for good.

[MG00]

~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MAGES GUILD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

The Mages Guild quests should be considered a necessity for any character, at

least to the point where you get access to Arcane University (after completing

the Recommendations). Once you are an Apprentice, you can enchant items and

make your own spells, both highly useful activities.

Note also that completing the Mages Guild quests does not require you to be a

mage, nor even particularly proficient with magic. Most of the quests are

"solved" by combat, which any character can be adept at.

Joining the Mages Guild is simple: make sure you have no outstanding bounty,

then speak to the leader in one of the seven local guild halls. They are:

* Anvil: Carahil

* Bravil: Kud-Ei

* Bruma: Jeanne Frasoric

* Cheydinhal: Falcar

* Chorrol: Teekeeus

* Leyawiin: Dagail

* Skingrad: Adrienne Berene

Once you've joined, you are considered an Associate and you receive a key that

opens the various locked doors in the guild halls and you can pick up

equipment freely in the guild storerooms. Before you can advance in rank and

access the Arcane University in Imperial City, you must get a recommendation

from each local guild leader.

Ask each guild leader about a recommendation. They'll say they can't possibly

give you a recommendation unless you do something for them first.

Uh huh. You've been down this road before.

Agree to undertake the tasks they ask of you and you'll get their

recommendations.

[MG01]

<~~~~~~ ANVIL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

This quest, while it initially sounds exciting, is quite yawn-worthy. Talk to

Carahil at the Anvil Guild. She wants you to bait a trap for a rogue mage

that's been murdering merchants traveling the Gold Coast. You are sent to the

Brina Cross Inn, just north of Anvil. Be sure to follow through all Carahil's

conversation options to get some Frost Shell scrolls.

Go to the Inn and speak to Arielle Jurard. She tells you to take a room. Do

so, and Jurard will come up to your room soon after you enter and explain the

plan. You are to rest, then travel east along the road. You'll be followed by

Jurard and another battlemage. When the rogue mage hits you, they'll move in

and take him out.

You only need to rest in the bed 1 hour (you can rest overnight if you wish),

then head out to the road and walk east. You'll soon be waylaid by Caminalda,

who may have spoken to you at the Inn. She's the rogue and she is easily

dispatched. In fact, you don't even really need to do anything except step

back and let the other two battlemages take over.

After, loot Caminalda's body for the key to her room at the Inn, which

contains a bit of loot. Then return to Carahil for her recommendation.

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

[MG02]

<~~~~~~ BRAVIL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

No combat required for this task, just lots of running around and a fair bit

of gold from your pocket (or a bit of theft). Kud-Ei, head of the Bravil

Guild, wants you to speak to Varon Vamori about a staff he stole from one of

Kud-Ei's "girls". To help matters, Kud-Ei gives you a Beguile scroll (Charm,

30 points for 30 seconds). Head to Vamori's house, which will be marked for

you on your local map.

Talk to Vamori. You need to get his Disposition to 65 to find out the fate of

the staff. You can do this with the Persuasion mini-game and/or bribes or use

the Beguile scroll. Once you've persuaded him, Vamori reveals he stole the

staff in a fit of anger and sold it to one Soris Arenim, who lives in Imperial

City.

Lovely. Go back to Kud-Ei and get another supply of Beguile scrolls. Travel to

the Talos Plaza District and find Arenim's house (marked on your map). You

must get Arenim's Disposition up to 70 to get any information about the staff.

He offers to sell it to you for 200 gold. You can pay the price and finish

this business; or, if you're opposed to being out-of-pocket on this mission...

Speak to Arenim's wife, Erissare. Get her Dispostion to 65 (again, with

Persuasion or spell), and she'll tell you where Arenim keeps the staff and

where he keeps the key to the chest containing the staff. (If you don't want

to use up a scroll, the key is upstairs in Soris' desk; the chest with the

staff is in the cellar.)

Return the staff to Kud-Ei, who is suitably grateful. She teaches you a mild

Charm spell (Captivate) and promises her recommendation to the Guild.

[MG03]

<~~~~~~ BRUMA RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

This may just be the easiest and shortest quest in the entire game. Talk to

Jeanne Frasoric, guild leader, to learn one of her mages, J'skar, has gone

missing. Now, if you have a Detect Life spell, cast it and walk around

(including down in the basement living quarters) and you should find an

invisible humanoid. Cast a Dispel to reveal J'skar and return to Jeanne for

your recommendation.

If you don't have Detect Life, you may still be able to find J'skar by

wandering around and pointing your crosshair target at random places. If it

suddenly changes to a crown (plot NPC) icon over thin air, you've found your

Dispel target.

Finally, if you don't have a Dispel handy, talk to guild member Volanaro. He

reveals the whole disappearance is a prank. Raise his Disposition to 70 and

he'll make a deal: you steal Jeanne's copy of the Manual of Spellcraft and

he'll "find" J'skar. Getting the book is easy, especially since Volanaro will

teach you an Unlock spell. Jeanne's room is the only room on the upper floor

of the guild. Break in, unlock her desk (with spell or lockpick) and grab her

book.

Return to Volanaro, and he'll agree to meet you at 10pm in the living

quarters. Wait ahead to the appropriate time, meet Volanaro in the basement

and he'll Dispel J'skar's invisibility.

[MG04]

<~~~~~~ CHEYDINHAL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

Falcar, leader of the Cheydinhal guild, has dropped a ring down the well

behind the guild. He makes some mention of sending someone else after it and

not getting it back. He now wants you to go get the ring. He sends you to

Deetsan for a key to the well.

Deetsan won't give you the key until she's had a talk with you, and she won't

talk while Falcar is around. Wait ahead until Falcar goes back to his

quarters, then talk to Deetsan. She is concerned over Falcar's "prank tasks"

given to new Associates, and warns you to be careful. Then she hands over the

key and teaches you a combination water-breathing and feather (reduced

encumbrance) spell.

Deetsan's warning is well-taken. The ring is a Ring of Burden and increases

your encumbrance by 150 points. Deetsan's spell only reduces encumbrance by 5

points. Bit of a discrepancy there. Once you enter the well, you can easily

find Vidkun's body and take the ring off him. As soon as you do, you get 150

pounds added to your encumbrance--you don't have to equip the ring to suffer

the effects.

You have two options:

1) Divest yourself of at least 150 pounds of gear. Even if this is your first

recommendation quest, you have access to the bedroom and chests upstairs, so

put all your gear into a chest. You can then safely carry out the ring.

2) Once you have the ring, wait until you get the quest update saying you

should return the ring to Falcar. As soon as you have that quest update, drop

the ring. The quest has continued and you don't need to actually hand over the

ring. *NOTE* Some people have experienced a glitch where the quest does not

update and the ring disappears so this quest becomes impossible to complete.

The safest way to do the quest is to get rid of your gear and actually bring

the ring to Deetsan.

Return to the guild. Deetsan rashly confronted Falcar over the disappearance

of the previous Associate and he had a fit and has taken off for parts

unknown. So how do you get your recommendation? Deetsan tells you to search

Falcar's quarters for the letter of recommendation. You won't find a letter,

but you will find two black soul gems. Take them to Deetsan, who is dismayed

with your find, and promises to send your recommendation herself.

[MG05]

<~~~~~~ CHORROL RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

The Chorrol recommendation only comes with your completion of the Fingers of

the Mountain quest. There's a part 2 of that quest, depending on how you

handle the first part.

| Fingers of the Mountain [MG05-A]

+----------------------------------

Teekeeus, head of the Chorrol guild, has bad relations with former colleague

Earana. She is loitering about town, and Teekeeus wants you to find out why so

she can be sent on her way. Follow your objective marker to Earana. She isn't

interested in Teekeeus, she wants a book, Fingers of the Mountain, that can be

found at a ruin called Cloud Top. She promises a vague reward if you bring her

the book.

Relay this to Teekeeus and he lets you know he would like the book as well.

Retrieve it for him and the recommendation is yours. Journey (by foot or

horse) to Cloud Top, which has been marked for you and is north-northwest of

Chorrol. There are no specific enemies to fight, though you will encounter the

normal range of wild animals on your path. The book is conveniently located on

a charred corpse lying at the base of a broken column.

You now have two choices:

1) Take the book to Teekeeus. He accepts, with thanks, and the recommendation

is yours.

2) Take the book to Earana. She says she must study it for a day. Return to

her the following day and she'll give you instructions on how to obtain

a powerful spell. See "Learning the Spell" below for the full

instructions.

| Fingers of the Mountain, Part II [MG05-B]

+-------------------------------------------

You can, actually, do both--get the recommendation from Teekeeus and the spell

from Earana. After finishing part 1 of this quest, go to the other participant

and reveal what you've done. This opens Part II: you are asked to steal the

book back. Teekeeus keeps the book in a locked chest in his quarters. Earana

keeps the book in her room at the Grey Mare Inn.

Once you've stolen the book, return it to the other party. You'll get the

recommendation (from Teekeeus) or the spell instructions (from Earana) and

still have the other "reward" from the previous "owner" of the book.

It's all good.

| Learning the Spell

+--------------------

The true reward for this quest is Finger of the Mountain, a very powerful

spell. Two things to note about this spell:

1) Its power is keyed to your level. If you learn the spell at level 2, you

get a low-level spell. Learn the spell at a higher level, and the power

is much higher. (See list below.) PC users can learn the low-level spell

and have it automatically leveled up using a mod.

2) At higher levels, the spell is only useful to dedicated mages, since it

costs a lot of Magicka. If you don't rely much on spells, don't bother

learning this one.

To learn Finger of the Mountain, you must visit Cloud Top and cast a Shock

spell on the central, broken column and have a welkynd stone in your

inventory. Welkynd stones are all over the place in Ayleid ruins. If you don't

have one, you can get some from a small ruin just northeast of the Chorrol

north gate.

It's called Hrotanda Vale, and it is a two-level, bandit-infested ruin. The

first large room you come to has two floor traps in the center. If you draw

the bandits over them, you may finish off two or three with the traps. Careful

jumping around the corners will get you past the traps into a room full of

welkynd stones. (You can finish off the rest of the ruin, or not. All you

really need is one stone.)

Make sure you have a spell or scroll that does shock damage (any magnitude)

and a welkynd stone. Return to Cloud Top, restore yourself to full health and

cast your Shock spell on the central column. You'll get hit by lightning in

return and learn Finger of the Mountain. The shock damage done to you and the

power of the spell is keyed to your level:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

| | | Finger of the Mountain (Destruction magic) |

| Min PC level | Dmg to PC | Shock Dmg | Area | Magicka* | Skill level |

|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|

| 1 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 11 | Novice |

|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|

| 5 | 40 | 20 | 5 | 54 | Journeyman |

|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|

| 10 | 60 | 40 | 5 | 131 | Expert |

|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|

| 15 | 120 | 90 | 5 | 371 | Master |

|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|

| 20 | 210 | 140 | 5 | 653 | Master |

|--------------+-----------+-----------+------+-----------+-------------|

| 25 | 210 | 200 | 10 | 1547 | Master |

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

* Actual Magicka cost will be adjusted based on your skill level in

Destruction.

[MG06]

<~~~~~~ LEYAWIIN RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

The head of the Leyawiin Mages Guild, Dagail, is somewhat incoherent. Speak to

her, and, among her ramblings, she'll point you to Agata. Speak to Agata to

learn about the stone Dagail used to have that allows her to focus her

visions. Find Kalthar and ask him about the Seer's Stone.

He'll give you an earful and then some. Return to Agata and discuss Kalthar

with her. She'll tell to you go back to Dagail. Speak to Dagail again and

listen intently to her riddles. Or not. Your journal will now point you to

Fort Blueblood.

Refer to your map, where you'll find Fort Blueblood now showing southeast of

Leyawiin. Hoof it over there and fight your way through a bunch of marauders

in a two level dungeon. After killing the marauder warlord, make sure you loot

his body for the Fort Blueblood key. This gives you access to the crypt where

Dagail's father lies.

His coffin is protected by leveled creatures. Once they are down and you've

retrieved his amulet, you'll be confronted by Kalthar. He wants the amulet,

which, of course, you're not going to let him have. Kalthar's a conjurer, so

ignore his buddy if he summons one and concentrate on taking him out. Return

to Dagail in Leyawiin for the recommendation.

[MG07]

<~~~~~~ SKINGRAD RECOMMENDATION ~~~~~~>

Adrienne Berene wants some notes from Erthor, a mage Adrienne ran out of the

guild. She has no idea where Erthor is, and wants you to track him down. Talk

to Sulinus Vassinus, who should be wandering around the guild. Vassinus says

Erthor moved into Bleak Flats Cave and hasn't been seen in a long time. (Yay!

Caves!) Vassinus has no idea where Bleak Flats Cave is.

Find Druja, another mage wandering around the guild. Druja can pinpoint Bleak

Flats Cave on your map and mentions it was Berene that recommended the cave to

Erthor. Talk to Berene again; she'll order you point-blank to go to the cave

and bring Erthor back. To aid you, you are taught a new spell, Fireball. (Yay!

Fire!)

Bleak Flats Cave now appears on your map, north-northwest of Skingrad. You

can't Fast Travel there, so walk on over. Inside are quite a number of

deranged zombies. (Yay! Zombies! In a cave! With fire!) Fight your way through

them, making sure you wipe them all out, until you find Erthor. Erthor will be

pleased with the rescue and ask that you lead him out of the cave.

Letting Erthor follow you is not required. You can simply tell him to return

to the Skingrad guild hall on his own. There's a shortcut out of Erthor's

"room" to the northwest. Pull the lever to move the rock. After returning to

the Mages Guild, talk to Berene to get your recommendation.

[MG08]

<~~~~~~ A MAGES STAFF ~~~~~~>

After completing the seven recommendation quests, talk to any guild leader

about your recommendation. You'll be sent to Raminus Polus at Arcane

University just outside Imperial City. Travel there and enter the lobby of the

University during normal hours to meet Polus. You'll be promoted to Apprentice

and given a new task: create a mages staff.

First, you have to collect the proper wood for your staff. Polus sends you to

a grove near Wellspring Cave, which is east of Imperial City. To reach the

grove, you must go through the cave. In the first area of the cave you'll find

the body of one of the grove's guardians. (You knew this wasn't going to be

simple, right?) Make sure you Activate the body twice--once to update your

journal, again to get the key to the grove from her body.

There are also some necromancers in the cave. Necromancers like to summon

things; try to ignore the summoned creatures and take out the summoner (which

also dispels the summons). Near the end of the cave is the body of the second

grove guardian. Outside, in the grove, are three necromancers. There's no way

to take them on one-by-one, you'll have to put up with all three hitting you

at once.

If you're having trouble with them, make sure you use items and potions with

damage resistance (especially against fire and shock). Remember to take out

the summoner and don't waste time on the summons. When the necromancers are

dead, get your wood from the chest in the center of the grove. You can jump

down from the grove into Lake Rumare and swim across to Arcane University.

Polus is appalled at the necromancer attack on the grove. He sends you along

to Delmar in the Chironasium, who will make a staff of your choosing. You can

pick from three schools, and then choose one of three powers from that school:

* Destruction: Fire, Frost or Shock damage

* Illusion: Charm, Paralyze or Silence

* Mysticism: Dispel, Telekinesis or Soul Trap

Wait until the next day and collect your staff from the cupboard in the back

of the room. Return to Polus and ask about Advancement; you are now a

Journeyman in the Guild. Then ask about Tasks for a new mission.

[MG09]

<~~~~~~ ULTERIOR MOTIVES ~~~~~~>

Polus sends you on a simple step-n-fetch mission. Count Hassildor in Skingrad

borrowed a book, and the Guild wants it back. Travel to Castle Skingrad. You

can't see the count, and everyone refers you to Mercator Hosidus, castle

steward. Mercator is brusque and won't bother the count until the following

day.

Return the next day. Hosidus sets up a meeting between you and the count on

the road west of town after 2am that night. Wait until the appropriate time,

then head out the west gate and down the road, just past the first farm on the

left. Make sure you're kitted out for battle first (yeah, you're not getting

off easy).

Hosidus and a couple of necromancers are waiting for you. This can't end well.

Endeavor to make sure Hosidus and friends feel worse about the meeting than

you. During the ruckus, Count Hassildor will show up and take a personal

interest in "retiring" Hosidus--and his pals. Then he chews you out for being

a gullible fool.

Well. Yeah. But it's not like the game gives you any other choice. You find

out you were sent to spy on Hassildor, but he turned the situation around and

used you as bait to draw out Hosidus and his allies. Travel back to Arcane

University and do some chewing out of your own on Polus. He apologizes, fully

explains the count's condition (he's a vampire, if you haven't figured that

out yourself) and promotes you to Evoker. You get a leveled amulet with a

Spell Absorption enchantment and a new task.

[MG10]

<~~~~~~ VAHTACEN'S SECRET ~~~~~~>

Polus sends you to help Irlav Jarol, who hangs out in the Arch-Mages Council

Chamber (use the portal in the Lobby). Jarol is supervising an archaeological

study of an Ayleid ruin and they've hit a snag. He sends you to investigate.

Vahtacen is located south-southeast of Cheydinhal. The upper level of this

ruin is unoccupied except for a couple of Mages Guild workers: Skaleel and

Denel. Skaleel is disgruntled and doesn't want to help. She sends you down to

Denel, who explains the problem.

They've got a wall blocking their way further into the ruin and they can't

figure out how to open it. You can do this the hard way by entering the large

room and looking at the inscriptions on the walls. Then return to Denel and

ask about translating the runes. He sends you to Skaleel for a book, then

helps you translate the writing.

Or, you can just go ahead and open the wall. You need four spells (scrolls or

staffs will work): fire damage, frost damage, damage Magicka and fortify

Magicka. If you don't have these spells, you can find scrolls in the chest

behind Denel. Walk up to the large column in the center of the room and cast

your spells in this order: fire, frost, damage Magicka (must be damage, not

drain or absorb) and fortify Magicka (must be useable on a target, not on

self). The walls will open, revealing a staircase leading down.

It's up to you to go down and explore Vahtacen's depths. Speaking to Denel or

Skaleel will only confirm this for you. You'll fight your way through a lot of

ghosts (or wraiths, depending on your level) until you reach a large room with

a platform in the middle. There's no immediate way up onto the platform. Use

the stairs on the south side of the room to get up to the switch that raises

steps to the central platform.

On top of the platform is a cover that is raised with a nearby switch. Don't

push the switch until you're ready for battle. Open the cover and take the

relic underneath. When you do, three zombies are released into the room.

They're pretty stupid and won't use the stairs to come get you, so you can

stand on the edge of the platform and snipe them. Or you can jump down and try

to take them all on at once.

Once they're dead, you can take a shortcut back to the upper levels of the

ruin by using the northern-most exit from this room. Show the relic to

Skaleel, who will be delighted, then return to Jarol at Arcane University for

your reward.

[MG11]

<~~~~~~ NECROMANCER'S MOON ~~~~~~>

Polus now gives you another promotion and a new task: talk to archivist Tar-

Meena about necromancy. Use the "Black Soul Gems" topic to get Tar-Meena to

talk. She tells you to read a book called "Necromancer's Moon". It's lying on

a table there in the library. Talk to Tar-Meena again, who points out a

reference to "Shade of the Revenant".

Return to Polus, who refers you to Bothiel, the resident astronomer. Bothiel

recalls Falcar (he of the Ring of Burden "prank") once asking about the Shade

of the Revenant. He dropped a note when he left and she kept it. The note

mentions four sites: The Dark Fissure, Fort Istirius, Fort Linchal and

Wendelbek. Polus decides to send you to Dark Fissure, which is a place he

recognizes.

This cave is near Cheydinhal, and you never actually need to go inside. You

can finish this quest in two ways:

1) When you find the cave, you'll see an altar out front. Wait until

nightfall and watch as a necromancer comes out and turns normal soul gems

into black soul gems. You'll get a new journal entry and can return to

Polus with what you've seen.

2) If you arrive during the day and don't want to wait, enter Dark Fissure.

In the very first room, you'll be able to kill a necromancer and get a

recipe for black soul gems from his body. Return to Polus with this

information.

In neither instance is it necessary to clear out the caves, though you can do

so if you wish. Polus promotes you to Magician and sends you to Arch-Mage

Traven.

[MG12]

<~~~~~~ LIBERATION OR APPREHENSION? ~~~~~~>

You'll find Traven either in the Council chambers or in his room (use the

portal in the Council chambers). His first task for you is to bring in an

informant who has been working with the necromancers. Traven fears a team of

battlemages may mistake the informant for a real necromancer and kill him. You

are sent to Nenyond Twyll, southeast of Imperial City.

Travel down there and enter the ruins. You'll meet one of the battlemages, who

reports the necromancers wiped out the rest of the team. Despite that, he

thinks he and you are enough to take out this nest of vipers. Let him rush

down the stairs and be killed by the trap at the bottom. Better him than you,

right?

Jump around the corners of the trap and fight your way south to the entrance

to the second level of the ruins. This is basically just one big room, mostly

filled with water. There are several necromancers in this room, so advance

slowly and try to pick them off one-by-one. There's one, who, if given a

chance, will talk and reveal the fate of the informant; but, you're going to

find that out soon anyway. Along the north wall is a secret door, opened with

a switch that's in an alcove to the left.

Beyond is the informant, now a zombie (Worm Thrall, in technical terms). Kill

him and your journal updates. Also to the left of the secret room entrance is

a shortcut back to the exit from the ruins. Return to Traven to complete the

quest, then talk to Polus, who increases your rank to Warlock.

[MG13]

<~~~~~~ INFORMATION AT A PRICE ~~~~~~>

Having dealt with Count Hassildor in Skingrad once, you're sent back to him.

He has important information for the Guild, and has requested that you

personally come to collect. When you arrive, and have gone through Hal-Liurz

to see the Count, he lets you know there's a little task--or two--he wants you

to perform before he divulges his knowledge.

First on the list are a group of uncultured vampires who have taken over

Bloodcrust cave just outside the castle. Hassildor wants them wiped out as

they are little better than beasts. Second are the vampire hunters who have

come to town to kill these vampires. Hassildor doesn't want them poking too

much into his own nocturnal activities.

There are at least three ways to handle this little task:

1) Find the vampire hunters (they have rooms at the Two Sisters Lodge and

also eat lunch there). Tell the leader, Eridor, where the vampires are,

then follow them to watch the fun. Bring some popcorn. When it's all done,

either mop up the rest of the vampires or congratulate the surviving

hunters, who will pack up and leave town now that all the vamps are dead.

2) Go wipe out the vampires yourself. Make sure you take at least one sample

of "Vampire Dust" from one of these vampires. (Dust from other vamps won't

work.) Go find the hunters at the Two Sisters Lodge and speak to their

leader, Eridor, and tell him the vampires are all dead. Show him the dust

sample as proof. The hunters will take off for other parts.

3) Kill the vampires and the vampire hunters. The latter is risky as it is

murder and the count has told you he can't protect you. Though he,

personally, doesn't care if you kill them, he can't intervene if you're

caught.

Overall, the first option is by far the easiest. You may even get lucky and

the hunters will prevail and you won't have to lift a finger. Regardless,

return to Hassildor and get his information and then take that to Traven.

[MG14]

<~~~~~~ A PLOT REVEALED ~~~~~~>

Traven is upset by the information you bring him, and says he and the council

need some time to sort things out. You can't get another quest from him until

a couple of days have passed. Either go quest somewhere else for a while or

Wait two days and try him again.

The news of the King of Worms' return has blown up the council. While they try

to sort things out, Traven sends you to Bruma. Jeanne hasn't reported in

several days and Traven is worried.

And rightly so. The Bruma Mages Guild is on fire and filled with the dead

bodies of its members and lots of leveled undead. You'll have to kill off the

creatures on the main floor, then go down the right-hand set of stairs to the

living quarters.

This is where things get hairy. There are from four to six creatures in this

confined area and they will all hit you at once--one as soon as you come

through the door. Your only chance is to immediately scuttle into the room to

your right and try to take them out as they come through the door. If you can

keep them bottled up in the doorway, only one or two can hit you at a time.

When you leave the living quarters, you can go up the stairs to Jeanne's room,

where you'll find the necromancer in charge of this expedition. She's not

talkative, so take her out fast. When you do, J'skar appears out of nowhere.

He used his invisibility to hide and escaped destruction. He has a terrifying

eye-witness account of the attack, and then heads for Arcane University for

safety. Follow him and report in to Traven.

Go see Polus for another advancement, to Wizard, and the spell Wizard's Fury,

which is keyed to your level and provides fire, shock and frost damage in one

handy explosion.

[MG15]

<~~~~~~ THE BLOODWORM HELM ~~~~~~>

You'll need to go play with your new spell for a couple of days, because

Traven and his cronies need time to digest the new information. When you

return, he gives dismaying news. The other two council members, Irlav Jarol

and Caranya, have stolen some powerful artifacts and taken off with them.

*NOTE* You can do these two quests in any order.

Jarol has stolen the Bloodworm Helm and gone to Fort Teleman. Teleman is

northeast of Leyawiin, so Fast Travel there and head out to the Fort. You'll

have to fight your way through two levels of necromancers and daedra (even if

you finished the main story, there will still be daedra in here). At the

bottom of the second level is Jarol's body.

Retrieve the Bloodworm Helm from Jarol's corpse and return it to Traven; or,

use it to help retrieve the Necromancer's Amulet.

[MG16]

<~~~~~~ THE NECROMANCER'S AMULET ~~~~~~>

Caranya has made off to Fort Ontus, which is in-between Chorrol and Kvatch in

the Colovian highlands. The mages in here are initially peaceful, so there's

no fighting as you work your way down to the second level and a meeting with

Caranya. Of course, you won't get out without a fight, so note the positions

of all these future enemies.

After Caranya reveals herself to be a traitor to the cause, kill her and take

the amulet. There are two ways back out, both of which cover about the same

distance. Either way, you're going to have to wade through several

necromancers and their summons.

[MG17]

<~~~~~~ AMBUSH ~~~~~~>

After returning both the Bloodworm Helm and Necromancer's Amulet to Traven,

talk to Polus again for promotion to Master Wizard. You're now Polus' equal in

rank. Traven now wants you to help take the battle to the enemy.

A group of battlemages has been sent to the Ayleid ruin of Silorn to intercept

a unique black soul gem. Before leaving, buy a Paralyze or Burden spell or

scroll, if you don't have one. Travel to Silorn, southeast of Skingrad, and

meet up with the leader of the team, Thalfin. A direct assault didn't work

because the entrance to Silorn is blocked with an enchantment. The team lost

one member in the assault, so they've decided to set up an ambush.

Talk to her about abilities and positioning, then do the same with the others.

You want to station Thalfin and Iver closer to the action and Merete further

away. Join Thalfin and Iver behind a column on the road leading out from the

ruin and wait.

When Thalfin suddenly casts a spell and runs out, do the same. Your target is

your old nemesis, Falcar. He's going to make a break for the ruin and you want

to stop him. Use your paralyzing or burdening spell, power or weapon

enchantment to stop him in his tracks, then finish him off. You can then turn

and help your team get rid of Falcar's supporting staff. Take the Colossal

Black Soul Gem from Falcar's body.

If you just can't get to Falcar fast enough, then you'll have to follow him

into Silorn. Silorn is three levels full of necromancers and undead. Have fun.

When you reach Falcar, kill him and take the special gem.

Return to Traven. Your final task in the Mages Guild awaits.

[MG18]

<~~~~~~ CONFRONT THE KING ~~~~~~>

Time to put an end to the King of Worms. Traven kills himself, putting his

soul in the Colossal Black Soul Gem you just took from Falcar. Take the gem

and journey to Echo Cavern, which is west of Cloud Ruler Temple. At the door,

you'll be confronted by Bolor Savel, who gleefully informs you he has the only

key for the door. Introduce him to the folly of guarding a door from you, take

his key and enter the cave.

The top two levels of the cave are standard necromancer-infested lairs. You've

seen a lot of these by now. When you reach the bottom, you've found

Mannimarco, King of Worms. Fortunately for you, Mannimarco is a bit

overconfident. Seems he intends to turn you into a Worm Thrall; but, the

special black soul gem prevents that from working.

Don't give Mannimarco time to finish his conversation, cast his Enthrall spell

and then realize it doesn't work. Walk up to him during his speech and hit

him...hit him hard. Keep him off-balance and staggered and the fight should be

easy. If you let him get off a few spells, you could be in trouble. Once he's

dead, loot the place, then return to Arcane University.

Congratulations! You are the new Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild. Primarily what

this means is free alchemy ingredients. There's an enchanted chest in your

room. Put an ingredient in there and, 24 hours later, you'll find lots of that

particular ingredient. (The chest gets cleared out after a week, so come back

for your stuff before then.)

You can also pick any Apprentice on the grounds and take him or her along with

you on adventures. There are still necromancers lying around (refer to

Falcar's note from the "Necromancer's Moon" quest for their locations);

however, there are no more formal quests for the mages guild.

[MG19]

<~~~~~~ MAGES GUILD SUSPENSION ~~~~~~>

The Mages Guild frowns on members who commit crimes against other members. You

get two opportunities to earn your way back into the guild. After the third

crime, you are banned for good.

Earning your way back into the guild depends on the type of crime. You must

bring two types of alchemical ingredients to Raminus Polus, who will re-

instate you into the guild.

Theft: 20 nightshade, 20 mandrake root

Assault: 20 dragon's tongue, 20 redwort flowers

Murder: 20 vampire dust, 20 daedra hearts

These prices apply regardless of whether it is your first or second offense.

[TG00]

~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIEVES GUILD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

The Thieves Guild provides a welcome respite from the typical step-n-fetch

quests that predominate the main story and the Fighters and Mages Guild quest

lines. There are no dungeon crawls and almost no combat until you get near the

end of the story. Prior to that, you'll be required to "obtain" or "retrieve"

various items, *without* killing anyone!

Can you believe it? These quests require a bit more thought, better

preparation and some serious Sneak and Security skills. If you can't pick

locks or Sneak effectively, you'll need to buff up on those skills prior to

joining the Guild.

* Sneak can be easily leveled by breaking into an occupied house, during the

night, Sneaking up beside the sleeping owner, and Sneak-running into the wall.

(PC users can press 'Q' to turn on auto-movement.) Get your Sneak skill past

50 so you don't have to go barefoot all the time. You can supplement Sneaking

with Invisibility spells, but you still need a decent Sneak so you aren't

heard and to allow you to pickpocket various targets.

* Security is difficult to level up; however, there are various workarounds.

First, you can wait until level 10, perform Nocturnal's quest, and get the

Skeleton Key, which is an unbreakable lockpick with a +40 Security boost

enchantment. No lock can stand against you. Second, you can level up your

Alteration skill (keep casting Feather on yourself, over and over) and buy

some high-powered Open Lock spells.

In short, the bull-rush tactics of your average fighter or blast-them-to-

Oblivion mage strategy aren't going to work for you in the Thieves Guild.

You've got to be a lot more sneaky.

When you're ready to join, go to Imperial City. There's two ways of getting an

invitation:

1) Steal something and go to jail. When you are released, wait around until

you are approached by Myvryna Arano and given a message. The message says to

go at midnight to the Garden of Dareloth in the Waterfront district.

2) Read one of the Gray Fox wanted posters scattered about the city. This

gives you a couple of new topics. Approach a beggar and Persuade or Charm him

or her to a Disposition past 70. Then ask about the Gray Fox. Say you want to

work with him. You'll be told to go at midnight to the Garden of Dareloth in

the Waterfront district.

Once you have those instructions, head to the Waterfront district. You can

Fast Travel there or go out through the door in the Temple district. Head

south, past the docks and through the large wall to the dockworker slums.

There's one house, on the eastern edge of the slums, with a walled garden

behind it. That's the Garden of Dareloth.

[TG01]

<~~~~~~ MAY THE BEST THIEF WIN ~~~~~~>

Wait until midnight and Armond Christophe will appear. The two of you will be

joined by a wood elf, Methredhel and an Argonian, Amusei. When everyone's

there, talk to Christophe and ask about joining the Guild. Christophe says

there's never been this many new recruits at once, so he proposes a test. The

first one to return with the diary of Amantius Allectus wins approval to join

the Guild.

Now, technically, there's no way to lose. If you don't win this first test,

you'll get another; still, better to get it over with quick. Fast Travel to

the Temple district. (Yes, you can run over there, but you're probably not

fast enough.) As soon as the Temple district loads, hang a right and run along

the wall until you reach the southeastern corner. Go left and pick the lock on

the second door to your left.

This is Allectus's house. (If you want to do this the "right" way, you would

first need to find a beggar--Puny Ancus--sleeping near the Garden and ask him

the location of Allectus's house.) Regardless, Methredhel will be there before

you, Sneaking across the room. Don't bother Sneaking. Run to the desk against

the wall to your right and open it to get the diary. Go back to the Garden,

Wait until the next midnight hour and give the diary to Christophe.

If, for some reason, the wood elf gets the diary first, you can still get it

back. You're not allowed to kill your fellow contestants (or Allectus for that

matter), but there's no prohibition against stealing from them. Wait until

after sunrise, say about 7 or 8am. Methredhel lives right next to Dareloth's

house. Pick the lock on her door, then on the chest next to her bed (she

sleeps from sunrise until 10am). Get the diary, Wait until midnight, and give

the diary to Christophe.

Say that, for some reason, you don't get the diary at all and Methredhel wins

the contest. Hope is not lost. Christophe figures the Thieves Guild could

still use another member, so he proposes another test between you and Amusei;

you're to bring back Rohssan's sword.

For plot reasons, Amusei is not capable of winning either of these contests,

so you don't need to worry about him getting the sword first. Fast Travel to

the Market District and find "A Fighting Chance" next to the Merchant's Inn.

They're both along the street leading to the Arena in the southeastern section

of the Market district.

Pick the lock on the door and go upstairs to Rohssan's quarters. You'll have

to kill her dog, then pick the lock on Rohssan's Chest to get Rohssan's

Antique Cutlass. Return the sword to Christophe at the next midnight hour.

[TG02]

<~~~~~~ INDEPENDENT THIEVERY ~~~~~~>

Congratulations! You are now a Pickpocket in the Guild. There are a series of

ten "special jobs" you will have to perform to advance to the rank of guild

master (Gray Fox). However, in order to get each job, you have to fence a

certain amount of stolen goods. As you advance, the required total amount of

fenced property increases, and you get access to more fences.

For starters, your only fence is Ongar the World-Weary in Bruma. He lives

behind the chapel and he isn't called "World-Weary" for nothing. He spends a

lot of time sleeping. He'll only fence items for you while in his house, so if

you find him on the street or in a tavern, you're just going to have to Wait

until he goes home. He has a limited amount of gold, but you probably aren't

going to be selling him any high-priced items anyway.

You can, without too much work, fence over 1,000 gold worth of items to Ongar

on your first try. That way you can zip right through the ten quests without

stopping to clean out houses and fence the loot. There's a house in Imperial

City's Temple district owned by Trenus Duronis. His house is west of the

temple, and opens into the central circle.

Duronis is a skooma (drug) addict. He's rarely home at night and has no

servants. His house is easy pickings. You can grab over 40 bottles of premium

wine, lots of silver, plus jewelry and 15 bottles of skooma (base price 75

gold each). Make sure you loot all the miscellaneous sacks lying around, some

of the jewelry are in those sacks. Ignore the basement, there's nothing down

there. Haggle Ongar up to paying you 45 or 50 percent of base price and you

can get 1,500 fenced value in one shot.

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

|Rank | Target | Quest | Contact | Fence |

|-------------+--------+-------------------------+----------+---------------|

|Pickpocket | 50 | Untaxing the Poor | Armand | Ongar, Bruma |

|Footpad | 100 | The Elven Maiden | | |

|Bandit | 200 | Ahdarji's Heirloom | S'Krivva | Dar Jee, |

|Prowler | 300 | Misdirection | | Leyawiin |

|Cat Burglar | 400 | Lost Histories | | Luciana Galena|

| | 500 | Taking Care of Lex | | Bravil |

|Shadowfoot | 600 | Turning a Blind Eye | Gray Fox | Orrin, Anvil |

| | 700 | Arrow of Extrication | | |

|Master Thief | 800 | Boots of Springheel Jak | | Fathis Ules, |

| | 1,000 | The Ultimate Heist | | Imperial City |

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[TG03]

<~~~~~~ UNTAXING THE POOR ~~~~~~>

Once you have over 50 gold worth of fenced goods, talk to Christopher (always

at midnight in the Garden) about Special Jobs. He goes on a rant about how

futile it is to tax the poor people, but that's just what Imperial Watch

captain Hieronymus Lex has done. Christophe wants you to get the tax money

back from Lex, as well as the records so the Thieves Guild knows how to

redistribute the funds.

Find a beggar--Puny, who sleeps near the Garden will do--to learn Lex's

quarters are at the top of the South Watchtower. The South Watchtower is

between the Temple district and the Arboretum, near Allectus's house. The best

time to break in is during mid-morning.

Yeah, broad daylight. You see, the Radiant AI is a bit stupid. During the

night, there are too many watchmen entering the barracks for the number of

beds available. Since there aren't enough beds, some of the watchmen just

stand around all night and it's devilishly hard to Sneak past them. An

Invisibility spell might work, but better just to wait until daylight.

Around 9am, there's no one in the tower except the night shift watchmen, and

they're all sleeping. As a bonus, Lex will also be out and about on his

rounds. You can enter the tower's bottom level publicly, then you have to

Sneak your way up (find the ladder on the wall and Activate it) through two

levels of barracks until you reach Lex's quarters.

Pick the lock on his desk and collect the tax records and gold, then return to

Christophe at the next witching hour.

[TG04]

<~~~~~~ THE ELVEN MAIDEN ~~~~~~>

If you've fenced at least 100 gold worth of goods, Christophe offers you

another special job. You're to steal the bust of the late Countess Indarys of

Cheydinhal. Fast Travel over there and use your quest markers to track down a

beggar. You'll probably have to bribe them to tell you the bust is sitting

next to the Countess' coffin in the undercroft of the chapel.

Oh yeah, and there's a guard patrolling day and night and the place is haunted

as well. Joy.

Sneak down into the undercroft of the chapel and watch the guard. He (or she)

patrols between the two wings of the crypt, from east to west. The bust is in

the west wing, so wait until the guard is heading east, then zip in and grab

the bust. Hide behind a column while the guard comes and peeks in, then scurry

back out when his (or her) back is turned.

You won't encounter any ghosts unless you try to Activate the coffin, so don't

do that.

Return to the Waterfront of Imperial City and you'll find the place crawling

with cops, under the direction of Captain Lex, all asking questions about

Christophe and the bust of Countess Indarys. Looks like you've been set up,

but by whom?

Hang around the Waterfront for a while, and Methredhel eventually finds you.

The whole operation was designed to ferret out an informant in the Guild. The

weasel is revealed as Myvryna Arano, and Methredhel suggest you frame her for

the crime. Her hut is near where Lex is standing, and with all the guards

running about, Sneaking in can be difficult.

You can use an Invisibility spell to get you in, or just go into Sneak mode

while standing next to Arano's door and wait until the eye icon dims down and

then quickly pick the lock and get inside. Activate the cupboard next to the

bed; the bust will automatically be placed inside.

Now the hard part, convincing Hieronymus Lex his stooge is the real thief.

You'll have to get his Disposition up to 70 (Persuade, Charm or Bribe) and

then follow him into Arano's shack, where he confronts her with the evidence.

You might say she's been busted.

The police clear out, life returns to normal and Christophe shows up at the

appointed time and place once again. He'll pay you for your work, promote you

and let you know he's got nothing more for a talented crook like yourself. He

suggests S'Krivva in Bravil.

You also get access to a new fence, Dar Jee, in Leyawiin. Dar Jee lives in

Leyawiin's "skid row"--a group of tumble-down shanties amidst the more stately

manors. His shack is diagonally across from the one you can buy, and right

next to Weebam-Na ("Mazoga the Orc", "Nocturnal").

[TG05]

<~~~~~~ AHDARJI'S HEIRLOOM ~~~~~~>

As you enter Bravil's North Gate, the place ahead and to your right is the

home of your next Doyen in the Thieves Guild, S'Krivva. She holds court during

normal hours (roughly 8am to 6pm) and will only deal with you during those

hours. If you catch her on the street or break into her house any other time,

she just tells you off. At least you don't have to wait until midnight every

day to see her.

Provided you've fenced at least 200 gold in stolen property, S'Krivva hands

out one of those Special Jobs you've come to love. The widow of a dearly

departed Thieves Guild fence has lost a prized possession. While you're

talking to S'Krivva, buy some lockpicks if you don't have any (perhaps because

you're using spells or the Skeleton Key to open locks). Ahdarji lives in

Leyawiin, so head down there and question the beggars for directions to her

house.

Ahdarji is incensed because a freelance (i.e. non-Guild) thief took her ring

and names the culprit, Amusei. (Yep. Your erstwhile competition from the entry

test.) She wants you to kill him, but is willing to let it go at suffering. In

any case, she wants the ring back.

Question the beggars again, or talk to any city guard. Amusei was caught

trying to blackmail Countess Alessia. Head for the castle and the entrance to

the dungeons. The guard is not pre-disposed to let you in to see any

prisoners. You can bribe him (20 gold) or try to Sneak past him and pick the

lock leading to the cells. Your choice.

Inside, talk to Amusei, who doesn't want to be left to rot. Give him a

lockpick to open him up. The ring was actually the Countess' ring and Amusei

found he couldn't fence it after he stole it, so he tried to sell it back to

the Countess and got thrown in jail for his trouble. Countess Alessia has her

ring.

Now, you can try just going through the front door. However, the doors into

the private quarters of Castle Leyawiin are guarded 24/7, so you would need

100% invisibility to get through. There is another way, one that provides some

additional "color" to the story.

Find a beggar and discuss the matter. You get the name of the Countess' maid,

Hildari Mothril. You also get the convenient quest marker showing you Ms.

Mothril's current location. Track her down and butter her up (Disposition of

80) and she'll spill all the beans. The Countess is away from the 15th through

the 17th of the month. She goes to sleep around 11pm and always takes the ring

off when she goes to sleep. There's also a secret passage linking the royal to

the castle's cellar.

Enter the main room of the castle and take the door to the southwest to reach

the cellar. Along the far wall, look for an open barrel that just barely shows

the tip of a lever extending above the rim. Activate the lever to open a

secret door and make your way through a torture chamber (the Countess

has...interesting...amusements) and to the royal quarters.

The ring is in a jewelry box next to the royal bed. You can pick the lock or

pickpocket a key off either the sleeping Count or Countess. To let them know

what you think of their little funhouse, steal their gold as well. (Remember,

no killing.) Go back out the way you came in and return the ring to Ahdarji

and then see S'Krivva for payment.

[TG06]

<~~~~~~ MISDIRECTION ~~~~~~>

Hieronymus Lex is up to his old tricks again. Provided you've fenced at least

300 gold worth of loot, S'Krivva sends you back to the Waterfront district of

Imperial City to help get Lex out of the Guild's collective hair. The obsessed

captain of the Watch has pulled guards from their regular patrols and is

turning the Waterfront inside-out. You're to meet Methredhel, who is director

of operations for the current job.

Again, the beggars point you to Methredhel's location, which is Dynari Amnis's

house in Talos Plaza. Methredhel outlines an audacious plan: have four thieves

pull off high-profile robberies all at once. The resultant hue and cry from

the city's elite will force Lex to pull back his troops to their regular

patrols.

Your job is stealing Hrormir's Staff from the Arch-Mage's quarters. (Note: you

still get this quest even if you are the Arch-Mage. It's just, you won't have

to actually "steal" the staff, since it belongs to you.) Wait until just after

1am, enter the Arch-Mage's Lobby of Arcane University and use the portal to

get to the Council Chambers. Use the other portal in this room to get to the

Arch-Mage's chambers.

Assuming Traven is still Arch-Mage (and not you), he should be asleep. The

staff is lying out in the open on a table. Pick up the staff, then Activate

the nightstand next to the bed to automatically insert a note from the Gray

Fox. Return to Methredhel with the staff.

She congratulates you, lets you know everything is going well, and asks you to

go keep an eye on Lex, to see if anything breaks. Head for the Waterfront and

find Lex where you found him earlier in "The Elven Maiden". Stand nearby and

wait. Soon a dremora approaches and hands Lex a note, then departs. Lex reads

the note, drops it, then hurries away, ordering his men to follow him.

Go pick up the note, which is lying on the ground. It's from Raminus Polus of

the Mages Guild. It says, in part, "We demand that you return all guards to

their posts immediately. If you do not do this, we will be forced to bring the

matter to the attention of your superior."

Lex won't be bothering the good people of the Waterfront for a while. Go back

to Methredhel; there's one last task for you. The Gray Fox isn't really

interested in having the Mages Guild permanently mad at him, so you're to

return the staff--but not to the place where you grabbed it, security will be

too high.

Rather, you're to return the staff to the home of a former University

researcher, Ontus Vanin. Vanin lives in the Talos Plaza district, in the

southwest section. His house is built into the outer wall. (If you've done

"Unfriendly Competition", his house is opposite Agarmir's house.)

Ontus spends weekday afternoons out eating and shopping. He sleeps from 2am to

10am. Pick your time to Sneak into his house, head upstairs and Activate the

chest against the wall. The staff is automatically placed in the chest and you

can return to S'Krivva in Bravil for your payment and a promotion. You also

get access to a new fence, Luciana Galena, right here in Bravil. She's open

for business at the Lonely Suitor Lodge in the afternoons and evenings.

[TG07]

<~~~~~~ LOST HISTORIES ~~~~~~>

Once you've fenced at least 400 gold in illicit items, S'Krivva has a new

assignment for you. She sends you to Skingrad to find out what happened to a

thief named Theranis. He was supposed to steal a book called "The Lost

Histories of Tamriel" and he hasn't been heard from in days.

Go to Skingrad and track down one of the beggars. With a high enough

Disposition (or a bribe), you'll find Theranis boasted about his theft in

front of a captain of the guard and is now cooling his heels in prison. You

can't bribe your way into this dungeon, so you have three options:

1) Get a job delivering food to the prisoners. To get this job you need to

find the count's butler, Shum gro-Yarug. He spends his mornings in town and

afternoons in the castle. To make finding him easier, you can ask around town

about "Work in the castle" and someone will refer you to gro-Yarug. You should

then get a quest marker showing his location. Once you have the job, report to

the dungeons and the jailor will let you in.

2) Get arrested. Any small crime will do, but make sure you have either a

powerful Open Lock spell or several lockpicks so you can break out of your

cell.

3) Break into the jail. This is probably the hardest, as Sneaking past the

jailor will be very difficult, not to mention you have to pick the locks

leading into the cell area.

Once you're inside, you'll find only one prisoner behind bars, and he's not

Theranis. Bump Larthjar's Disposition high enough (telling him you're here to

rescue him is a good way to do this) and he'll relate Theranis was taken by

the "Pale Lady". Theranis' Argonian roommate was also taken and put up a

fight, leaving blood marks all over the place.

Using this information, follow the bloodstains on the floor to the wall at the

end of the cell area. Activate the "strange candle" on the wall to open a

secret door. Follow the tunnel to a door and pass through into a another

tunnel. At the end of this tunnel, turn the handle to the left to open another

secret door.

You're now in the wine cellar. Follow the bloodstains down the hall and then

to your right where they end in front of three large wine casks. To to the

right-most cask and Activate the "strange candle" on the column to the left of

the cask. The center cask opens up to reveal a hidden passage.

Down the passage is the Pale Lady, a vampire (in case you hadn't guessed).

After you kill her, you'll find Theranis' body on the floor and your old

friend Amusei in the cell (he was Theranis' Argonian cellmate). Amusei knows

where Theranis stashed the book, but he wants out of Castle Skingrad first.

Get him out of his cell and tell him to follow, he'll automatically go into

Sneak mode, but you can't. You see, if you Sneak, Amusei can't see you so he

won't follow you. Whatever. Head back into the wine cellar and go up the ramp,

but don't turn left toward the secret door.

Instead, turn right and go through the door into the dining hall. Go through

the kitchen and toward the main dining room (keep an eye out of guards or

other castle occupants). Just before the main dining room, turn right and go

through a door into the County Hall.

Go straight until you come out on the balcony overlooking the main hall. Head

left and through an opening, then turn right. The door straight ahead of you

leads out into the castle courtyard. Slip through when there are no guards

patrolling and head down the main road to Skingrad. Once you are far enough

away from the castle, Amusei will stop you and tell you the location of the

"Lost Histories".

The book is "under a bush near a well behind Nerastarel's house". Continue

down the castle path to Skingrad's East Gate. After entering Skingrad, head

down the street and make the first right-hand turn. Follow the stone path

around the houses until you see a well. Beyond the well a bush and rock crowd

close together. The book is lying right out in the open between the bush and

the rock. Return to S'Krivva with your prize.

[TG08]

<~~~~~~ TAKING CARE OF LEX ~~~~~~>

The Gray Fox has had it with Hieronymus Lex; but, since this is the Thieves

Guild, not the Dark Brotherhood, rather than order a hit on Lex, the Fox wants

him re-assigned--to Anvil, the other end of the world. Countess Umbranox is

looking for a new Captain of the Guard. The Imperial Watch commander has sent

her a list of candidates, but no specific recommendation.

However, the Countess hasn't even seen this list of candidates. Her steward,

Dairihill, has hidden the list in hopes of getting her cousin the job. (You

find out this tidbit later.) Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is:

1) Steal the letter from Dairihill.

2) Forge it with a strong recommendation for Captain Lex.

3) Get the Imperial Watch commander's seal on it.

4) Deliver it to Countess Umbranox.

Simple, right? Actually, more so than you might imagine. Report to Anvil and

find one of the beggars. You'll be directed to find the smith. Wait until

morning (when Dairihill is in the main hall) or the middle of the night (when

Dairihill is asleep). Enter Anvil Castle and hang a right (northwest) to find

the smithy.

Orrin is a Thieves Guild fence (soon to be your fence) and knows of a secret

passage. You can wake him if necessary and he'll show you to the door--the

secret door. Go up the stairs, through a wood door and up some more stairs. At

the top, Activate the moveable column on the left to open a secret door into

the private quarters.

Dairihill's office is immediately to your left. Pick the lock on her door and

on her desk to get the list of candidates. Return the way you came and go back

to Anvil and talk with one of the beggars. You need a forger, and the beggars

point you to someone known only as "The Stranger". He lives in an abandoned

house to the west of the Mages Guild hall.

Enter the house and talk to the Stranger. He needs 24 hours and 500 gold to

complete the forgery. Give him both and you'll have the new high

recommendation for Lex in your hands. Now all you need is the Imperial seal to

make it authentic. (If you have previously done the Dark Brotherhood quest

"Early Retirement", you will have received a key to the Imperial Watch office.

Get that key now.)

Enter the Imperial Prison compound (northeast of the city) in the middle of

the night (between 2am and 4am). Go to the second door to the left of the main

entrance, enter Sneak mode and wait until the guards near the gate aren't

watching (your eye icon is dim). Pick the lock on the door (or use your key).

On the desk is the seal; Activate it to seal the forged letter, then Sneak

out. Return to Anvil and present the letter to Countess Umbranox during normal

hours (8am to 6pm). She decides Lex would be a perfect fit for Anvil, and asks

you to personally deliver his new orders.

It's back to Imperial City for you; follow your quest marker to catch up with

Lex and hand him his exile papers. He suspects the Gray Fox is behind all

this, but off to Anvil he goes. And off to Bravil you go for your payment,

promotion and access to Orrin as a new fence.

[TG09]

<~~~~~~ TURNING A BLIND EYE ~~~~~~>

Now begin your tasks for the Gray Fox himself. These are more traditional

dungeon crawls, and you'll actually be allowed to kill people (or things)

somewhat indiscriminately. All these quests are received the same way: you

make sure you have fenced enough loot, then you sit around twiddling your

thumbs until you get a message from Fox.

To get this first task, you will need to have at least 600 gold worth of

fenced items. The best place to wait (for any of these messages) is the

Waterfront district in Imperial City. Your first messenger is Methredhel, who

sounds kind of breathless that the Gray Fox would want to speak to you. You're

to meet Fox at Helvius Cecia's house in Bruma.

*A note about the messengers*

They won't deliver their message except in a major city, and not in the same

city (or same district in the case of Imperial City) where the meeting is to

take place. They start out in Imperial City, so you can either: 1) stay in the

same city where you last met Fox; or, 2) Fast Travel back to the Waterfront

and sit tight. In either case, Waiting for a few hours generally guarantees

you'll be interrupted by the messenger.

Cecia lives in the south of Bruma, behind the chapel. The Gray Fox is waiting

for you downstairs. He wants you to retrieve an item known as Savilla's Stone.

It is kept in a monastery known as The Temple of the Ancestor Moths. You're

allowed to kill the Stone's guardians, but not spill any innocent blood.

The closest quest-related point to the Temple is Azura's Shrine. You can also

Fast Travel to Lake Arrius Caverns or Lord Rugdumph's Estate if you've been

there before. From any of those locations, the Temple is further north. If you

have to Fast Travel to Cheydinhal, go due north from the city to eventually

reach the Temple.

First go to the Monk's Quarters and talk to Holger. Get his Disposition to 80

or higher and he'll tell you all about the blind monks that live in the

catacombs and even take you up and unlock the door for you. (Alternately, you

can find the crypt entrance yourself, next to the chapel, and pick the lock.)

There are three levels of catacombs. The top two levels are just occupied by

blind priests and you can easily Sneak past them. (You can also kill them, but

it's not necessary and they might attack you in large groups if you start

making a lot of noise.) The final level has undead, and you'll have to kill

those.

When you reach the final room, there's a blind monk guarding the Stone and

you'll most likely have to kill him. There's also a dark welkynd stone that

will zap you with frost damage as you approach Savilla's Stone. Kill the monk

from a distance, then run in, grab the Stone and run out. There's an emergency

exit to the east that lets you skip all the tedious catacomb Sneaking. Return

to Cecia's house in Bruma and give the Stone to the Gray Fox.

[TG10]

<~~~~~~ ARROW OF EXTRICATION ~~~~~~>

Your next message comes from old pal Amusei. Yeah, seems the goof-up joined

the Guild and immediately moved to the top of the class, running errands for

the Fox his-own-self. Kind of makes you wonder why you work so hard, doesn't

it? Of course, he won't show up until you've fenced a total of 700 gold in

purloined property.

The meeting place is in Chorrol, at the home of Malintus Ancrus. He lives in

the far southwestern corner of Chorrol, between Valdus Odiil ("The Killing

Field") and Reynauld Jemane ("Separated at Birth") and across the street from

Modryn Oreyn (Fighters Guild). The Gray Fox wants you to steal the Arrow of

Extrication from Bravil court wizard Fathis Aren. The wizard and the guardians

he strews in your path are fair game.

*IMPORTANT*

Aren is a member in good standing of the Mages Guild; if you are also a member

of the Mages Guild, you'll get booted if you kill him.

Go to Bravil and hunt down the beggars. For a bribe, they'll reveal Aren has a

tower outside of town, keeps all his precious stuff in it and is the only one

who can open the door to the tower. However, there's also rumored to be a

secret passage from his room in the castle to the tower, so that should be

your route of attack.

*ALTERNATE ROUTE*

There is a back way into the Wizard's Grotto that does not involve sneaking

your way past the guards in the castle. If you have a pitiful Sneak skill,

what are you doing in the Thieves Guild? No, you might be able to get in the

back way. Swim out into Niben Bay. About where the 'a' in 'Bay' shows on your

world map, swim down to the bottom and hunt for a wood trapdoor. There is a

partially buried wooden chest and some broken pottery nearby. It will be very

difficult to find (a mod that improves the underwater view would help). This

takes you directly into the cave with the giant slaughterfish (see below) and

you can swim up and continue through the Wizard's Grotto.

The direct route goes through a door in Castle Bravil's main hall. The door is

in the center of the balcony and is always protected by two guards. Good luck

Sneaking through there--an Invisibility spell would help tremendously. Inside

the private quarters, hang a left and Aren's room is the first door on your

left.

You can loot his room, but the important thing is the secret door on the back

wall. There's a "moveable column" on the wall--Activate it and the door opens.

Enter the Wizard's Grotto. At the end of the first hall is the first of many

leveled daedra you will meet. Sneak past or, better, kill it and open the gate

straight ahead of you. Hug the left wall as you go down into a flooded

section, eventually leading to a section where the floor drops away and you

can swim down.

Swim down slowly, hugging the left (north) wall and looking for an entrance to

a flooded tunnel. If you encounter a giant slaughterfish in a cave, you've

gone too far down. (This is the cave you enter through the trapdoor in Niben

Bay.) Swim back up, hugging the right wall and try to find that tunnel

entrance.

Check your map, if you find yourself swimming along a northbound tunnel that

quickly turns east, you're in the right place. Come out of the flooded tunnel

going north; turn right (east) at the T-intersection. Through the locked gate,

turn south (right), then take the next left (east) and another left (north)

and wend your way to a locked wooden door. This leads to the Wizard's Lair.

There's only one way to go through here, blocked by daedra and conjurers. At

the end you'll enter Aren's Tower, which is a ruined fort on the surface.

There are more daedra out here. Fathis Aren is in a little open-air lab on the

third level. Climb the stairs and circle around to his lab.

Now, if you're a Mages Guild member in good standing, you can walk right by

him, open his chest, remove his Tower Key and a key-shaped arrowhead, chat

with him, then walk out. If you're not a Mages Guild member in good

standing...

Well, you're either going to have to kill him or use an Invisibility spell (or

have very, very high Sneak skill). Aren stands right in front of his chest,

facing it, and it is almost impossible to steal its contents using just Sneak.

Of course, Aren is expendable--there's no Blood Price attached to killing him,

so go ahead if that seems the simplest solution.

Regardless, you now have the key to walk right out of the tower with the

arrowhead the Gray Fox wants. Return to Chorrol and deliver the arrowhead. As

part of your reward, you are promoted to Master Thief and you can now fence

items with Fathis Ules.

[TG11]

<~~~~~~ BOOTS OF SPRINGHEEL JAK ~~~~~~>

Once again, Amusei brings you news of a meeting requested by the Gray Fox. You

must have pawned off at least 800 gold in pilfered goods to get the message.

The meeting is to take place at Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal. Fast Travel

to Cheydinhal's East Gate and head straight south. Ganredhel's is the fourth

house on your left (just past the Abandoned Home that is a front for the Dark

Brotherhood Sanctuary).

The Gray Fox wants the boots of a legendary thief known as Springheel Jak. He

was supposedly buried 300 years ago with his boots on, so you need to find his

crypt and acquire said footwear. Your only lead is a descendant: Jakben, Earl

of Imbel. Fast Travel to Imperial City and track down a beggar; bribe him or

her for information about Jakben and you'll get the location of his house--

Talos Plaza district--and the information he only goes out at night.

Gee...wonder where you've heard that before...

Head over to Talos Plaza and enter the house--it opens out into the central

plaza. It's preferable to go during the day. In order to get anywhere with

this quest, you have to talk to the earl himself. You might need to Wait

around bit by bit in order for Jakben to show; when he does, he'll be

terrified of you and give you the key to the family crypt, which is beneath

the cellar of his house.

You may have noticed the earl's red eyes. Jakben is actually Springheel Jak,

he's a vampire, he's wearing the boots you need. The only way to get them is

to take them from his body, so might as well skip the crypt and just attack

the earl as soon as you see him. If you like, you can still go down into the

crypt, where you'll find about a half-dozen vampires and a decent loot haul.

Return the boots to the Gray Fox. Your adventures are almost at an end...

[TG12]

<~~~~~~ THE ULTIMATE HEIST ~~~~~~>

...once you've fenced stolen goods totaling at least 1,000 gold, that is. Sit

around and wait for Amusei once more. He brings a message the Gray Fox wants

to see you at the house of Othrelo in the Elven Gardens district of Imperial

City. If you Fast Travel to the district, go left from your entrance point,

around the corner and Othrelo's is the first door on your right (northeast

corner of the district).

The Gray Fox now reveals his ultimate plan: he wants you to break into the

Imperial Palace's Elder Scrolls library and steal one of the scrolls. Gee,

won't that be simple.

Not.

This is easily the most complex and longest individual quest in the game. (The

side quest "The Collector" might be longer, but it's more like a bunch of

individual tasks grouped under one heading.) The Fox has a plan, and it's so

complicated, he writes it down for you so you won't forget it.

Here's what you need before you start:

* Plenty of potions, poisons, empty soul gems and repair hammers. You'll be

out of circulation for a long time and there are a lot of enemies between

you and the final goal.

* Lots of lockpicks or the Skeleton Key or a Open Very Hard Locks spell.

There will be numerous locks, most Hard or Very Hard, that have to be

picked.

* The Boots of Springheel Jak, the Arrow of Extrication and the Palace Sewers

Key. The Gray Fox will give these to you, don't drop them anywhere.

* Detect Life spell or enchanted item will make it easier to Sneak around the

palace, since you can "see" through the walls.

Here are the steps:

"1) Activate the Old Way using the Glass of Time. It is located

inside the Imperial Palace. I do not know what it looks like or

exactly where to find it."

The Glass of Time is located in the basement of the Imperial Palace. Enter by

the main doors into the publicly accessible Elder Council Chambers.

Immediately go left, around the circular hall and down a ramp to the the

basement. Enter Sneak mode and wait until the eye dims, indicating no one is

watching, then pick the lock and Sneak into the basement.

There's a patrolling guard here. He patrols around the outer circumference of

the room. Sneak through the center to the opposite side of the basement, where

you'll find a giant hourglass. That's the Glass of Time. Activate it, your

journal updates and you can Sneak out.

Now come the hard parts.

"2) Find the entrance to the Old Way. It is rumored to be somewhere

in the sewers under the Imperial City."

The entrance to the sewers is in the Arboretum. Near the door to the Arena

(northeast section of the Arboretum) is a sewer grate to the Southeast Tunnel.

Drop down into the sewers. Go down the stairs and through the one tunnel

available. Pick the lock on the gate to enter the next room.

Turn the wheel on the south wall to open a door to the northeast. Go through

the tunnel and enter a room with a water trench. Go right (east), through a

small tunnel, then jump up to the left (north) to find a door into the Arena

sewers (Beneath the Bloodworks). From here on out you'll be facing a variety

of undead. These sewers are vampire lairs. Watch your step.

Go down the stairs and through the east gate. Go up the stairs in the next

room and through the tunnel. The next room you enter has a wheel on the north

wall. Turn it, then go through the gate to the west. As you go over a bridge,

drop down and head north through the newly opened door.

You'll enter a water trench room. Cross the trench and go into the room to the

north. Turn the wheel on the west wall, then return to the trench and go

through the newly opened tunnel to the west. Your next route is through a

tunnel to the left (south) as you enter the next trench room. There's an

undead concealed in that tunnel, so climb the stairs to your right (north) and

reconnoiter before heading into the tunnel.

That tunnel takes you to a gate opened with the key given you by the Gray Fox.

Inside is a manhole cover to the Palace Sewers. From here, the entrance to the

old way is pretty straightforward, but still blocked by the occasional undead.

Go northwest until you come to a large cistern. Go northeast to another

cistern, then southeast to a trench room. The entrance to the Old Way is

across the trench and to your right.

"3) Inside the Old Way is an entrance to the heart of the Imperial

Palace. Savilla's Stone was only able to scry the two most important

obstacles. For one of them you will need to use the Boots of

Springheel Jak."

Inside the Old Way, take the quickest route, which is straight down the hall

to the first left, then straight to the entrance to the second section of the

Old Way. Watch out for the pressure plate midway down the hall; it releases a

swinging mace trap.

You come out on the second level of a two-level room full of undead. Once they

are all out of the way, find the hole in the wall in the western, lower

section of the room. Follow this "cave" west and then south and find another

hole in the wall. Drop down into the room beyond and destroy the spirits in

the room. Find a hole in the east wall that leads to a downward sloping tunnel

and a wood door to the Lost Catacombs.

The Catacombs go on forever, but there's only one way to go and lots of undead

filling the path. There are some ways to avoid some of the fighting. First,

remain in Sneak mode. Second, when you approach a large room with stone and

wood columns arranged in a square in the center, you'll find a lot of undead.

You'll also find a tunnel in the south wall before you reach the center of the

room. You should be able to Sneak your way into that tunnel.

Follow it around until you reach a T-intersection, then turn right (south).

You'll soon enter another very large room with several undead. There are two

exits from this room on the north wall. The shorter route is the east (right-

hand) exit.

At the end of the tunnel, go to the north wall of the room and take the tunnel

east. You'll enter a large room with a couple of undead. Get rid of them, then

find the broken stairs on the north side of the room. Equip the Boots of

Springheel Jak and jump up the stairs. There are two pushbuttons on this upper

level, one to the north and one to the south. Activate both of them to open

the gate to the east, which leads to the Hall of Epochs.

"4) To enter the Imperial City you must use the Arrow of Extrication

to unlock the final door."

Straight ahead are some undead foes and an extremely large room. Keep going,

up the stairs to some statues and you'll get a journal entry that this must be

the secret entrance to the Palace that is opened with the Arrow of

Extrication. Staying on the upper level, go right (south) and find the gate on

the south wall. Pick the lock and step through onto a balcony. To your left is

a pushbutton, Activate it, then go back west and down the steps into the room

below.

There's a new opening in the southeast corner of the room. This leads to a

door to a second Hall of Epochs. As you go through the door, there will be an

undead immediately in front of you, so be prepared. Turn left into a large

room and exit at the northeast corner. At the end of the hall, turn left, then

left again and go down some stairs.

In this room, behind an altar, is a pushbutton. Activate it, then retrace your

steps to the very large room with the statues. Be careful, your Activation of

that button released some more undead into this room, so all is not clear. As

you re-enter the large room, you'll notice several walls have dropped.

Straight ahead of you now is a bridge with a pressure plate in the center.

Stand on the pressure plate and the statue across the room will rotate,

revealing a key-shaped hole. This is where the Arrow of Extrication must go.

Practice with normal arrows first--the aiming spot is approximately where the

statue's hands grip the sword hilt--you'll hear the impact if you hit the

right spot, and hear nothing if you miss.

*SAVE YOUR GAME*

Without moving your crosshair, open your inventory, equip the Arrow of

Extrication, close your inventory and let the arrow fly. If you miss, reload

and try again. If you succeed, the statue rises, revealing a door into the

Palace. Also revealed are a couple of Ayleid Guardians, but they won't mess

with you unless you attack them.

*SAVE YOUR GAME AGAIN*

"5) Inside the Imperial Palace you must find the Imperial Library.

On the bottom floor is some sort of viewing room."

The secret door deposits you into the fireplace of the Imperial Guard's

quarters. Make sure you're in Sneak mode before you enter. Getting through

here is ticklish. This is where you need the Detect Life spell or enchanted

item. If you're lucky, the guards (if any) in this part of the room will be

sleeping. If you're not lucky, you walked into the middle of a shift change

and you're probably dead meat, in which case it's reload time and you'll have

to wait a while before trying again.

Sneak over to the large doors that lead to the dining area. Wait until Detect

Life detects no life beyond the doors, then Sneak out into the corridor and go

left. This will take you to the Library level. Go halfway around the corridor

to the Library entrance.

In the Library, go right until you reach a gate. There's a priest on this side

of the gate, but--as are all the priests--he's blind. So Sneak up behind him

and pull the lever on the floor to your right. Go back around the hall to the

now open door into the main library.

"6) I have arranged to have a particular scroll made available in

the Chamber. The blind monks that care for the scrolls are expecting

Celia Camoran, but you will take her place. Just find the chair

assigned to visitors to the library. You must not speak, or they

will know it is not her. Just let them bring you the scroll."

Sit in the Reading Chair and a priest will call you Lady Camoran and bring you

a scroll. Remember not to Activate (talk to) any priest. Take the scroll and

Sneak up the circular staircase. Pick the lock on the door on this upper level

to get back out into the Palace corridors.

"7) Once you have the scroll, retrace your steps and deliver it to

me. Of course the chances of something going wrong with this plan

are very high. When that happens, you'll just have to get creative."

Now, to escape. Instead of going down, go up. Go left from the library to the

priests' quarters, then all the way around to the Imperial Battlemage's

quarters. Go halfway around the hall to the door to the battlemage's actual

rooms, find her fireplace, make sure you have the Boots of Springheel Jack

equipped, and drop down through the fireplace flue.

It's a long way down, but the Boots protect you. (They are destroyed in the

process.) You land near where you entered the Old Way. Just retrace your steps

through the sewers and return to the Gray Fox. (Ignore your quest marker, it

will try to lead you out through a different--i.e. full of enemies--way. Just

go back the same way you came.)

But! The Gray Fox is not finished with you yet. He gives you a ring and asks

you to deliver it to Countess Umbranox in Anvil. Do as he says and watch the

cutscenes. After it's all over, you have the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal and you're

the new Gray Fox, guild master of the Thieves Guild.

| The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal

+----------------------------

This amazing hood (and it is a hood, not a light or heavy helmet) Fortifies

your Sneak by 25 points, reduces encumbrance by 200 points and has a constant

Detect Life effect.

Wait! There's more!

It also changes your identity. When wearing the Cowl, you *are* the Gray Fox.

Any bounty accrued while wearing the Cowl disappears when you take the Cowl

off. Moreover, the enchantment is such that even when people see you put on or

take off the Cowl, they don't notice the change. No one will ever know you are

the Gray Fox (or the Gray Fox is you).

Think of the scenarios: you invade a home while wearing the Cowl, steal them

blind, then remove the Cowl as you exit. The guards will come running...and

politely ask you how you're doing. You can even assault or kill people in

broad daylight with the Cowl equipped, then remove it immediately and have

everyone wonder where the criminal is.

There are some downsides. If you run into any guards while wearing the Cowl,

they will confront you and the only option is "Resist arrest". You can always

remove the Cowl and yield--Block + Activate; however, during the brief moment

between removing the Cowl and yielding, townspeople will see the guard

attacking an "innocent" and they will attack the guards. (On the other hand,

this is great for causing incredible mayhem in a town.)

You can't pay off your bounty as the Gray Fox, and, even if you did, it's

renewed at 500 gold the next time you re-equip it after removing it.

The constant Detect Life effect is useful for clearing out dungeons; however,

it makes it difficult to tell friend from foe, so only use it when you know

you're surrounded only by enemies.

Some NPCs will ignore the cowl, including your maid in the Skingrad house (if

you've purchased the house and hired the maid). Many quest givers will treat

you and the Gray Fox equally.

Finally, in Dareloth's Garden in the Waterfront District, you can now enter

Dareloth's house through the basement. This is the new Thieves Guild

headquarters, and you have private quarters on the top floor. Fathis Ules and

Christophe hang out here, so you have constant access to a fence and a doyen.

You'll also see other Thieves Guild familiars (Methredhel, Amusei) now and

again. You'll find mementos of your exploits (Savilla's Stone, the tax

records, The Lost Histories, etc.) lying around the place.

However, beyond that, there's no benefit to being the guild master. Unlike the

Fighters Guild or Dark Brotherhood, where you receive regular payments; or the

Mages Guild where you can recruit a henchman to fight with you, the only

benefit to being the Gray Fox is...well, being the Gray Fox. You'll have to

make your own wealth.

[TG13]

<~~~~~~ CAST OUT OF THE THIEVES GUILD ~~~~~~>

The Thieves Guild has some pretty strict rules regarding behavior.

(Apparently, there *is* honor among thieves.) You are not to steal from,

assault or kill another guild member. Additionally, you cannot kill anyone

while committing a theft for the guild (unless your doyen or the Gray Fox

specifically gives you permission in advance.)

Unlike the other guilds, getting back into the Thieves Guild is a simple

matter of money. There is a fine attached to each action, and paying the fine

to Armand or S'Krivva gets you back into the guild.

Crime Fine

------- --------

Theft 200

Assault 500

Murder* 1,000

* You get charged 1,000 gold Blood Price for each unnecessary murder during a

job. The exceptions are killing one of the two targets of "May the Best Thief

Win", their Blood Price is 500 gold. Your doyen or the Gray Fox will let you

know if any job targets can be killed before you go out on the job.

The Thieves Guild is pretty lenient and always lets you back in, as long as

you pay the fines.

[DB00]

~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DARK BROTHERHOOD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

*NOTE* The Dark Brotherhood should not be undertaken by anyone with a weak

stomach or a disinclination to slaughter people for money. How a game with

these types of tasks got through with (initially, anyway) a 'T' rating is a

mystery. The Dark Brotherhood is a major reason the game was re-rated to 'M'.

*QUESTS* The following journal quests run during the Dark Brotherhood story;

they are "placeholder" quests that merely tell you to go get your next

contract. They are not individually broken down in this walkthrough:

* Welcome to the Family

* Blood of the Damned

* No Rest For the Wicked

* To Serve Sithis

* My Brother's Keeper

* Enter the Eliminator

* The Night Mother's Child

* The Assassin's Gambit

* The Dead Drop

Like the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood quests are geared toward Stealth

characters. Unlike the Thieves Guild, you don't need Stealth to complete the

missions. After all, each task basically involves killing someone and you

don't have to be a sneak-thief to do that.

However, each contract carries with it bonus perks based on meeting specific

parameters. Meeting these parameters and receiving the bonus does require

Stealth. For example, in one quest you must infiltrate the Imperial prison and

kill a prisoner. To get the bonus, you must do so without killing any guards.

In another quest, to get the bonus, you must make the assassination appear to

be an accident *and* not kill the target's servant.

You will also need some lockpicking skill to complete some of these tasks,

whether you do it stealthily or not. If you have trouble with the lockpicking

mini-game, you may wish to hold off on joining the Brotherhood until you've

received Nocturnal's Skeleton Key, which you can do at level 10.

The Dark Brotherhood is more than a gang of hit men (women/cats/lizards). They

are a religious cult that worships Sithis, the Dark Lord of Death. They

delight in killing and bloodshed, but more than just being savage, they

delight in performing complicated murders that require cunning and stealth.

There are some...interesting conversations you can have with your colleagues,

and they are not for the faint-of-heart.

Also, you should be aware you cannot join the Brotherhood with the goal of

wiping them all out. Such is not possible; though the Brotherhood is nearly

destroyed in the course of these quests, it is your destiny to rebuild it. You

can't rise to the top only to kill the few remaining survivors. So if that's

your goal, forget about it and find something else to do.

Joining the Dark Brotherhood is simple: murder someone. But, you can't just

murder *anyone*, you have to murder an innocent. (Well, maybe innocent is not

the right word; you have to perform what the game deems an unnecessary

killing.) There are several possibilities:

1) Fight through the Arena, perform "Origin of the Gray Prince" and then

challenge the Gray Prince to a fight, which ends with him begging you to kill

him. This is more like assisted suicide and you won't get in trouble with the

law, but the game regards it as murder anyway. This is the safest murder you

can commit, since it's not really murder and the character only exists to die

anyway. On the flip side, you have to fight through 21 successively more

difficult battles to reach the Gray Prince.

2) Kill a beggar. Make sure no guards are around when you commit the crime.

Beggars generally sleep outdoors on bedrolls. The beggars play a big role in

the Thieves Guild quests; if you intend to play through the Thieves Guild,

murder one in the Imperial City--there are five total in the city, so they'll

be some left over that can help you with the Thieves Guild quests.

3) Kill a non-essential innkeeper or shopkeeper. There are a dozen or more

shopkeepers in Imperial City and several inns, so you could probably off one

of them in their sleep without messing up your game too much. You always run a

risk of killing someone who sells something that may be important to you

later; but you can minimize this. Just make sure the merchant you kill doesn't

provide any other services, such as training or armor repair.

4) Kill a solitary Imperial Legionnaire or Forester you encounter on the road.

Trying to kill a guard in town is tough as you will be attacked by the other

guards and the citizenry, but one of the wandering troopers in the country can

probably be dispatched without too much trouble. This will get you in trouble

with the law, so you'll have to pay a fine or serve some jail time.

When you commit a "proper" murder, you'll get a message saying, "Your killing

has been observed by forces unknown..." The next time you sleep (and you have

to sleep, not just Wait), your rest will be interrupted by one Lucien

Lachance. He introduces you to the Dark Brotherhood and asks if you would like

to join their family.

You still have an out--maybe you didn't intend to kill an innocent and you

don't really want to join the Brotherhood. You can turn Lachance down and he

won't bother you again. You can also (try to) kill Lachance, in which case he

definitely won't bother you again. If you choose to join, Lachance first sends

you on an initiation run...

[DB01]

<~~~~~~ A KNIFE IN THE DARK ~~~~~~>

In order to complete your "application" and fully join the Brotherhood,

Lachance points you to a target: Rufio. Rufio spends most of his time asleep

at the Inn of Ill Omen, which is located on the Green Road about halfway

between Bravil and Lake Rumare.

Speak to the innkeeper and he'll reveal Rufio's room is in the cellar. The

trap door downstairs is just to the left of the main entrance to the inn.

Rufio's room is the last door on the left, and he sleeps all the time, except

for the middle of the night. You can kill him with a single blow.

You can also choose to wake him. If you use the "Oh, but you have Rufio"

response, you'll get a hint of why there is a price on his head. Regardless,

if you do wake him, you better be between him and the door. He moves very fast

for a tired, old man and will hotfoot it for the exit as soon as he finishes

speaking. However, even when awake, he's still a one-hit kill.

Find a bed (you can even use Rufio's) and Sleep, and Lachance will visit you

again. He welcomes you into the family and, if you follow all his conversation

options, gives you some detail on the operations of the Brotherhood.

The leadership of the Brotherhood is composed of a Listener and four Speakers-

-together known as the Black Hand. The Listener receives assignments from the

Night Mother and gives those assignments to the Speakers who pass them on to a

local Sanctuary, where a family member is tasked to carry out the mission. You

also learn the Five Tenets (See "A Dark Exile" below).

Lachance is sending you to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. Fast Travel to

Cheydinhal's East Gate and go south. The third house on the left, almost

directly behind the chapel, is an Abandoned House. Even though the door is

boarded over, enter and go down into the basement.

Follow the basement to a black door with strange runes carved into it. When

you Activate the door, you are asked for a pass phrase, which is "Sanguine, my

brother". Enter the Sanctuary and find Ocheeva, a female Argonian. She

welcomes you to the Sanctuary, gives you an outfit (Shrouded Armor and Hood

that, when worn together, Fortify your Sneak, Illusion, Marksman, Blade and

Acrobatics by 10 points each) and sends you to Vincente Valtieri for

assignments.

[DB02]

<~~~~~~ A WATERY GRAVE ~~~~~~>

Yes, Valtieri is a vampire, and proud of it. In fact, later on, he'll offer to

give you "The Dark Gift"--i.e. turn you into a vampire.

But only if you want to.

Right now, Valtieri is just your boss. He explains the contract system--some

contracts have bonus rewards if you meet certain conditions. He also will tell

you to talk to your colleagues in the Sanctuary about each contract; they may

have valuable information.

Your first contract is to kill Captain Gaston Tussaud aboard his ship, the

Marie Elena, which is docked at Imperial City's Waterfront district. There are

no bonuses for this mission, just the standard pay. The Marie Elena berths at

the eastern end of the Waterfront dock. There are three ways of reaching the

captain:

1) The direct approach. Simply walk onto the ship. You'll be warned away by

the first mate, but when you don't listen, she and the other crew attack. This

could get sticky, except for the fact that, since they attacked you, all the

guards around the waterfront will be hostile to them. Lead them on a chase

into a group of Legion Watch and...well, watch the fun. Once all the sailors

are down, you can pick the lock on the Captain's cabin, enter and kill him,

then return to Vincente.

2) Stowaway. This is the method suggested by Valtieri when he gives you the

job. Walk past the ship, to the east end of the dock and twiddle your thumbs

for a moment. You'll get a message the nearby crate looks like it has enough

room for you to fit. Choose to climb in the crate and you'll jump straight to

the Marie Elena's cargo hold. Climb up to the middle deck and hide until a

couple of sailors finish their argument and go to bed. Then Sneak past and

climb up to the captain's cabin.

You can kill the captain quickly, but two sailors will hear the noise and rush

in to investigate, so kill them as well. (You can hide in the aft part of the

cabin when the sailors rush in, and then Sneak attack at least once to give

yourself an edge.) When the two are dead, get the captain's key from the chest

next to his bed, open the door in the aft section of the cabin and jump off

the balcony into the water and swim out of range of the enemies on the ship.

Then Fast Travel back to Cheydinhal to report to Vincente.

3) If your Acrobatics skill is high enough, you can jump from the east end of

the dock to the balcony outside the captain's cabin. Then it's just a matter

of picking the lock, killing the captain and running back outside and jumping

into the water to get away. You don't even have to kill the two sailors who

come to investigate, because you don't need the captain's key to get out.

Report back to Vincente.

[DB03]

<~~~~~~ ACCIDENTS HAPPEN ~~~~~~>

Valtieri assigns you the task of killing Baenlin, of Bruma. To earn a bonus,

you must make the killing appear accidental and make sure you don't kill

anyone else, especially Baenlin's servant, Gromm. Valtieri suggests a way to

make it happen: use a hidden crawlspace on the second floor to drop a prized

minotaur head on top of old Baenlin. Baenlin always sits below the head from

8pm to 11pm.

Baenlin lives just north of Bruma's East Gate (next to the house you can buy).

You have a choice to make. The easiest time to infiltrate the house is during

the middle of the night; however, you can't Wait while trespassing, so you

would be stuck twiddling your thumbs for around 30 real minutes (15 game

hours) until 8pm when you can drop the head. One way to make use of this time

is to Sneak-run into the wall in the hidden crawlspace. You'll gain 25 or more

ranks in your Sneak skill during the time you're waiting.

The other option is to Wait until 8pm to infiltrate the house. You may still

be able to successfully Sneak past Gromm and Baenlin, but you're going to need

a fairly high Sneak skill to accomplish this. Choose your time, go around the

back of the house and pick the lock to the basement. Go into Sneak mode and

pick the lock on the door to the main floor.

The crawlspace is up on the second floor--make a U-turn at the top of the

stairs and go through Gromm's bedroom to the far corner, where you'll find the

secret panel. At the appointed hour, Activate the fastenings on the end wall

of the crawlspace and hear the satisfying thump of death. Resist the urge to

peek out the hole, Gromm will see you and soon be in the crawlspace with you.

Enraged Nord + big axe + cramped quarters = reload time.

Sneak out of the crawlspace and down the stairs. Gromm will be standing,

weapon out, over the old man's body. Sneak along the far wall to the basement

door and go out the way you came in. For "accidentally" killing Baenlin

without killing Gromm, you get Sufferthorn, a dagger with Damage Health and

Damage Strength enchantments.

[DB04]

<~~~~~~ SCHEDULED FOR EXECUTION ~~~~~~>

Valtieri next reveals there is an Imperial prisoner, Valen Dreth, who needs to

be put out of his misery. It seems another prisoner recently escaped using

secret tunnels under the prison (that would be you) and you are now to use

those tunnels to get back into the prison and kill Dreth. If you can do so

without killing any guards, you'll get a bonus.

Your path back through the underground system will not be identical to the

path you took when fleeing in the wake of the emperor. However, much will be

familiar, especially your cell and the sneering dark elf across the hall.

The route through the sewers, the Sanctum, the Subteranne and the prison is

pretty straightforward. The challenge here is not in figuring out which way to

go, but avoiding the guards with torches that patrol regular routes. The trick

is to stay in Sneak mode as far into the shadows as possible and watch the

route of each guard. Choose your moment to Sneak through--usually by scurrying

along in the wake of the guard.

The biggest problem occurs in the Sanctum. Getting out is difficult as there's

a guard right next to the stairs and the stairs are well lit. You can use an

Invisibility spell to get through here, or wait until the guard turns and

stares as the back wall for a few minutes.

When you reach your old cell, hide in it while a guard chats with Dreth, then

step across the hall and say goodbye to your old friend. The easiest thing to

do is a spell or arrow through the bars of Dreth's cell; he's wasted away and

a single shot should be the end of him.

If you Sneak down the hallway to the left of Dreth's cell, you should be able

to procure a prison key from the guardroom at the end of the hall. Then go

back up the other way and enter the main prison room. You can exit Sneak mode

now, this is a public area, and walk right out, then Fast Travel back to the

Cheydinhal Sanctuary. Assuming you killed no one but Dreth, your payment

includes the Scales of Pitiless Justice. This miscellaneous item Fortifies

your Strength, Intelligence and Agility while Draining your Personality. It

works any time it is in your inventory; just drop it to lose the effect.

[DB05]

<~~~~~~ THE RENEGADE SHADOWSCALE ~~~~~~>

This is not an official Dark Brotherhood quest, rather it's a favor for the

male Argonian, Teinaava. He tells you a tale of a Shadowscale (Argonian royal

assassin), Scar-Tail, who decided to forsake his duties and flee to Bogwater

Swamp. Teinaava asks you to go kill him and bring back his heart as proof of

his death.

Anything for a friend, right? Bogwater is southeast of Leyawiin, almost as far

south as you can go in Cyrodiil. Tidewater Cave (Nocturnal's quest),

Darkfathom Cave ("Whom God's Annoy" side quest) and Fort Blueblood ("Leyawiin

Recommendation" Mages Guild quest) are the closest quest-related landmarks for

Fast Traveling. If you've not visited them yet, Fast Travel to Leyawiin and

hoof it.

You'll find Scar-Tail by a small campfire, weakened by a previous fight with a

Shadowscale agent. You can: 1) kill him and take his heart; or, 2) talk to him

and he asks that you allow him to live and take the heart of the dead

Shadowscale as proof and Scar-Tail's treasure for yourself. If you decide on

option #2, you'll find the treasure in a hollow rock near the campfire and the

dead agent a short way from the campfire.

Regardless of which heart you bring back to Teinaava, you get the Boots of

Bloody Bounding, with Fortify Acrobatics and Blade enchantments.

[DB06]

<~~~~~~ THE ASSASSINATED MAN ~~~~~~>

This one's a little different. You are *not* supposed to kill someone this

time, rather you are to make it look like you killed someone without actually

performing the deed. Francois Motierre wants to welsh on his debts, and has

asked for the Dark Brotherhood's assistance. Since *someone* is supposed to

die to satisfy the Dark Lord Sithis, Motierre handed over his own mother.

These are the kinds of people you get to deal with.

Motierre's being pursued by an enforcer for the people to whom he owes money.

You're supposed to hit him with a dagger laced with Langourwine in view of the

enforcer and then run away. The Langourwine will cause Motierre to fall into a

coma that feigns death; the enforcer will report Motierre has been killed by

the Brotherhood; and, then you revive the skinflint using an antidote.

(Vincente provides all this for you.) If either Motierre or the enforcer die,

you don't get your payment for this mission, though you can continue to

advance in the Brotherhood.

Fast Travel to Chorrol and find Motierre's house, which is in Chorrol's

upscale district around the great oak (straight ahead from either the North or

South Gate). Enter and Motierre will fill you in on all the details. Soon

after his conversation ends, you'll hear the enforcer, Hides-His-Heart,

picking the lock on the door.

You don't want to waste any time. Equip the Langourwine dagger and stand next

to Motierre. As soon as the Argonian enforcer is inside, strike Motierre and

beat it. If you hang around and listen to Motierre and Hides chat, you won't

learn anything and you'll probably have to kill the lizard (which fails the

mission). You have to get outside the city in order to shake the pursuit.

As soon as your journal lets you know you were successful, Wait 24 hours, then

go to the Chapel of Stendarr and go down to the undercroft. Motierre's "body"

is lying in the southern wing of the undercroft. Activate him to revive him

with the Langourwine antidote. Motierre chooses, at this time, to let you know

his ancestors won't be pleased with his cheating of death, screams, "Aunt

Margaret" and the zombie attacks.

Auntie isn't the only ticked-off relative in the crypt. There are two more

zombies out in the main part of the undercroft. You still have to keep

Motierre alive, so take out Aunt Margaret as quickly as you can, then rush the

other two.

Once all three are dead, lead Motierre to the Gray Mare inn and then return to

Valtieri for your payment. If all went as planned, your reward includes an

amulet, Cruelty's Heart (Fortify Strength and Willpower), promotion and a key

to the "back door" of the Sanctuary. There's a well behind the abandoned house

that leads directly into the Sanctuary (the ladder going up is in a corner of

the main room, behind a broken section of wall). No more trudging through the

basement to get in an out of the place.

Finally, Vincente offers to give you the "Dark Gift"--i.e. make you a vampire.

And he turns you over to Ocheeva for future assignments as he has nothing left

for one of your rank.

[DB07]

<~~~~~~ THE LONELY WANDERER ~~~~~~>

Ocheeva's first assignment is to kill an elf named Faelian in Imperial City.

There must be no witnesses. There are a number of ways in which you can track

down Faelian, but, by far the quickest and easiest is to Fast Travel to the

Talos Plaza district in Imperial City.

Find the Tiber Septim Hotel, which opens out onto the main plaza on the

southwest side of the district. Charm innkeeper Augusta Calidia to a

Disposition of 50 or higher and she'll give tell you Faelian and his

girlfriend live in the hotel. Find the girlfriend, Atraena, who is almost

always in the hotel.

Get her Disposition over 50 and she'll give you the name of the place where

Faelian goes to do drugs during the day: Lorkmir's house in the Elven Gardens

District. Lorkmir's is in the western section of the Elven Gardens, along the

central street.

*NOTE* You could go straight to Lorkmir's house without going through the

girlfriend, but then you get no quest marker to help you find the house. Your

call.

Break in and find Faelian there or Wait for him (he comes in from around noon

until late afternoon). Kill him in Lorkmir's house and head back to

Cheydinhal. Your bonus for a completely successful mission is Shadowhunt, a

steel bow with several enchantments: on hit you will Turn Undead, Damage

Health, Damage Magicka and imbue the target with Weakness to Poison.

[DB08]

<~~~~~~ BAD MEDICINE ~~~~~~>

You're to kill a mercenary warlord named Roderick, who makes his camp in Fort

Sutch. Once again, you're to make the death appear accidental. Roderick is

very sick and takes a powerful medicine daily. You're to replace his medicine

with poison supplied by Ocheeva. Doing so without detection earns you a bonus.

If you are detected, you can kill Roderick (and all his mercenaries) the old-

fashioned way, but then you don't get the bonus.

It turns out the bonus isn't especially good, so don't worry over this one too

much. It really isn't that hard to Sneak in and replace the medicine, but it

does take a while.

Fort Sutch is midway between Anvil and Kvatch, north of the main road between

those two cities. Brina Cross Inn ("Anvil Recommendation" Mages Guild quest)

and Malacath's shrine are the closest quest-related points. You may have even

done "Assault on Fort Sutch" during the main story and can Fast Travel

directly there. Ocheeva suggests finding a back way into the fort through

tunnels leading to a nearby ruined tower.

But that's the long and arduous way. Go straight in the front door and

immediately turn right, picking the lock on the gate. Sneak through the tunnel

until you come out on the upper level of a two-level room. Creep up close to

the edge and listen in on the conversation below.

When it ends, the two mercs head up to your level. Sneak back into the tunnel,

and then follow them when they pass you. They'll lead you through a northeast

passage to a room divided by columns. The orc starts patrolling through the

columns. Your objective is a cupboard on the northwest wall. Sneak around the

columns, avoiding the orc merc's patrol routes.

Open the medicine cabinet, remove Roderick's medicine and put in the poison

you brought with you. Sneak back out the same way you came in, and Fast Travel

back to Cheydinhal. Ocheeva pays you and, if you didn't alert anyone, gives

you The Deceiver's Finery, clothing that Fortifies your Personality and

Speechcraft.

[DB09]

<~~~~~~ WHODUNIT? ~~~~~~>

Your new threads are largely intended to help you with this contract. You're

going to play "Clue" and you get to be the culprit--in every room with every

conceivable weapon. You and five others will be locked into a house for a

"treasure hunt". You are supposed to kill the other five people. To earn the

bonus, you must kill them without any of them ever figuring out you are the

killer.

Fast Travel to Skingrad's East Gate and go down the street a short way to

Summitmist Manor. You'll be met by Fafnir, presumably the man who prayed for

the hits, and he gives you the key to the manor and a few instructions. As you

enter the manor, you're met by an old woman, Matilde Petit. Tell her you're an

assassin sent to kill her and she'll think you're joking; her Disposition will

also rise to maximum. Matilde will also summarize the other targets: Dovesi

Dran, Nels the Naughty, Neville and Primo Antonius.

There are two ways to play this:

1) Just start killing. The guests are initially spread out, none present a

significant challenge and the bonus reward may not be particularly appealing

to you. The important thing is for everyone to die. (When you think about it,

since they all end up dead, the concept of keeping them ignorant of your

identity seems nonsensical. But maybe the client has a perverse sense of

humor.)

2) Use the Persuasion mini-game or Charm spells to raise their Dispositions.

You can then lure a couple of them away, and set the rest on each other. For

example, tell Dran that Antonius has fallen for her and wants to meet her in

his room. Follow her up the stairs and kill her. Offer to team up with Matilde

and suggest you search the basement, when you go downstairs, kill her. Neville

likes to take naps in his room, wait for him to go upstairs and go to sleep,

then kill him. The remaining two (Nels and Antonius) despise each other; you

can easily persuade either one to attack and kill the other, then finish off

the survivor.

When you're done, return to the Sanctuary and report to Ocheeva. If you

accomplished your mission within the parameters, you'll receive the

Nightmother's Blessing--a "spell ability" (like a birthsign) that permanently

increases your Blade, Acrobatics, Sneak, Security and Marksman skills by 2

points each.

[DB10]

<~~~~~~ PERMANENT RETIREMENT ~~~~~~>

Captain of the Imperial Watch Adamus Phillida has been a thorn in the side of

the Brotherhood for a long time. Phillida has finally retired to Leyawiin and

you are sent there to kill him. (The Brotherhood waiting until after his

retirement is another nonsensical plan. Wouldn't it have been more useful to

kill him when he still posed a threat? Whatever.)

You are given a special arrow, the Rose of Sithis that will kill Phillida in

one shot. (The Rose only works on Phillida, don't bother saving it to use on

someone else.) The Rose won't pierce armor, so you have to use it when

Phillida is not wearing his metal suit. To earn the bonus, you must get

Phillida's ring finger and put it in the desk of the current commander of the

Imperial Watch.

Travel to Leyawiin and find the pond just west of the castle guard tower. The

pond is surrounded by houses, has a dock at the northeast corner and a set of

stairs to the south. Go to the dock and Wait until mid-afternoon (about 2pm).

Phillida will soon come to the south end of the pool, where he strips, leaves

his bodyguard and takes a little swim.

*SAVE YOUR GAME*

Draw a bead on Phillida with the Rose of Sithis and shoot him. If you miss,

reload your game and try again. When he's dead, swim out to his body and

Activate it. Take his keys and his ring finger, then swim to the south shore

(the bodyguard will have gone running around the pond to the dock, so you

don't want to go back there), and high-tail it out of town.

*ALTERNATE METHOD*

If you're a fairly high-level character and don't want to run the risk of

mixing it up with the city guards, then you can kill Phillida elsewhere; but,

you won't be able to use the Rose. Go to the Coast Guard station outside

Leyawiin's Northeast Gate. Wait until morning, around 9am, and Phillida will

come with his bodyguard and enter the station. You can enter behind them and

kill them both. You'll have to do it the conventional way and it will be a

tough fight. Get Phillida's keys and finger.

Fast Travel to the Imperial Prison district northeast of Imperial City. From

the main entrance, go to the second door on the left, which leads to the

commander's office. Wait until the middle of the night, go into Sneak mode,

and enter (you have the key) when the Watch isn't...watching. You also have a

key to the desk, so put the finger in there and Sneak back out.

Assuming you weren't detected, you can Fast Travel from right outside the door

and return to Ocheeva for your pay and bonus, which is 500 gold.

[DB11]

<~~~~~~ OF SECRET AND SHADOW ~~~~~~>

Ocheeva has important news! Lachance wants to see you. Like, right now. His

headquarters are in Fort Farragut, just east of Cheydinhal. He mentions

something about getting past his guardians to prove your worth, yada yada.

Walk out to Fort Farragut and go around to the northwest side of the fallen

tower and look for a hollow tree. Inside is a trapdoor that leads directly to

Lachance's quarters, skipping a short, but tedious, skeleton-and-trap-filled

dungeon crawl.

[DB12]

<~~~~~~ THE PURIFICATION ~~~~~~>

Lachance informs you there is a traitor working out of the Cheydinhal

Sanctuary. You are above suspicion because the problems began before you

joined the family. Since the Black Hand can't figure out exactly who, among

your brethren in the Sanctuary, is guilty, you are ordered to exterminate them

all in a rite known as "Purification".

To help you out, Lachance gives you a poisoned apple and a scroll that will

summon the ghost of Rufio (your first official victim). In a barrel in the

corner of Lachance's quarters (behind a lock) are ten more poisoned apples.

There are, of course, numerous ways to handle eliminating your fellow

assassins. Regardless of how you go about the killings, you'll want to try to

separate them so they don't gang up on you. One way of working it is to remove

all the food in the main hall and the Living Quarters and putting some

poisoned apples on the food tables and in the food cupboards. You may have to

Wait up to a week before all your victims partake.

You can let the ghost of Rufio out among a small (three to four) group.

They'll concentrate on the ghost, leaving you free to backstab them. The

training room or Living Quarters work well for this tactic--for one because

the Dark Guardian won't be around to pitch in, and also because you tend to

get concentrations of targets in these two places.

Valtieri and Ocheeva, with separate rooms, can be killed in their sleep. You

can also attack other Brotherhood members while they are asleep in the Living

Quarters, but their sleeping habits are irregular.

Once the Sanctuary has been cleansed, return to Lachance. He reveals that each

member of the Black Hand has their own personal assassin, called a Silencer.

Congratulations! You're now Lachance's Silencer. From now on, you'll be

receiving assignments and payment at "dead drop" locations around Cyrodiil.

Your first dead drop is at Hero Hill, south-southeast of Fort Farragut.

Oh, and since you're going to be running all over Cyrodiil at Lachance's

request, he gives you Shadowmere, the fastest, strongest horse in the game.

Enjoy!

[DB13]

<~~~~~~ AFFAIRS OF A WIZARD ~~~~~~>

Find the hollowed-out rock at Hero Hill and read the orders. You're to kill a

necromancer named Celedaen before he completes his transformation into a lich.

Celedaen hangs out in Leafrot Cave, which is south-southeast of your current

location, near the Panther River. The closest quest-related point is Redwater

Slough ("Vampire Cure").

Leafrot Cave is a small, two-level affair full of undead. In the first room is

Celedaen's journal. Reading this will update your quest journal with the

objective of removing Celedaen's magical hourglass in order to kill him.

Celedaen is on the second level of the caves, and it is difficult to Sneak up

on him.

If you can Magickage it, pickpocket the hourglass to kill him instantly.

Otherwise, you're in for quite a fight as Celedaen is much more powerful than

you and can conjure a number of different creatures. Hit him as hard as you

can, ignoring his summons, in order to kill him.

You are then instructed to go to Chorrol. Your payment for this task and

orders for your next task are in a sack near the great oak in northern

Chorrol. Fast Travel to Chorrol's North Gate and go straight south to the

tree.

[DB14]

<~~~~~~ NEXT OF KIN ~~~~~~>

You are ordered to kill the entire Draconis clan: mother Perennia, sons

Matthias and Andreas and daughters Sibylla and Caelia. Start with mom; she

resides at Applewatch Farm, just west of Bruma. During the day you'll

typically find her outside tending to her garden.

She will think you're a courier come to buy and deliver gifts to her four

children. She'll give you a list of what to buy them, and their locations, so

you can deliver the gifts. Oh, you'll be delivering something all right. Kill

mother Draconis (and, possibly, also her dog), then look at your list.

1) Andreas: He runs the Drunken Dragon Inn, northwest of Leyawiin. If you tell

him what you did to his mother, he'll attack you. This causes the Imperial

Legion guard who is almost always at the Inn to attack and kill Andreas for

you. Neat.

2) Caelia: She's a guard in Leyawiin, on the night watch. You can track her

down during the night while she's making her rounds; or, you can kill her in

her room at the Three Sisters Inn. (Note: as a Leyawiin guard, Caelia is off-

limits if you currently have "The Elven Maiden" Thieves Guild quest open.

Finish that quest first before killing Caelia.)

3) Matthias: He lives in the Talos Plaza district of Imperial City, in the

southwestern section (across from Ontus Vanin and next to Agarmir). Break in

during the middle of the night and kill him in his sleep.

4) Sibylla: She has gone wild, living with animals in Muck Valley Cavern. This

small series of caves is located halfway between Imperial City and Cheydinhal,

south of the Blue Road. Vaermina's shrine (Daedric quest) is nearby. Kill her

and the animals that protect her.

When the Draconis line has been erased from the annals of history, Fast Travel

to Castle Skingrad and Activate the well in the courtyard. You'll receive your

pay and your next assignment.

[DB15]

<~~~~~~ BROKEN VOWS ~~~~~~>

The father of the bride is upset. His daughter's erstwhile groom decided to

break off the engagement when he saw the size (or lack thereof) of the young

lady's dowry. Papa wants J'Ghasta dead. That should make daddy's little girl

happy.

J'Ghasta lives in Bruma, three doors south of the East Gate. Pick the lock, go

downstairs and look for a trapdoor somewhat hidden behind the staircase.

J'Ghasta is an expert in unarmed combat. Ha ha. Good one! Teach him the

advantage of shiny, pointy things.

Your payment and next assignment are in an old box under Old Bridge. Old

Bridge is directly south of Imperial City's Waterfront.

[DB16]

<~~~~~~ FINAL JUSTICE ~~~~~~>

Shaleez, an Argonian hunter, is your next target. She lives in Flooded Mine

just north of Bravil. As the name implies, there will be some swimming here.

The best time to attack is in the middle of the night, when Shaleez is asleep.

Swim through the tunnels, following your quest marker to the lizard.

After she's dead, you can collect your payment and new mission at Fort Redman,

which is halfway between Bravil and Leyawiin, on the east side of the Niben

River. There's a single bandit roaming the surface area of the Fort. In a

coffin near the door are your blood money and two pieces of paper.

[DB17]

<~~~~~~ A MATTER OF HONOR ~~~~~~>

One piece of paper names your subject: Alval Uvani, a traveling merchant. The

other piece of paper lays out Uvani's schedule. Now here's where lady luck

might just shine on you. Depending on how far into the game you are, Uvani

might already be dead.

Yes, in fact, the further along you are, the higher the probability Uvani

traveled into something he couldn't handle. If you're lucky, as soon as you

get the journal entry opening "A Matter of Honor", you'll get another journal

entry that proclaims you have killed Uvani. Pat yourself on the back for

excellent work and go on to your next job.

(There's no way to tell why or how this happens. Uvani actually does travel

from city to city--unlike some games where he would just spawn in the

appropriate place at the appropriate time. So if you've done the main story,

or a substantial part of the main story, Uvani might have run into some daedra

near one of the random Oblivion gates between cities. Or it could have been

wild animals. Or, maybe a glitch in the AI caused him to have it out with some

Imperial Legion guards. Regardless, count your blessings and move on.)

Otherwise, take a look at Uvani's schedule.

As he travels around Cyrodiil, Alval Uvani can be found at the

following locations, on the following days:

Morndas/Tirdas -- Bravil -- The Lonely Suitor Lodge

Middas/Turdas -- Skingrad -- The West Weald Inn

Fredas/Loredas -- Bruma -- Olav's Tap and Tack

Sundas -- Leyawiin -- Alval Uvani's House (rented property)

Keep in mind that there may be some variation based on the time

it takes for him to get to the different cities.

Your best bet for a clean kill is Uvani's rented house in Leyawiin--it's the

southeastern most house in Leyawiin. Every other location is fairly public and

things can get messy. The downside is, if Uvani starts running behind, he may

not even stop in Leyawiin, or his stop is so brief he never goes into his

house. Regardless, Fast Travel to Leyawiin, Wait until Sundas (you have to

Wait before entering the house), break in and wait until Uvani shows his face.

If you have trouble killing him--he's a master of Destruction magic--your

orders provide a workaround: Uvani is allergic to the honey in mead. You can

get several bottles of mead from the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, distribute it in

his house, remove all the other consumables, then wait for him to come home,

drink the stuff, and be paralyzed.

Your payment and orders are in a hollow stump in the Market District of

Imperial City. Find the garden behind Edgar's Discount Spells and the hollow

stump is there.

[DB18]

<~~~~~~ THE COLDEST SLEEP ~~~~~~>

Your next hit: Havilstein Hoar-Blood. He has a camp east of Bruma. There's

nothing special about this mission. Hoar-Blood is a tough Nord axe-wielder and

he has a pet wolf. Go in gun's blazing or try a Sneak-attack at night when the

Nord is sleeping.

The next dead drop is in the Ayleid ruin of Nornal. Fast Travel to Muck Valley

Cavern (from the Draconis assassinations) and go south. You don't have to go

all the way into the ruins, just go down the first set of stairs and take the

first right. There's a locked gate and chest underwater, so have a Water

Breathing spell handy.

[DB19]

<~~~~~~ A KISS BEFORE DYING ~~~~~~>

You are to kill a Bosmer named Ungolim. He spends his evenings--from midnight

to 2am--praying to a statue known as "The Lucky Lady", in Bravil. You're told

not to worry about guards, they've been bribed to look the other way.

Head to Bravil and find the statue in the northern part of town. Find a hiding

place and Wait until midnight. When Ungolim shows up, Sneak attack him

(preferably from range) and then finish him off.

Next thing you know, Lachance shows up and begins chewing you out. Seems you

just eradicated the Listener and all your other hits since the Draconis family

have likewise been members of the Black Hand--Speakers and their Silencers.

Lachance is here to kill you, but then realizes you have no idea what he's

babbling about.

He deduces someone is switching your orders. The rest of the Black Hand

suspects him, and there's a price on his head. The two of you need to find out

who's doing this, and fast. Lachance tells you to go to the next dead drop and

wait to see who comes and drops off the money and orders.

[DB20]

<~~~~~~ FOLLOWING A LEAD ~~~~~~>

Fast Travel to Anvil's North Gate, hang a left and find the barrel behind the

pond. Select a hiding place nearby and wait for a Wood Elf to show up. Make

sure you are not in Sneak mode, then confront the little punk. He claims a man

in a robe put him up to this, and the man lives under the lighthouse here in

Anvil. (Ignore the new orders the Wood Elf has placed for you, they don't lead

to anything. The punk Bosmer keeps your 500 gold--unless you kill him for it.)

Go to the lighthouse, outside Anvil's Dock Gate. Find the caretaker and

question him about his tenant. When he asks, "Who wants to know", tell him the

truth. He'll wet himself trying to give you the key faster.

Use the key to enter the basement of the lighthouse, the door is outside, on

the north face of the tower. In the back room of the cellar is a grisly sight:

a shrine featuring the rotted head of a long-deceased woman. Nearby, on a

little table, is a diary detailing the traitor's mental instability. (It also

provides the back story on "The Ghost Ship of Anvil".) Too bad there's no name

attached.

Take the diary (and the head, for a little extra amusement) and Fast Travel to

the recently departed Draconis family farm, Applewatch. Lachance is waiting

for you there. Unfortunately, the remainder of the Black Hand is waiting for

Lachance. He's dead when you arrive, and you can speak to the other members.

Arquen takes the lead.

You are not suspected of anything; they believe Lachance was the traitor and

everything is now green. Here's where you use the head. Drop it on the ground

and talk to Bellamont. He sure is jumpy isn't he? Oh well, you can't do

anything about him now.

Arquen says they are going to see the Night Mother, who will choose a new

Listener so they can begin rebuilding the Black Hand and the Brotherhood. Wait

until midnight (but not past 3am) and talk to Arquen again. Say you're ready

and you'll all Fast Travel to Bravil and the statue of the Lucky Lady.

[DB21]

<~~~~~~ HONOR THY MOTHER ~~~~~~>

There's a cutscene and the statue opens to reveal a trapdoor. Follow the Black

Hand inside. The Night Mother (a ghost) tells Arquen they're all idiots and

then Bellamont attacks. The other two Black Hand members (i.e. not you and not

Arquen) get it quick and then Bellamont is on you. Take him out. (Note that

neither the Night Mother nor Arquen are predisposed to give you a lot of

help.)

Afterwards the Night Mother once again rants about the idiocy infecting the

Brotherhood, tells Arquen off (again) and promotes you to Listener and puts

Arquen in charge of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. She also tells you to take what

you want from the crypt. Loot the place thoroughly (you'll never come back

here again).

Talk to the Night Mother again to be transported to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary.

Congratulations! You're the leader of a guild of assassins.

[DB22]

<~~~~~~ WHISPERS OF DEATH ~~~~~~>

Once each week you can go to the Lucky Lady statue in Bravil and Activate it.

The Night Mother will speak to you, giving you the name of someone who needs

the services of the Brotherhood. These people are all outside of Cyrodiil, so

don't even try to do anything about them.

Go see Arquen in Cheydinhal and give her the name. She'll give you a portion

of the weekly take. Gradually, new assassins will start wandering around the

Sanctuary. You can ask any of them to travel with you as a henchman.

Otherwise, there's not much to being Listener. You listen a lot. That's about

it...

[DB23]

<~~~~~~ DARK EXILE ~~~~~~>

When you first join the Dark Brotherhood, Lucien Lachance will fill you in on

the Five Tenets:

Tenet 1: Never dishonor the Night Mother. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of

Sithis.

Tenet 2: Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to

invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Tenet 3: Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood

superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Tenet 4: Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do

so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.

Tenet 5: Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the

Wrath of Sithis.

You may wander what this "Wrath of Sithis" is. It is a spirit that will attack

you if you break one of the Tenets. The first two times this happens,

defeating the spirit means you're back in the guild. The third time, defeating

the spirit just means you get to avoid reloading your game. You're out of the

Brotherhood forever.

The first three tenets are impossible to break. The game never gives you a

chance to do any of those things. Well, you can fail to carry out an

assignment, but you're never visited by the Wrath, it just remains an open

quest in your journal. So, basically, you'll only run into a problem if you

steal from or kill another member of the Brotherhood.

[KN00]

~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KNIGHTS OF THE NINE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

*NOTE* Before installing Knights of the Nine, you must install the v1.1.511

patch. If you install KoN first, the patch will fail.

Install the Knights mod and make sure it's active. Unlike the other official

mods, Knights of the Nine does not automatically start when you next load up

your game. This mod is intended for good characters--especially paladin types

(i.e. melee fighters with healing magic and a hatred for undead). When you

finish the quest, you'll be the leader of a new guild: Knights of the Nine.

The Crusader's Relics you collect are a suit of armor and both a blunt and

blade weapon. The armor matches your level when you receive it; however,

unlike other quest rewards, there's a method in the game to keep it up-to-date

with your increasing power. The armor will either be light or heavy depending

on which skill is higher. There's no difference in appearance between the

light and heavy armor.

RELICS OF THE CRUSADER

------------------------

Helm of the Crusader:

- Fortify Restoration

- Fortify Personality

- Serene Beauty (Calm on touch)

Cuirass of the Crusader:

- Fortify Restoration

- Resist Normal Weapons

- Fortify Health

Boots of the Crusader:

- Fortify Restoration

- Woodland Grace (normal woodland animals will not be hostile;

e.g. lions and wolves and bears, oh my!)

Gauntlets of the Crusader:

- Fortify Restoration

- Resist Disease

- Merciful Touch (Restore Health on touch)

Greaves of the Crusader:

- Fortify Restoration

- Fortify Destruction

- Blessing of the Eight (Shield on touch)

Shield of the Crusader:

- Reflect Spell

Mace of the Crusader:

- Fire Damage

- Turn Undead

- Fortify Blunt

Sword of the Crusader:

- Fire Damage

- Damage Magicka

- Fortify Blade

You'll be fighting lots of spirits during this quest, so you'll want silver,

daedric or enchanted weapons or plenty of Destruction spells--at least, until

you acquire the Mace of the Crusader about a third of the way into the story.

In order to wear and use the Crusader's Relics, you must have an Infamy score

of zero (0). If you gain one point of Infamy, you'll receive a warning. If

your Infamy increases to two (2) or higher, you can't equip the Relics until

you have once again walked the Pilgrim's Way (first quest for KoN).

To kick off this quest, you must talk to a Prophet, who is declaiming across

the street from the Temple of Dibella in Anvil. You may hear Rumors of an

attack on the Temple from just about anyone in all Cyrodiil; however, you do

not need to hear these Rumors before talking to the Prophet.

[KN01]

<~~~~~~ PILGRIMAGE ~~~~~~>

Talk to the Prophet and follow the natural lines of conversation until he asks

if you are a worthy champion to defeat Umaril the Unfeathered. Use any "No"

answer and the Prophet will tell you that you must follow the Pilgrim's Way

and visit a wayshrine of each of the Nine Divines. He gives you a map showing

the locations of one wayshrine for each of the Nine.

WAYSHRINES

------------

In Cyrodiil, there are at least three wayshrines for each of the Nine. These

wayshrines are part of the base game and you may have already encountered some

during your travels. Normally, when you pray at (Activate) a wayshrine, you

receive a small buff for five minutes or so (assuming your Infamy is zero).

You can perform this quest even if your Infamy is greater than zero; however,

you won't receive the blessings as you pray. When you complete the Pilgrim's

Way, your Infamy is reset to zero.

Now, you do not specifically have to go to the wayshrines marked on the map

the Prophet gives you. There are at least three wayshrines in Cyrodiil for

each of the Nine. Unfortunately, wayshrines are never marked on your primary

map--even with this mod installed; so, you have to find them on your own. Here

is the quickest route (from Anvil) to a wayshrine for each of the Nine:

* Go around to the east side of Anvil and head straight east, passing Fort

Strand to the north, to find a Wayshrine of Akatosh.

* Walk straight north until you cross the Kvatch-Anvil road, then turn north-

northwest until you find a Wayshrine of Arkay in a small hollow among the

hills.

* Go back to the Kvatch-Anvil road and travel east until you reach Gottshaw

Inn. A Wayshrine of Zenithar is on the hill behind the Inn (to the east).

* Go around the south side of Kvatch and catch the road to Skingrad. Follow

the road east toward Skingrad. You'll cross over a stone bridge; on the far

side turn left (north) and you'll see a Wayshrine of Talos up the slope.

* Go east-northeast a short distance to a Wayshrine of Mara.

* From the Wayshrine of Mara, go due north into the Imperial Reserve to find a

Wayshrine of Kynareth. The Wayshrine is located directly on top of the "E" in

"IMPERIAL" on your map.

* Go due east and you'll soon run in to a Wayshrine of Julianos. On your map,

it sits directly on top of the "A" in "IMPERIAL".

* Head due northeast, going through Weatherleah ("Legacy Lost") and Hackdirt

("Shadow Over Hackdirt") to find a Wayshrine of Dibella.

* Fast Travel to the sewer entrance where you started the game (just outside

Imperial City Prison). Go south along the shore until you see a wayshrine

across the lake. Swim over and pray at the Wayshrine of Stendarr.

*NOTE* You can encounter a couple of other knights walking the Way if the last

shrine you visit is one marked on the map given you by the Prophet. While not

important to the quest, if you want to meet these knights, go to a different

Wayshrine of Stendarr as your last stop. Fast Travel to Bravil and head down

the road toward Leyawiin. About halfway along that road is the Wayshrine to

Stendarr marked on your map.

As soon as you pray at the last wayshrine, you'll have a vision and speak to

Pelinal Whitestrake. He marks the location of his lost shrine on your map. It

just so happens to be in the middle of Lake Rumare, not far south of the

Wayshrine of Stendarr.

How convenient!

You also receive the Greater Power, Pilgrim's Grace. This power fortifies your

Agility, Endurance, Intelligence, Luck, Personality, Speed, Strength and

Willpower by 10 for 300 seconds.

Sweet!

[KN02]

<~~~~~~ THE SHRINE OF THE CRUSADER ~~~~~~>

The Shrine of the Crusader is located inside the Ayleid ruin of Vanua. The

entrance to Vanua is under water, just north of the Ring Road bridge over the

Upper Niben River. Water Breathing is a plus; but, not required. Suit up for

undead hunting in an Ayleid ruin and swim out to the spot marked on your map.

Dive down and find the entrance to Vanua (it's easier to do this on a bright,

sunny day). Once inside, you'll have to swim about 10 meters to a stairway

that takes you out of the water--if you don't have Water Breathing, be sure

you have enough breath before entering the ruin.

At the top of the stairs is your first encounter with a (leveled, obviously)

undead. Many more will follow. Continue straight until you reach a T-

intersection. The right (east) branch is eventually blocked, so go left

(west). When you reach a large room and dispose of the guardians, go through

the tunnel to the north into the Shrine of the Crusader.

Yeah...it's not that simple. This area is a lot like the secret passages under

the Imperial prison--lots of ruins mixed with crawling through tunnels; and,

undead all over the place. Go straight and drop down into a ruin; turn left

(west) and then right (north) until your way is blocked. A hole in the wall to

your left (west) leads through a small cavern and then into the shrine. You

can now see the target; but, you can't reach it yet.

Loot the skeleton on the raised bit of floor to get Sir Amiel's key, ring and

diary. This opens the next quest, "Priory of the Nine", and lets you continue

on your way. First, unlock the gate to the south and deal with the undead

guardian of that path. That's your shortcut back out once you've retrieved the

Helm of the Crusader.

Go through the gate to the west and kill the undead. In the next room, find

the hole in the west wall and jump into another tunnel. Fight your way north

and then drop down into the ruin again. Take the south hall for a little

treasure, then take the door to the north. This leads to the Lost Catacombs.

Follow the catacombs--make sure you take opportunities to loot--until you

reach a door leading back into the Shrine. There are actually two doors;

either will serve. Back in the Shrine, fight your way to the altar where the

Helm is located. Watch out for the undead near the altar--it might be down in

a little doorway on the north side of the area.

Collect the Helm, jump over the fence and go through the south gate you opened

earlier. This takes you to a tunnel leading back into Vanua. In Vanua, you'll

pass through a room with at least three undead--including one boss-level mob.

In the same room is an Ayleid Reliquary with your reward for this dungeon.

Leave Vanua and embark on the next stage of your quest.

[KN03]

<~~~~~~ PRIORY OF THE NINE ~~~~~~>

Your next stop is the old Priory of the Knights of the Nine. This is located

in the middle of nowhere, halfway between Skingrad and Bravil. Lucky you, it's

marked on your map; but there's precious little close by that you can Fast

Travel to. The closest may be Silorn (Mages Guild quest, "Ambush"); or, you

can Fast Travel to Skingrad and hoof it.

Regardless of how you go, stock up on healing potions or a good healing spell

and Magicka potions before you go. When you reach the Priory, all appears

peaceful. Enter the Priory and find the Knights of the Nine seal on the floor.

Activate it and Sir Amiel's ring opens the door to the basement. (You did

remember to loot Amiel's ring in the Shrine, right?) Go down into the

basement, which is a training room, then take the door into the Undercroft.

There's the Cuirass of the Crusader! That was easy.

Yeah, right. Eight of the original Knights of the Nine surround you and you

have to beat them all in personal combat (i.e. one-on-one). You can use any

style of combat you wish, just so long as you beat each one. They are all

swordsmen, and good ones; but, they are leveled to match you so you should be

able to handle them. Use the brief respite in between each fight to heal up

and restore your Magicka. Summon help if you need it.

When you have bested all eight knights, claim the Cuirass as your own. When

you get the quest update telling you to talk to the knights about the other

Relics, go around the circle and speak to the knights. The four important

conversations are with Sir Casimir (Gauntlets of the Crusader), Sir Ralvas

(Mace of the Crusader), Sir Henrik (Shield of the Crusader) and Sir Juncan

(Boots of the Crusader).

You can quest after these items in any order with one restriction: you must

retrieve the Boots before you can get the Mace. All clear? On with the show

then...

[KN04]

<~~~~~~ NATURE'S FURY ~~~~~~>

To get the Boots of the Crusader you must travel to a Shrine of Kynareth west

of Imperial City. Make this your active quest and the shrine's location will

be marked on your map; it's southwest of Wawnet Inn and north of Clavicus

Vile's shrine. When you find it, talk to Avita Vesnia to get the details of

your test. She instructs you to go to the Grove of Trials and face whatever

test Kynareth has for you.

Go ahead and sheath whatever weapon you may be carrying. Not only do you not

need it, you best not use it. Travel west a short distance to a ring of white-

barked trees. Enter them and wait a bit until a wild animal enters and attacks

you. You can block the attacks; but, don't return the favor. Take your lumps

and, pretty soon, Kynareth deems you worthy, shows you a secret door; and, you

enter Kynareth's Grotto and get the Boots.

Simple.

[KN05]

<~~~~~~ THE PATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS ~~~~~~>

The Mace of the Crusader is protected by Zenithar in his chapel in Leyawiin.

Make sure you have the Boots of the Crusader before you attempt to get the

Mace. Travel to Leyawiin; go to the chapel and downstairs into the Undercroft.

There will be at least four spirits down here. Dispatch them; then, Activate

the Tomb of Saint Kaladas at the far end of the Croft.

You'll find yourself in space, on a floating piece of a fort. In the distance

is the Mace. If you have the Boots of the Crusader equipped, you just walk

across the misty path that appears. If you don't have the Boots equipped--

well, go get them and put them on!

As soon as you grab the Mace, you re-appear in the Undercroft. Go ahead and

equip the Mace (or your favorite weapon) and gird your loins. As you leave the

Undercroft and enter the chapel, you'll be attacked by Aurorans--Umaril's

daedra servants. You'll have help killing them, try to be careful you don't

harm the eager knight that greeted you when you first entered the Temple. He

soon declares himself a new Knight of the Nine and runs off to join your

service.

[KN06]

<~~~~~~ STENDARR'S MERCY ~~~~~~>

This is a pretty simple quest. Go to the Chapel of Stendarr in Chorrol and

talk to the priest, Areldur. He'll tell you the sad tale of Sir Casimir and

his descendents. He'll also inform you Kellen, the current scion of the

Casimir family, is in the temple trying to be rid of the family curse.

Go downstairs to the Chapel Hall and find Kellen. He's typically sitting in a

small bedroom off to the side. Kellen tells you more about his curse and says

he thinks Areldur knows the cure but is holding out on him. Return to Areldur

and confront him about Kellen. He reveals the only way to cure Kellen is to

take the curse yourself. Once you show mercy to Kellen, you can lift the

Gauntlets.

Pray at the altar of Stendarr and you'll be asked if you want to take Kellen's

curse on yourself. Answer yes and you'll receive a one-use Lay Hands lesser

power. Go downstairs and Lay Hands on Kellen. He'll be cured and you'll suffer

the Curse of the Consumed, which is a permanent Damage Fatigue effect. (It is

by no means crippling and you'll hardly notice it.)

In the main chapel, find the gauntlets laying on the floor behind the altar;

Activate them to pick them up. On with the show!

[KN07]

<~~~~~~ WISDOM OF THE AGES ~~~~~~>

Make "Wisdom of the Ages" your active quest and find Fort Bulwark in eastern

Cyrodiil. It is northeast of Leyawiin and not particularly near anything. The

closest quest point is Fort Teleman (Mages Guild, "Bloodworm Helm"). Fast

Travel to Teleman and go south, or go to Leyawiin and head northeast.

Approach Fort Bulwark warily. There are conjurers also seeking the Shield and

two are outside the main doors--one at ground level and one at the top of the

tower. If you can draw the ground-level conjurer outside the fort and dispatch

him, you can sneak into the fort without the upper-level mage knowing about

it. Or, run upstairs and take care of him too.

Inside, watch your step as there are plenty of conjurers and daedra to impede

your progress. The quickest route to your target is to follow the corridor

around a left turn, then take the first left-hand branch and then the next

right through a double wood door.

You'll be in a large room on a raised catwalk. Note the gate to your right and

raised drawbridge to your left. Go past these two obstacles and through

another set of double wood doors. Follow the tunnel to a makeshift bedroom

with two conjurers. When they are down, turn the handle on the north side of

the room and pick up the Conjurer's Note from the desk to the right of the

handle.

Backtrack a short way down the tunnel and take the left-branch. You'll come to

a balcony overlooking a room with two raised drawbridges. Turn the handle and

watch the drawbridges lower and a gate rise. That's the gate you passed a

short while ago. Backtrack to it and go through, across the drawbridges and to

a corridor with four rows of three pressure plates.

If you follow the clue on the Conjurer's Note, you need to step on the plates

in this order: left - middle - right - left. There's no penalty if you mess

up, other than you have to go back and start the sequence over. Go through the

door into the second area of Fort Bulwark.

You're in a corridor with prison cells to either side. Go past the first pair

and then enter an open cell to your left. There's a door on the north side of

the cell that leads to a torture room and a conjurer or two. Dispose of them,

then go to the cell on the other side of the corridor and open it to free Sir

Thedret. He'll give you a clue to reach the shield and then leave for the

Priory of the Nine.

At the end of the prison corridor is another room full of mages. Get rid of

them and loot their stuff. There's another note that details what they have in

mind for Sir Thedret. Continue west, keeping an eye out for conjurers. You

will soon reach a long room running north-south with raised drawbridges. The

handle for the first drawbridge is right next to the bridge. Turn it, watch

the drawbridge lower and marvel at the number of darts being flung out by the

traps in the ceiling.

If you've got plenty of health, you can just make a run for it. Otherwise,

watch the pattern of the darts and try to slip through in between cycles. At

the end of the first bridge, you'll make a left and find another handle that

lowers the second bridge. This handle is in a safe spot out of range of the

darts, so take a breather here and heal up if necessary. Then, dodge your way

across the second bridge and continue.

Advance carefully into the next room. There are at least two conjurers in this

room and one of them is the boss of this dungeon. Get rid of the mages, then

study the room. You'll see four Stone Guardians on pedestals around a seal of

Julianos. At the base of each Guardian is a handle. Turn each handle until

each Guardian is turned to face the seal of Julianos. You may have to turn

each handle multiple times until the Guardian rotates all the way around.

Once all four Guardians are facing the seal, a door in the south wall opens

and you can advance to the third area of the fort. Fortunately, there are no

more enemies or traps, so you can move ahead swiftly.

Area three is small--just a short tunnel and a big room. The room has a raised

platform with a chest and eight Stone Guardians around the edges of the room.

Each Guardian is turned away, facing the wall, and has a chest at its base.

The large chest in the center of the room is randomly filled with one of eight

items:

* Rodgar's Book

* Rodgar's Gem

* Rodgar's Goblet

* Rodgar's Hammer

* Rodgar's Helm

* Rodgar's Skull

* Rodgar's Stone

* Rodgar's Sword

You have to take the item that appears in the large chest and place it in the

correct small chest at the base of one of the Guardians. When you place the

correct item in a Guardian's chest, the chest glows and the Guardian turns to

face the room. If you place the incorrect item in a Guardian's chest, nothing

happens. The item will randomly show up again in the large chest.

If you want to solve this yourself...why are you using a walkthrough? Anyway,

each time you take an item out of the chest, scan the room. One of the

Guardians will randomly display a floating image of the item it wants.

Start facing the door, the Guardians to the left, beginning with the one

closest to the door, take: sword, goblet, helm, stone. Facing the door, the

Guardians to the right, beginning with the one closest to the door, take:

book, hammer, skull, gem.

Lights flash, a door opens at the top of the stairs and you can go into the

next room and retrieve the Shield of the Crusader as well as other goodies.

Once you pick up the Shield, doors to either side of the altar open and you

can take a shortcut back to the top level of the fort. You'll come out on the

drawbridge you couldn't lower earlier. Leave Fort Bulwark and Fast Travel back

to the Priory of the Nine.

[KN08]

<~~~~~~ THE FAITHFUL SQUIRE ~~~~~~>

Upon your entry to the main Priory building, you'll be accosted by Lathon,

squire to Sir Roderic. (You may have met Roderic and Lathon on your Pilgrimage

if you used the wayshrines on the Prophet's map.) Lathon tells you of the

death of Sir Roderic at the hands (or ephemeral representations thereof) of

Sir Berich's ghost. Lathon presents you with the Greaves of the Crusader and

tells you the Sword of the Crusader is still in the misty appendages of Sir

Berich in Underpall Cave.

Further, Lathon asks if you'll allow him to join the newly formed Knights of

the Nine. If you say yes, Lathon not only becomes one of your Knights, he also

accompanies you on the upcoming quest for the Sword. If you're a stealthy

fighter, this won't be a good thing and Lathon will just keep getting in your

way. The upcoming mission is no more difficult than the invasion of the Shrine

of the Crusader, so tell Lathon to be patient a bit longer.

Explore the Priory a bit more. You'll see many of the people you have

previously met on this adventure. They have come to join your Order. (Yes,

it's your Order. Several of the warriors address you as Commander.) The place

is nice and livable now and has become a place of residence for you. And

there's a very nifty contraption in the Undercroft.

Go down to where the eight ghostly Knights still await the completion of Sir

Pelinal's crusade. Speak to Sir Amiel about Berich for a little more history

of the original Knights of the Nine. Behind Amiel is the armor stand where you

first found the Cuirass. Activate the stand and place all your current Relics

on it; then, target the bit of stand showing between the greaves and take all

the Relics back. You'll find them completely repaired and recharged and, if

you've increased enough in level, leveled up.

Seriously Sweet.

Leave the Priory and Fast Travel to Bruma. Refit yourself (healing potions,

arrows, etc.) and look for the quest marker pointing to Underpall Cave. It's

north of the Orange Road between Bruma and Chorrol. Leave Bruma by the East

Gate and travel the Orange Road toward Chorrol. When you get to a point east

or southeast of the cave, cut cross-country.

[KN09]

<~~~~~~ THE SWORD OF THE CRUSADER ~~~~~~>

When you reach the cave, go ahead and charge in. There's nothing in the cave

portion of this dungeon. Deep in the cave is a sunken fort; it is inside the

fort where you will encounter all the enemies (primarily undead, though a few

creatures show up as well).

Once inside the fort, advance to the first main room, kill the undead creeping

around, and make a U-turn down another south-running hallway. The other two

exits from this large room--to the east and west--lead back out into Underpall

Cave. There's a little loot on those paths if you're intent on scavenging as

much as possible.

Advance carefully down the south-running hall. There's one door that blocks

your way; on the other side is a rock-fall trap. Only take a step through the

door, then jump back to avoid the rocks. At the end of the hall is the door to

the Underpall Reflecting Room and your big boss fight with the remains of Sir

Berich.

Go through the entrance tunnel slowly. There are two ways to proceed; both are

about equivalent. You may or may not encounter any enemies, depending on your

level. The left (east) path has Sir Roderic's body. When you enter the main

chamber, you're in for a fight with a wraith. You'll need a silver, daedric or

enchanted weapon (such as the Mace of the Crusader), or spells. This can be a

difficult fight; however, there's plenty of room for maneuvering and you can

even run away into the tunnels for a bit to heal up. Just try not to fall into

the water, as there's only one place where you can climb back out.

When the wraith has spewed forth its final essence, pick up the Sword of the

Crusader.

*DO NOT EQUIP THE SWORD!*

It's cursed and, if you equip it, you will be cursed as well. Leave Underpall

the same way you came in and Fast Travel to Cheydinhal. Rest and refit before

entering the Temple of Arkay. Upon entering the Temple, you'll be attacked by

Aurorans. You have two choices:

1) Kill all the Aurorans (with the help of the other people inside the Temple)

and then pray at the altar to consecrate the Sword.

2) Run straight to the altar and pray to consecrate the Sword. You can then

use the Sword to kill the Aurorans.

Either way, the Aurorans end up dead, the Sword is now useable and you'll find

you've also lost the Curse of the Consumed you took from Kellen, descendant of

Sir Casimir. All-in-all, a good day's work. Return to the Priory of the Nine.

It's time to put an end to this business.

[KN10]

<~~~~~~ THE BLESSING OF TALOS ~~~~~~>

As soon as you arrive at the Prior, you're met by Sir Thedret. The Prophet has

come sticking his nose into your business again and is preaching to your

knights in the chapel. Well, you'll just have to see about this. Enter the

chapel and listen to the Prophet's sermon. He then approaches you and tells

you to get on with killing Umaril and all. As an aid, you get one thing

Pelinal did not: the Blessing of Talos. This Power will enable you to follow

Umaril into the spirit realm and destroy him once and for all.

After the Prophet's speech, go around the chapel and induct all the people who

want to become Knights of the Nine. They'll run off, suit up and head out for

Umaril's headquarters, Garlas Malatar. Before following them, head down into

the Undercroft and chat with the spirit of Sir Berich, now restored to his

brothers. Repair, recharge and (possibly) upgrade your Relics while you're

down there.

Ready to kick some butt?

[KN11]

<~~~~~~ UMARIL THE UNFEATHERED ~~~~~~>

Garlas Malatar is located on the coast, northwest of Anvil. Fast Travel to

Anvil and head out to the coast and then go north. You'll find some, if not

all, of your knights on the beach facing the bridge that leads over to the

main entrance. If all eight knights are not there, wait for a few minutes and

the rest will show up.

Once they are all gathered, give one of them the command to charge and they

will. They'll bowl over the two Aurorans stationed outside the main door, then

charge inside. Try to keep up. There are two more Aurorans in the first large

room, then your way is blocked by some gates. The button to open the gates is

on top of one of the altars in the room.

Before opening the gates, take the opportunity to walk around and use Merciful

Touch (healing Lesser Power granted by the Gauntlets) on your knights. Push

the button, charge up the stairs and continue your rampage through the ruins.

Your path leads to the northeast section of the ruins and through a door into

Garlas Malatar, Ceysel.

When you enter Ceysel, you'll be stopped by a couple of gates. The button to

push is right there--on the wall between the gates. Again, take the

opportunity to go around the use Merciful Touch on your companions. Open the

gates and charge into the next room.

Ignore the Aurorans and run around the right (east) side of the large raised

platform in the center. Go around the back and head west up a flight of stairs

and around to the top of the platform. Ignore any Aurorans that get in your

way. When you reach the glowing orb, Activate it to destroy it. The orb

explodes and time stops...

Now, you can take some time and loot the area. Your knights and the Aurorans

are gone; but, you can still collect welkynd stones and anything else you can

find lying around. You should also use this time to heal up and make sure

you're ready for battle.

When you're ready to move on, go back up to the orb platform and go north into

Garlas Malatar, Carac Abaran. Run through the halls, disposing of a couple

Aurorans on the way until you reach the main chamber, where Umaril is waiting

for you. The door is blocked behind you, so this is a fight to the finish.

Umaril is big and packs a big punch; but, he's predictable. He will

occasionally shoot lightning at you, which is easy to dodge. Then he'll run up

close and make a big thrusting attack. This attack is easy to avoid since he

spends a lot of time winding up. He is also easily distracted by other

enemies, so summon help if he's giving you fits.

Generally, if you just stay out of the way of his lightning blasts and sword

thrusts, you can take him down pretty easily with potshots from range or by

getting in a few, quick strikes right after he's made a sword attack. The

higher your level, the tougher Umaril will be; but, he should be manageable by

anyone.

When he's dead, you'll get a quest entry reminding you to cast The Blessing of

Talos to follow Umaril into the spirit realm. Don't rush off! Heal yourself

first and restore your Magicka as well. Loot the place. There are some Ayleid

casks around, not to mention Umaril's body and his sword. Once you've picked

the place clean, cast The Blessing of Talos.

You'll find yourself fighting in the clouds over Imperial City. Umaril is

quite a ways off, so take the opportunity to stick a couple of arrows into

him. (If they're poisoned first, so much the better.) Repeat your earlier

tactics. Umaril is no tougher now than he was earlier. When he dies, you fall

into mist...

And come to in the Undercroft of the Priory of the Nine. Sir Amiel chats with

you right before the old knights pass into glory. When you leave the

Undercroft, Sir Thedret greets you and tells you what happened in Garlas

Malatar after you destroyed the orb. He then goes out and speaks to your

assembled knights. They all cheer. And then...

[KN12]

<~~~~~~ EPILOGUE ~~~~~~>

Life goes on. You are now the Commander of the Knights of the Nine. There will

always be eight other knights available to you in the Priory. Any that were

killed in the attack on Garlas Malatar are replaced by generic, no-name NPCs.

You can, at any time, ask one of the knights to accompany you as a henchman-

type person.

There's also the armor stand in the Undercroft, waiting to repair, recharge

and upgrade your threads. You have your own bedroom in the Priory (to the left

at the top of the right-hand set of stairs). Right outside your room is a

bookshelf with a number of books about Pelinal and the original Knights. You

can read these sometime when you want more history of the original Crusader

and the Order. The altar in the Chapel functions just as the altars in the

Temples in the big cities, curing diseases, poisons, damaged attributes and

the like.

And, oh yes, there's the little matter of praying at the crypts of the eight

original knights. (Sir Berich, you may remember, is not buried in the

Undercroft.) Praying at a knight's crypt grants you a permanent boost to one

ability score. This remains in effect until such time as you pray at another

knight's crypt--i.e. only one of these blessings can be in effect at one time.

The amount of boost you get to your ability score depends on your level when

you pray. The knights and the blessings they bestow are:

Sir Gregory (Dibella): Fortify Personality

Sir Juncan (Kynareth): Fortify Speed

Sir Casimir (Mara): Fortify Endurance

Sir Torolf (Arkay): Fortify Willpower

Sir Henrik (Julianos): Fortify Intelligence

Sir Caius (Stendarr): Fortify Personality

Sir Ralvas (Zenithar): Fortify Luck

Sir Amiel (Akatosh): Fortify Strength

Remember, the cost of having all this goodness is you must keep your Infamy at

zero (0) or one (1). Anything higher and you have to walk the Pilgrim's Way

again to reduce your Infamy and be able to be the Crusader.

[SQ00]

~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SIDE QUESTS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~

These quests are arranged alphabetically by their title as given in the quest

log. See the Quest Index following for a regional breakdown of the quests. The

quests in this section are all those not tied specifically to the main quest

or any of the four main guilds.

[SQ38]

<~~~~~~ ATTACK ON FORT SUTCH ~~~~~~>

This is a simple Oblivion-gate closing operation. It's unique among the side

quests because there's a limited time-frame for completing the quest. The gate

opens after you've completed the "Dagon Shrine" quest in the main story; and,

of course, it closes automatically if you finish the main story.

During that time period, travel to Fort Sutch north-northeast of Anvil. Near

the ruined fort, Imperial Legion soldiers are fighting daedra spewing forth

from an Oblivion gate. Help them wipe out the daedra, then the Legion captain

will ask you to close the gate.

The gate leads to a random Oblivion world, which you've seen before if you've

been on a gate-closing spree.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ01]

<~~~~~~ THE ARENA ~~~~~~>

Imperial City, like any good Roman knock-off, has gladiatorial blood sports.

You can earn some quick cash by joining in the "fun", or, make some less-easy

cash betting on the action. The Arena district is located on the east side of

the city, between the Market district and the Arboretum. The only thing in the

district is the Arena itself, which, amazingly, looks a lot like the Roman

coliseum. The Arena is open for business, whether betting or fighting, from

9am to 9pm every day.

*BONUS*

To the south of the Arena are a pair sparring (Redguard and Argonian). They

spar most of the day, every day. Stand and watch them for a few minutes and

you will receive a +5 bonus to your Hand-to-Hand skill.

| Betting

+---------

Hundolin, the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Arena, is also the local

bookie. Make a bet on either the Yellow or Blue team for 25, 50 or 100 gold.

*THERE IS NO WAY TO GUARANTEE A WIN*

The two fighters are randomly equipped, and the fight may be fair--or not. You

can slightly influence the outcome with your Luck attribute. Once past 50, the

higher your Luck, the higher "your" fighters health. That's it. You take your

chances and hope you win. You can, of course, artificially boost your Luck

before placing a bet in order to move things in your favor, but that still

won't help if your guy gets stuck with light armor, no shield and a dagger and

the other guy gets heavy armor and a claymore.

| Fighting

+----------

Here's where things get interesting. You can make quite a lot of cash working

your way up the ladder--assuming you don't blow it all on healing potions.

Enter the main gate of the Arena, where Hundolin hangs out, and hang a left,

down the stairs into the Bloodworks. Find Owyn and ask him about joining.

There's a uniform required of each combatant, but you can pick Light or Heavy

raiment.

*NOTE* You have to wear the raiment to participate in a match.

This raiment is a full suit of armor, so you can't wear your own cuirass,

greaves, boots or gauntlets. You can wear your own helmet and use any shield

and weapon you like. You can also use spells, etc. Anything goes on the floor

of the Arena.

*BONUS* While you can't wear your own armor in the Arena, you can wear the

Arena raiment anywhere. It's enchanted armor (+2 Personality, +5 Athletics),

with base armor ratings of 10 for the light and 15 for the heavy. This is

pretty decent armor for the beginning of the game, so you might want to stop

by the Arena and join as soon as you exit the sewers. You don't have to start

fighting right away. (Remember, because it's enchanted, you can't repair it

unless you've reached Journeyman rank in Armorer.)

Fighting is a case of just working your way up the ladder. While your

opponents are leveled in keeping with your level, the Arena is a lot easier

once you have some enchanted weapons and a decent selection of spells.

To begin a match, suit up in your Arena raiment and talk to Owyn. He'll give

you a brief hint of what you're facing, and send you on your way up the ramp.

Note that you're fighting for the Blue team and you can't place a bet on

yourself.

ARENA BATTLES

Fight # | Opponent(s) | Reward

--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------

1 | Fighter | 50 gold

2 | Fighter | 50 gold

3 | Archer | 100 gold, promotion to Brawler

--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------

4 | Fighter | 100 gold

5 | Twins: fighter, archer | 100 gold

6 | Fighter | 150 gold, promotion to Bloodletter

--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------

7 | Fighter | 150 gold

8 | Fighter | 150 gold

9 | Fighter | 200 gold, promotion to Myrmidon

--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------

10 | Fighter (frost dmg dagger) | 200 gold

11 | Fighter | 200 gold

12 | Fighter | 250 gold, promotion to Warrior

--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------

13 | Fighter | 250 gold

14 | Mage | 250 gold

15 | Fighter | 300 gold, promotion to Gladiator

--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------

16 | 3 unarmed prisoners | 300 gold

17 | Fighter | 300 gold

18 | Fighter | 350 gold, promotion to Hero

--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------

19 | Fighter (former Blade) | 350 gold

20 | Mage (magic resistant) | 350 gold

21 | 3: Yellow team champion, | 500 gold, promotion to Champion

| mage and archer |

--------+----------------------------+---------------------------------------

22 | The Gray Prince | 1,000 gold, promotion to Grand

| | Champion, continued fights with

| | monsters, and...an Adoring Fan

Tactics for each fight will vary depending on the type of weapon being used

against you:

* One-handed weapon fighters: they are usually too fast for you to stay out

of range and fight with arrows or spells; step in with your own weapon,

block their attacks, then hit them with a power attack

* Two-handed weapon fighters: these guys are good at staggering you, but they

swing their weapons slowly; and they usually move slowly as well; you can

either stay away from them and hit them from range, or keep just out of

range of their weapon, then, just after they swing and miss, swiftly step

in and pop them a few times with a one-handed weapon.

* Mages: there are only two you face one-on-one and the best tactic is to

rush them and stagger them with power attacks

* Archers: like mages, it's best to charge them and stagger them with power

attacks. Use the columns in the center of the arena to "dodge" their

arrows.

* Twins: the wood elves are nasty and how you choose your poison is up to

you. Generally, the claymore fighter does a lot more damage to you and is

harder to take down. Try rushing the archer first. She'll keep backing

away, which keeps the fight moving, which should keep the fighter from

pounding your back with her big sword. Once the archer is dead, you can

devote your time to properly dealing with her sister.

* Three prisoners: while they are unarmed and unarmored, they have decent

Hand-to-Hand attacks and there are three of them. You want to separate them

and pick them off one-by-one. Explosive spells (such as Fireball) are a

good way of slowing one or two down. You can also weave in between the

columns, which should break them up. By no means let them surround you or

you're dead meat. They move fast, so trying to stay out of range and

hitting them with arrows or spells is a bad idea.

* Yellow team champion and allies: it's another 3-on-1 fight, but actually

it's 3-on-2. Owyn has pity on you and gives you the aid of a wild boar,

Porkchop. One way of dealing with this fight is concentrating on the

champion and hoping Porkchop occupies her allies enough so they don't

pester you. Or, you can try to quickly take out her allies--they're both

ranged fighters and subject to staggering. In this scenario, you hope the

allies run around enough the champion can't catch up with you and beat on

your backside.

* The Gray Prince: a very tough fighter. The bonus is you get to wear your

own armor. (The Orc has a special Raiment of Valor, so you'll want some

enchanted armor--and weapons--of your own.) He's a one-handed fighter so

the same basic tactics apply: block his attacks, then power attack in

return.

Optionally, you can complete "The Origin of the Gray Prince", in

which case gro-Malog will rush out into the Arena, and then beg you to kill

him. If you do this, the killing counts as the murder of an innocent, and

you'll be visited by the Dark Brotherhood the next time you sleep.

Once you've defeated The Gray Prince, you are Grand Champion of the Arena.

Battle Matron Ysabel Andronicus will continue to arrange fights for you; this

time against wild beasts and monsters, depending on your level. The reward is,

likewise, dependent on your level. You can ask for one fight each week.

Finally, when you exit the Arena after killing The Gray Prince, you are met by

an Adoring Fan. This youngster will follow you around, pestering you

endlessly. You can turn around and kill him, thus earning some skill

experience, and he'll respawn in front of the Arena, where you can go pick him

up in order to kill him again. (Make sure you do this killing out in the

wilderness, so you don't get arrested for it.) Other than that, Adoring Fan is

mostly just useless.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ39]

<~~~~~~ BEAR SEASON ~~~~~~>

Shardrock farm is a small homestead north of the road between Skingrad and

Kvatch, north-northeast of Miscarcand (from the main story). Shepherd Thorley

Aethelred is having troubles with bears. They've been killing his sheep, and

he asks you to do something about it. Specifically, he wants you to kill six

of the bears, and hopes that will scare off the remainder.

There are at least eight bears (possibly more) spread out around Shardrock. A

Detect Life spell is useful here for finding the bears. These are very tough

animals, and occasionally get close enough to each other that it's impossible

to separate them. For ranged characters, there are a lot of rocks about that

you can jump up to, but the bears can't--useful for sniping these beasts.

Take the fangs from the corpses. Once you have six, head back to the farm;

Aethelred will award you a skill book that boosts one of your combat skills.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ02]

<~~~~~~ A BROTHERHOOD BETRAYED ~~~~~~>

Rumors are flying about Bruma that a vampire hunter named Raynil Dralas has

killed a vampire in their very midst. Visit the vampire's home, his name is

Bradon Lirrian and he lives on the west side of the chapel. Inside you'll find

city guard Carius Runellius. Raise his Disposition score to 70 and he'll give

you the full story. Bradon's body is on the bed nearby.

Also present is Bradon's distraught wife, Erline. She says her husband was no

vampire and wants you to ferret out the truth. Your journal suggest talking to

a merchant about the location of Dralas, and, in fact, this is just what you

should do. Several of the merchants can point you to Olav's Tap and Tack, next

to the East Gate.

Go see Olav. With a Disposition of at least 70, Olav will give you a key to

search Dralas' room. You can also just break-and-enter. Inside, you find a

diary partially hidden behind the dresser. Reading it will give you the full

scoop on what's happening.

Return to the Lirrian house and show the journal to Runellius. He'll order a

city-wide search for Dralas and ask you to meet him in one hour at Olav's.

When you meet him, he reports Dralas has made for Boreal Stone Cave. Runellius

wants you to go catch him, as he thinks Dralas might scare off if he sees city

guards shadowing him.

Runellius gives you a time limit of one day, and you must reach Boreal within

that time, else Dralas gets away clean. The cave isn't far west of the city,

and Dralas waits for you almost right inside the door. This can only come to

violence. Retire Dralas from his vampire hunting job and get three keys from

his body.

Use the keys to open the chest nearby and get an ordinary amulet. Return to

Erline Lirrian with the amulet and she "unlocks" it and gives it back, now a

shiny Phylactery of Litheness, which has a Fortify Speed enchantment keyed to

your level.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ29]

<~~~~~~ A BRUSH WITH DEATH ~~~~~~>

The rumor mill in Cheydinhal points you to a missing husband. (Wives in

Cyrodiil keep losing their husbands. Is something wrong with them or the men?)

Tivela Lythandas's husband, the famous painter Rythe Lythandas, vanished from

his locked studio. You're asked to play Holmes and solve this little mystery.

The Lythandas live in the southwest corner of Cheydinhal, near the house you

can buy for yourself. Tivela more fully explains the situation and gives you a

key to the studio. Inside, take a look at Rythe's current painting, then

Activate it. You skidoo right into the painting!

In front of you is the great painter himself, who 'fesses up about his secret:

a magic paintbrush. Some thief came in, stole the brush, then got trapped in

the painting. The thief then painted some trolls to protect him, but the

trolls killed him. You have to fight your way through the trolls and get the

paintbrush off the thief's corpse so you and Rythe can get out.

Set off north. You have to work your way north, then west, then south to find

the thief, killing six painted trolls along the way. Rythe gives you six

bottles of turpentine that act as poison for your weapon. The Turpentine is

leveled and does anywhere from +20 to +250 damage to painted trolls (depending

on your level). Loot each troll for Painted Troll Fat, useful for alchemical

products and available nowhere else.

Once you reach the thief, take the Brush of Truepaint from his body and go

straight north. From this direction, you can jump up the rocks and drop down

right back where you started. Give the Brush to Rythe. He paints a door and

you can both leave.

Back in the real world of computer-generated graphics, Rythe asks you to keep

the Brush a secret and gives you the Apron of Adroitness, which Fortifies

Intelligence and Agility.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ03]

<~~~~~~ CANVAS THE CASTLE ~~~~~~>

Visit the castle in Chorrol between the hours of 8am and 6pm and talk to

Countess Valga. She is busy hunting a stolen painting. Offer to help and

she'll give you the names of five people:

* Chanel, the court mage, suspect

* Orgnolf, porter, suspect

* Bittneld, guard captain, witness

* Orok gro-Ghoth, steward, witness

* Laythe Wavrick, herald, witness

Speak to all five. Chanel, Orgnolf and gro-Ghoth can usually be found in the

private area of the castle (for which you are given a key). Wavrick typically

hangs out in the audience chamber with the Countess. Bittneld can be a

problem. He makes regular patrols around town. Perhaps you'll get lucky and

find him in the castle, otherwise you're going to have to run him down.

Once you've heard all five stories, it becomes apparent Chanel is hiding

something. You know she spends time in the West Tower, so go there and find

the trap door in the floor. Use the trap door and carefully search to find a

partially completed painting. Activate it to add it to your quest entries.

Now head for the dining room, which is just off the attendance hall, and look

around on the rug. You should spot some paint stains in the shape of

footprints. Activate them to update your journal. Return to the private area

and Chanel's bedroom. Open her lectern to find paint supplies.

Talk to Chanel and Accuse her. You must max out her Disposition score in order

for her to confess to the crime and give you the painting. You now have two

choices:

1) Report in full to the Countess, who rewards you and banishes Chanel.

2) Refuse to accuse either suspect to the Countess, who gives you a little

money anyway. Return the painting to Chanel, who will paint you a picture of

your own that you can display in your house (if you buy a house).

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ27]

<~~~~~~ CAUGHT IN THE HUNT ~~~~~~>

Chase the rumor mill in Bravil to learn about Ursanne Loche's missing husband.

Find Ms. Loche and question her. Her husband, Aleron, is a gambler heavily in

debt to a loan shark named Kurdan gro-Dragol. Aleron was supposed to meet gro-

Dragol at the Lonely Suitor Lodge yesterday, and he hasn't come back.

Go to the Lonely Suitor and seek out Messr. gro-Dragol. Once you get his

Disposition to 60, he does, indeed, know where Aleron is; but, before he'll

tell you, you must do him a favor. Go to Fort Grief out on an island in the

bay, and retrieve gro-Dragol's father's axe. That's the only way you or

Ursanne will see Aleron alive again.

When you're ready, gro-Dragol even provides transportation. Go down to the

little public dock on the river flowing through the middle of Bravil and

there's a boat waiting. Activate it to be transported to Fort Grief. The gate

leading into the fort must be opened with a wheel located on the ground to the

right.

Inside, the gate slams shut, you find Aleron and you get all the details on

gro-Dragol's little trap. You and Aleron are the prey in a little game of

hunt-the-human(oid). There are three hunters inside the fort, and you will

have to kill them all to get the key to the inner gatehouse, allowing you both

to escape.

Inside you go. There's nothing inside but the three hunters and a few low-

level critters, such as rats. Just to your left as you enter is the gatehouse.

You need a key to get in there. Down the hall is a little room with a rock

column in the center. The Imperial hunter waits here. If you're the Stealthy

type, you can use the center column for cover while you snipe at the hunter

from range, but you'll probably still have to fall back on sword & shield

because of the close quarters. Loot his body for the First Key.

Follow the path to a stone bridge. If you have good Speed, run across the

bridge. Two spiked barrels will swing down to knock you off, but you can avoid

them if you're fast enough. If you're not fast enough, swim through the

channel to the northeast and make the first left-hand turn that you can and

then another left.

Assuming you made it across the bridge, turn left at the next intersection,

jump over the hole in the floor and take the first right.

The two paths are now together again. There's an arrow trap on the far wall,

so don't dally. Around the corner, watch for the tripwire on the floor, it

sets off some poison gas vents. The Nord hunter waits just ahead. The room

forms a sort-of squared figure-eight. Again, Stealthy types can use the center

columns for cover. You can also try to lead him back through the traps that

you just came through. Loot the Nord for the Second Key.

Beyond the Nord, to the southwest, is the door to The Hunter's Abyss. You need

both Hunter's Keys to open this door. Down the hall, take the first left,

skipping over the tripwire. Follow the tunnels, watching out for another

tripwire along the way. You'll eventually reach a set of stairs leading down

into a large room with a pool. The Orc hunter waits here.

Stealthy fighters should try to peg an arrow into the Orc from the top of the

stairs, then leap onto the little platforms along the side of the steps. With

a high enough Sneak skill, you can crouch there and pepper the Orc with arrows

without being detected. Otherwise, keep the fight down in the pool room--you

don't want to get into confined quarters with this guy.

After he's dead, loot the Fort Grief Key from his body and exit the pool room

to the southwest. Take the first right and follow the tunnel to a door that

brings you out over the stone bridge you crossed not long ago. Drop down and

run back up to the gatehouse.

Uh oh. The key doesn't work. Raise your hand if you didn't see that coming.

Exit the Hunter's Run and watch gro-Dragol kill Aleron. Poor guy. You now have

to kill gro-Dragol to get the real gatehouse key. Stealthy fighters will want

to Sneak up the stairs next to the main door and snipe gro-Dragol from up

there. Regular fighters will appreciate the wide-open area in which to engage

the Orc.

Take his real key, open the gatehouse just inside Hunter's Run, and turn the

handle to open the main gate. Take the boat back to Bravil, find Ursanne and

explain what happened. She's devastated, but gives you a Speechcraft skill-

training book as a reward for trying to help.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ30]

<~~~~~~ THE COLLECTOR ~~~~~~>

This is a wide-ranging quest dealing with the recovery of ten Ayleid statues

from ten ruined Ayleid sites. To get this quest started, you must retrieve one

of the ten statues listed below. Now, if you want to do this quest the "right"

way, you would sell the statue to any merchant for about 125 gold; then, you

wait until you are contacted by Jollring, a servant in the household of

Umbacano.

But, if you want to make a few hundred extra gold and not go through the

waiting period, go straight to Umbacano. Umbacano lives in the Talos Plaza

district of Imperial City. His house opens onto the northeast quarter of the

central plaza. When entering his house, speak to Jollring and you'll be

escorted upstairs to Umbacano.

Umbacano wants to collect the complete set of ten Ayleid statues; but, he

doesn't know which sites have statues. You're on your own there (fortunately,

you have this guide, while Umbacano does not). Umbacano promises 500 gold for

each statue, plus a bonus of 5,000 gold when you have returned all the statues

to him.

After you've brought back a second statue, Umbacano gives you five sites that

his research reveals have statues. That's all you get in the game to help you

out. After bringing back one more statue (total of three), Umbacano will offer

you another job. This kicks off "Nothing You Can Possess".

The ten Ayleid ruins containing statues are:

1) Culotte

-----------

Culotte is located on the east bank of the Upper Niben River about halfway

between Niben Bay and Lake Rumare. If you find the 'T' in "The Yellow Road",

it sits just on the northeast corner of that 'T'. This is a simple, single-

level undead lair. In fact, it looks very simple going in, because there's

nothing in there.

Run down the stairs and all the way to the end of the first hall. There's a

pressure plate in this room, stand on it, then go back up one flight of steps

and take a right. This will lead you down and around to a raised bridge over

two large rooms full of coffins. At the end of the bridge, you'll go down some

steps and into the southeast coffin area. At the far end is the room with the

statue.

Of course, nothing could be that simple. Stepping into the statue room spawns

six undead in the dungeon. Two are in each coffin area and two more wait in

the main hall on the way to the exit. A trap may have taken out the bridge

between the two coffin rooms, if so, jump through the gap to the northwest

room and find the exit on the north wall.

2) Fanacas

-----------

This one-level vampire lair is north-northeast of Cheydinhal. (It's one of the

map markers you can get by standing on Dive Rock.) Find Lake Arrius north of

Cheydinhal and go due east from the eastern-most tip of the lake. There are

about a half-dozen different ways to go through this dungeon, but if you're

just looking for the quickest way to the statue...

Go straight from the entrance to the big, flooded room. Immediately dive into

the water to your right (south) and find the submerged tunnel. At the top of

the tunnel, turn right (west) and circle back around toward your starting

point. You'll find a pressure plate that opens the door in front of you and

another door beyond, leading north.

Go through this door and follow the bridge around, going east, then north into

another room. Take the southeast exit onto another bridge and follow it to

another, smaller flooded room. Jump in the water and find the tunnel leading

northeast. At the end of the tunnel is the statue.

You can return the way you came, or you can circle to the south and west,

where you'll eventually run into the boss vampire, with appropriate loot.

3) Mackamentain

----------------

North of Silverfish River is a little unnamed lake. Mackamentain sits on the

north shore of that lake. It's a three-level necromancer hangout, so be

prepared for the usual mixture of conjurers and undead.

The first large room has four varla stones. The buttons to raise the covers

are in alcoves on the northwest and southeast sides of the room. Down the hall

to the next room, be wary of the trap in the center else you will find

yourself becoming a fixture on the ceiling.

The second level is called Tombs of the Undead and you want to avoid those

tombs. From your entry point, go straight and hang a left at the top of the

stairs. This takes you over the undead wandering among their coffins and

eventually to the door to the Necromancer's Asylum. This is just one big room

with the boss necromancer and two or three undead. The statue is in the middle

of the room.

Leave the Asylum to the northwest for a shortcut back to the varla stone room

and the dungeon exit.

4) Moranda

-----------

If you draw a straight line between Castle Chorrol and Castle Bruma, Moranda

is about halfway along that line. There's a section of the Orange Road between

the two cities that curves south; Moranda sits at the top-center of that

"cup". Bring spells, potions or equipment with poison resistance.

This three-level dungeon is a mythical creature lair. If you have good lock

picking ability, you only need to go through a small portion of the dungeon.

At the bottom of the stairs is a four-way intersection. Take the southeast

path by picking the lock on the gate. Go straight through the next room and

along the hall to a door to Moranda Abaspania.

This level has no creatures, but it is full of poison gas. In the first room,

take the left-hand exit and the statue is in the center of the next room. (You

can pick up a varla stone in the room southeast of the statue room, the button

to open the cage is in the alcove on the southwest wall.) Return the way you

came and you're done.

Now, if you want to thoroughly loot this dungeon (there's a nice boss-level

chest to be had and two varla stones), or, if you can't pick the lock to take

the shortcut...

From the entrance, continue straight until you reach the second four-way

intersection. Go southeast, straight through the next room to a door that

leads to Moranda Arastel. This level is basically one huge, multi-level room.

From your entrance point, go into the large room and up the stairs in front of

you. Turn right along this "bridge" in the center of the room, then right

again at the end of the bridge. The room to the southeast has a varla stone; a

pressure plate in front of the column opens the cage.

At the northeast end of the main room, take either hall and go around to a

small room with a big treasure in the Ayleid Reliquary. The treasure includes

the key that will get you back out. Back in the main room, go along the bridge

and down the stairs opposite the ones you came up. The hall leading northwest

goes back to the first level of Moranda.

Back in Moranda, follow the hall to the first room, then exit to the

southwest. This hall leads to a door going into Moranda Abaspania. Again, no

creatures, just lots of poison gas. From the first room, take the right-hand

exit to find the statue.

From the statue room, take the northeast exit and turn right to reach another

varla stone. The button that opens the cage is in the alcove on the southwest

wall. Take the southwest exit from this room and straight through the next

room to return to the first level. Follow the hall, straight through the room,

and the key you got from the boss chest will open the gate leading to the

dungeon exit.

5) Ninendava

-------------

Northwest of Moranda is the single-level vampire and undead lair, Ninendava.

Reaching it can be difficult, as there's no direct route up the mountains from

Moranda. Your best bet is to start in Bruma and work your way west along the

Jerall Mountains. There's an unmarked road that runs along the southern face

of this mountain range, and Ninendava lies at the end of that road.

From Bruma's North Gate, go around the west side of the town and find the road

heading west. When it forks, take the right/northwest fork. You should run

right past Applewatch (Dark Brotherhood quests) and Boreal Stone Cave ("A

Brotherhood Betrayed"). When you pass over a wood bridge, the path splits

again, this time take the left/west fork to run right into Ninendava.

If you have decent lock picking ability, this couldn't be easier. From the

entrance, go straight until you come to a T-intersection. From the T, go left

(west) and up the stairs. Pick the lock on the gate, and collect the statue.

You might have to kill two creatures along the way.

If your lock picking is on the level of a slug, there is a key, but you have

to fight your way through every denizen of this dungeon. At the T, go right

(east) and down the stairs. You eventually reach a large room. The key is on a

table in a small alcove at the extreme west end of that room.

6) Vilverin

------------

This may well be the first ruin you visit and the way you kick off this quest.

After all, it's the first thing you see when you exit the tutorial sewers at

the beginning of the game. It sits on a little island in Lake Rumare, just

across from that infamous sewer grate.

There are two bandits outside and several more on the first level of this four

level dungeon. At the very bottom of the first flight of stairs inside

Vilverin is a large room containing up to four bandits. Caution is advised and

careful use of arrows or spells to separate the bandits is the best policy.

To the south of the large room is the bandits' sleeping quarters, which

contains a decent amount of loot. To the north, drop down (or take the stairs

to the northwest) to the lower level of the large room and head east. In the

next room you'll find the door to Vilverin Canosel.

From here on out, you'll be facing undead rather than bandits. The first room

in Canosel is divided by four columns and there's a cask in the center. Go

west from this room into a large square room with an exit to the north. Avoid

that exit; instead, enter the niche on the west wall and find the pressure

plate behind the coffin. It opens a path to the south.

Advance cautiously to a very large room with a pool in the center and at least

three undead. The door to Vilverin Wendesel is to the west. The first large

room in Wendesel has a pit trap in the center. Use arrows or spells to lure

the undead in the room over the pit trap, then skirt the edge of it and

continue.

At the intersection, turn south. This next room has six doors (three on a

side). Behind five doors are undead, behind the sixth door is the key to the

gate to the west. Two columns with six push buttons are at the east end of the

room; Activating the buttons opens the doors. You can: 1) open all the doors,

killing the undead, collecting a little loot and the key; 2) open the door

just to get the key, it's the top right button; 3) pick the lock on the gate

and ignore the buttons.

The next room has a varla stone in a cage. The push button to open the cage is

up on the balcony on the south side of the room. From that balcony, you go

through to Vilverin Sel Sancremathi, the final level of the dungeon.

Down the first hall, straight ahead through a swinging blades trap, is the

statue. Dodge the blades, grab the statue, then continue straight (west)

through more swinging blades. At the top of the stairs is Jalbert, a leveled

necromancer. Kill him, then loot his room. On the table is a key to a gate

that is a shortcut out of the dungeon. (The key is actually lying on the

table, not in a container, so you may need a torch or Night Eye to see it. You

can also just pick the lock on the gate.)

When you're done, take the north exit, through the aforementioned locked gate,

and back to the first level of Vilverin. When you drop down, you're near the

exit and you're done.

7) Welke

---------

Find the Panther River east-southeast of Bravil. It curves north, then south,

then east, then branches north and south. From the branch point, follow the

south branch, traveling on the east bank of the river, and you'll stumble

across this three-level undead crypt.

The fastest way through requires picking an easy lock--take a right at the end

of the entrance hall, pick the lock on the gate, and follow the only path to

Welke Ceyede. Follow the main path until you reach a T-intersection, then turn

right (northwest). You'll have to swim through a submerged tunnel, and you'll

come out into a room with at least three leveled undead, so be prepared. In

the southwest corner of this room is the door to Welke Edesel.

Edesel is a small room with several coffins and one boss-level undead. You can

fight it or Sneak away with the statue, which is on a coffin in the center of

the room. Get out the same way you came in.

8) Wendelbek

-------------

Southeast of Bravil, the Panther River winds its way through the Nibenay

Valley. Two northbound tributaries form a bowl along the eastern half of the

Panther, Wendelbek lies in this bowl. If you mark the 'V' in "Nibenay Valley"

and draw a line due east, you'll find this ruin just past the first tributary.

(If you've already been to Welke, just go northeast from there, across the

Panther and you'll find Wendelbek.)

Wendelbek is a four-level necromancer headquarters, as announced by the black

altar out front. The statue is on level three, so you don't have to go through

the whole dungeon to get it. The quickest route to the statue is to go

straight from the main entrance, along a balcony.

When the balcony curves east, continue straight rather than take the left

(south) branch. Keep following it until you reach a left-hand turn, then on to

the door to Wendelbek Aldmerisel. Aldmerisel is basically one large room with

a platform in the center. For a varla stone, snipe the necromancers on the

central platform, jump down into the pit, find the push button and climb the

stairs to reach the stone on the table on the platform.

To reach the next level of the dungeon, climb the stairs in the northeast

corner of the room to a push button. This opens a gate in the east wall of the

main room and you can get to Wendelbek Sel Aran Mathmedi. To reach the statue,

turn left from the entrance, follow the hall all the way around, avoiding any

turns, until you are on a raised walkway overlooking the lowest level of the

main room. Take a left at the T-intersection and the statue will be right

around the corner.

Now, you can take the statue and run, or continue to the final level and

collect a boss chest and two more varla stones. From the statue, jump down to

the lower floor and go down the steps to the south. In the next room is a door

to Wendelbek Silaseli. Take out the two necromancers in front of you, then on

to the first large room.

There are two varla stones at the top of the stairs, and they aren't covered.

Follow the east hall to the headquarters of the necromancer adept and collect

the loot. From the adept's room, exit to the west for a shortcut back to level

one of the dungeon.

9) Wendir

----------

This two-level undead dungeon lies south of Chorrol. If you've done "Shadow

Over Hackdirt", travel to Hackdirt and go northwest. Otherwise, travel due

south from Chorrol's South Gate until you reach Fort Carmala, and then turn

due west. Bring lots of lockpicks, the Skeleton Key or Open Very Hard Lock

spells.

At the end of the first hall, turn right and pick the lock on the gate. Follow

this upper hallway all the way around until you reach the door to Wendir

Nagasel. In the first room of Nagasel, be wary of the pit trap. As you go down

the next hall, at the bottom of a stairway is a pressure plate. Stepping on

this opens a door to a couple of undead back down the hall.

You soon reach a balcony overlooking a large, three-tier room. You're on the

top tier. If you're very good with a bow or spells, you may be able to snipe

the undead boss in the center, second tier of the room. Continue along the

balcony until it takes you down to the second tier.

Turn left at the bottom of the stairs and then right and push the button to go

through the gate and face off against the boss. (If you killed him from the

balcony, so much the better.) The statue is around to your left. Return to the

balcony and, halfway down, is a shortcut door to the beginning of the dungeon.

Assuming you can't pick locks, then, from the dungeon entrance, you'll have to

drop down into the large room. Fight your way south into the next area, then

east to find the door to Nagasel. In Nagasel, you'll enter a room with a pit

trap in the center. Exit to the northeast, which places you on the lowest tier

of the boss room. The stairs up to the boss are in the northeast corner of the

room. Down here, the room is full of poison gas. After killing the boss and

getting the statue, you can use the same shortcut up on the balcony.

10) Wenyandawik

----------------

Wenyandawik is northwest of Bravil, kind of all by itself--there's nothing

else nearby. The best way to find it is to find the 'R' in "The Green Road"

and go straight south.

The first level of this undead home is one large, two-tier room. Kill the

undead in the room, then use the exit to the north to reach Wenyandawik

Edesel. In Edesel, turn left, kill a couple of rats and collect two varla

stones. Then go west along the hall. Twice as you advance, secret passages

will open either to your side or in front of you, revealing undead. Tread

carefully.

When the hall turns left (south), a secret door will have opened in front of

you. Go through the secret passage and up the stairs to the boss lair. The

statue is in the southern part of the room, once the boss is dead. You can't

go back the way you came. Leave this room to the south, drop down into the

hallway and there's a door back into the first level of the dungeon.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ28]

<~~~~~~ CORRUPTION AND CONSCIENCE ~~~~~~>

*NOTE* This quest removes Captain Ulrich Leland from service in Cheydinhal.

Captain Leland is one of your better fighters in the Defense of Bruma quest in

the main story. You don't want to complete this quest before finishing Defense

of Bruma.

The rumor mill in Cheydinhal is full of complaints about heavy fines imposed

by the new captain of the guard, Ulrich Leland. Following up on the rumor

points you to Uevana Nedaren who lives near the chapel. Find her and talk to

her. She's not hesitant to open up about the problems. Nedaren gives you two

names: Aldos Othran, who lost his house for being drunk & disorderly; and,

Garrus Darelliun, second-in-command of the guard.

Darelliun is usually in the castle audience chamber during the day. Seek him

out, raise his Disposition to 60 and he'll agree to help you by bringing

Leland up on charges. But first, he needs a witness. Othran seems to be the

perfect fit.

Find Othran and talk to him. Unfortunately, your pep talk puts the wrong kind

of pep in him. He races to his house and confronts the guard outside the door.

The guard ends up killing him. Report this development to Nedaren. She gets

really ticked off and suggests you ask Leland over to her place for a little

"chat".

Go see Darelliun. He doesn't like the sound of Nedaren's scheme and suggests

another avenue of attack: pilfer evidence from Leland's quarters. (Rules of

evidence seem not to have developed in Cyrodiil at this point in history.) You

can follow either plan, the only difference being the amount of gold given you

as a reward at the end of the quest.

1) Nedaren's plan: Follow your quest marker to Leland, raise his Disposition

to 60 and invite him over for tea. Leland and Nedaren scream at each other for

a moment, then Nedaren paralyzes him and calls her pet rats down for dinner.

Yech. Report this back to Darelliun. He's not happy about it, Nedaren will

have to do some time, but you're off the hook and get some glittery coins for

your trouble.

2) Darelliun's plan: During the day, when Leland is on patrol, Sneak into the

castle barracks and open the left hand door on the back wall (Darelliun gives

you the key). The evidence you want is a letter lying on a book on top of the

desk. Take this back to Darelliun and he takes off to arrest his superior.

Everybody lives, the only person in gaol is Leland and you get extra glittery

coins for helping out.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ04]

<~~~~~~ DAEDRIC QUESTS ~~~~~~>

Each daedric quest involves finding a shrine, bringing an offering, talking to

the spirit of the daedra lord and then running errands for him or her.

Complete the errand and you get a daedric artifact. Each quest has certain

prerequisites, usually a minimum level, and various offerings.

Most shrines have to be found by exploring. A few are pointed out to you by

various persons. One, Azura's, is blatantly marked for you at a certain point

in the main story. You can "discover" information about the shrines in the

main game in one of several ways:

* Martin will give you a book listing some of the shrines when he gives you

the "Blood of the Daedra" quest in the main story. This is when Azura's

shrine is marked for you.

* You can also find a copy of the same book, "Modern Heretics", in the library

of Arcane University, if you've advanced the Mages Guild quests enough to

have access to the library.

* You may overhear people talking about daedra worship, which will give you

a new topic (Daedra) with some townsfolk. Using that topic will generally

get you a pointer to a specific shrine.

The quests are listed here by their level requirement.

| Azura [DQ01]

+--------------

Requirements: At least level 2

Offering: Glow dust

Reward: Azura's Star, a re-useable grand soul gem

Azura's shrine is located north-northeast of the Lake Arrius Caverns you visit

in the Dagon Shrine quest part of the main story. It is usually the first

shrine mentioned in the game. The offering, glow dust, is a by-product of the

will-o-wisp, which can be difficult to find. The easiest way to get glow dust

is to go to the Bruma Mages Guild and ask to join (if not already a member).

Go to the basement and pick some glow dust up from a table in the alchemy

room. You may also be able to find some in one of the alchemy shops in

Imperial City.

During the hours of dawn (roughly 5 - 7am) or dusk (roughly 5 - 7pm), Activate

the statue of Azura with some glow dust in your pocket. In times past, Azura

sent five followers to kill a vampire lord. They succeeded, but at the price

of becoming vampires themselves. They sealed themselves in the cave of the

vampire lord. Azura wants you to grant them "eternal peace".

Joy. Azura marks a "Gutted Mine" on your map to the southeast. Stock up and

head out. The cavern is small, and contains only the five vampiric followers

of Azura. Advance very slowly and try to take them on one at a time. The first

three tend to be close together (they are marked on your map), so separating

them can be difficult.

One option, submitted by reader jbucking, is to enter during daylight, get the

attention of the vampires, then run outside. They'll follow you and you'll

have more room to maneuver as well as receive additional help from the sun,

which does extra damage to the vampires.

Fire works well on vamps, so use that if you have it. You will almost

certainly get infected with porphyric hemophilia (the vampire disease). Don't

worry about it until you've finished the task. The last two vampires are

located in a secret chamber opened with a pull cord in the first large room

you come to.

After all five are dead, return to Azura and she'll reward you with a re-

useable grand soul gem, Azura's Star. If you're heavily dependant on enchanted

weapons, this may be a very useful item. On the other hand, you can get

enchanted weapons recharged at any Mages Guild hall, and regular soul gems are

found quite frequently.

Once you're done, use a Cure Disease potion or visit a temple in a city to

cure your porphyric hemophilia. Or, get ready to run from sunlight for the

rest of the game. For more about Vampirism, see the section under

Miscellaneous Adventures.

| Sheogorath [DQ02]

+-------------------

Requirements: At least level 2

Offering: Lesser soul gem, lettuce, yarn

Reward: Wabbajack, a staff with...well, Wabbajack power

This is a weird one, but, then, Sheogorath is apparently the daedric lord of

practical jokes. You'll find his shrine halfway between Bravil and Leyawiin,

west of the main road between the two cities. It's off the beaten track, but

you can find it by lining yourself up with the 'B' in "Bravil" on your world

map and going straight south.

You should be able to scavenge the offering from houses and guild halls in

Bravil. Activate the statue with the offering in inventory and Sheogorath

complains about the boring population of Border Watch, a small Khajiit

settlement to the south. He wants you to go there and stir things up a bit.

Go to Border Watch and ask about the K'Sharra Prophecy. You'll be referred to

Ri'Bassa, town shaman. Find him and get his Disposition to 60 and he'll tell

you the first two portents of the apocalypse: plague of rats and the death of

all the livestock. He won't tell you the third portent, but you don't need to

worry about that one anyway.

Go to the only inn in town, at the top of the hill, to the left of the stairs.

Talk to the innkeeper about cheese and she'll tell you all about her prized

collection. You're interested in the rare Olroy cheese. Wait until the middle

of the night, break into the blue-lined display case and steal the Olroy

cheese. (If your lockpicking skills are weak, you can pickpocket the key from

the sleeping innkeeper.) Go outside and dump it in the cooking pot nearby.

Wait until morning and the town will be infested by rats. Watch as Ri'Bassa

runs up the steps and puts down rat poison. Once he's placed the poison, go

pick it up. Enter the sheep pen down the street from the inn and put the rat

poison in the food trough. Wait an hour and the sheep will all be dead.

Sheogorath then speaks and tells you to go to the center of town and watch the

third portent. Go halfway down the stairs and watch the anti-climactic show.

Return to the shrine and you are rewarded with Wabbajack--a staff that, when

used on a creature (i.e. not a human, orc or elf) will transform that creature

into another, random creature. You might turn a goblin into a spider daedra,

or a spriggan into a sheep.

You just never know...

| Namira [DQ03]

+---------------

Requirements: At least level 5

Personality of 20 or lower

Offering: None

Reward: Ring of Namira, Reflect Damage and Reflect Spell enchantments

Namira's shrine is east-southeast of Bruma. Go due east from Bruma's East Gate

until you reach The Plundered Mine, guarded by a couple of goblins. From the

mine, turn south and bear east and you should find the shrine easily. Namira

requires no offering, but you must be a person others find to be...less than

pleasing to the eye.

You have to get your Personality to 20 or lower. The easiest way to do this is

to tank up on Cheap Wine--each bottle drains your Personality by 10 points, so

if your Personality is 53, you would need to drink 4 bottles of Cheap Wine.

Cheap Wine can be found in many houses, including those you have purchased if

you've purchased the furnishings that add a wine rack. You can also buy Cheap

Wine in many inns and taverns. Get enough bottles to do the trick, go to the

shrine, then drink up. Talk to Namira to get the quest.

Namira has some followers called "Forgotten". They live in the darkness of the

Ayleid ruin, Anga. Some priests of Arkay are trying to give them some light.

Namira teaches you a spell to shroud the priests in darkness. She asks only

that you cast the spell on each priest and let the Forgotten do the rest.

Nothing could be simpler. Anga is almost due south of the shrine and is a

single, fairly small level. The priests are not hostile. Cast your new spell,

Namira's Shroud, at each one (they are marked on your map) and watch some

Forgotten run in and bash the priests to death.

When all the priests are dead, find the secret room in the southern-most point

of the ruin. There's a pushbutton to open it in the long hall that runs along

the southeastern side of the dungeon. There are two undead in the room and two

chests. The chest along the west wall contains boss-level treasure.

Be careful you don't kill a priest or a Forgotten. That cancels your reward,

which is a nice ring with leveled Reflect Damage and Reflect Spell

enchantments.

| Vaermina [DQ04]

+-----------------

Requirements: At least level 5

Offering: Black soul gem

Reward: Skull of Corruption

Vaermina's shrine is southwest of Cheydinhal. Find Lake Poppad on your map;

the shrine sits on the eastern shore. To get this task, you must present

Vaermina with a black soul gem. That, in itself, could drive you nuts. Black

soul gems aren't just sold in stores like normal soul gems. So your only

options are to find one or make one.

For both operations, Dark Fissure is the place to start. It's east (and just a

little north) from the shrine, on the eastern bank of the Reed River. This is

a necromancer lair and necromancers are the source of soul gems. You can loot

the caves, and hope you find a black soul gem in its depths. If not, you can

make one at the altar outside the entrance to Dark Fissure.

To make a black soul gem, you need an empty grand soul gem and a Soul Trap

spell (any level spell will do). You can purchase grand soul gems from the

Mystic Emporium in Imperial City, if your level is high enough. Edgar's

Discount Spells, across the street, will sell you a Soul Trap spell.

Return to Dark Fissure and Wait until midnight. Look for a bright cone of

light shining down around the altar. (It's easier to see this cone if you look

up into the sky, rather than looking at the altar.) If there's no bright

light, Wait 24 hours and try again. Sometime during the week, a bright cone of

light will shine down on the altar. When it does, put your empty grand soul

gem in the altar and cast Soul Trap on the altar. Remove your shiny new black

soul gem.

Once you have the required offering, present it to Vaermina for her quest. The

Wizard Arkved has stolen the Orb of Vaermina and she wants it back. Arkved's

Tower is south-southwest of the shrine and leads to a seven-level mini-

dungeon. Each level is very short and filled with leveled daedra.

The first two levels are a straight shot through some rather unusual rooms.

(In one, the table and chairs are on the ceiling.) Next is Arkved's Void,

which are Oblivion bridges connecting hunks of rock in a black void. There's

one side path to a little bit of treasure, but otherwise, only one way to go.

In Arkved's Lost Halls, take the left (southwest) exit from the main room to

reach Arkved's Hall of Changes. This is a little bit of a maze; just take the

southeast exit from each room and you'll reach the end quickly. Next is

Arkved's Rending Halls, which is a linear path to Arkved's bedroom.

Arkved is unconscious on the bed. You can kill him, or not, he's stuck in his

dream state for the entire game. Take the Orb from the nearby table; there's

also an Illusion skill book ("Palla, volume 1") and a back door that dumps you

outside in the ruined fort (you can't come in this way, so don't try).

Return to Vaermina for your reward: the Skull of Corruption. Using this on any

NPC or creature creates a hostile copy of the NPC. It's a bit more useful than

Wabbajack, but no less fun.

| Sanguine [DQ05]

+-----------------

Requirements: At least level 8

Offering: Cyrodiilic Brandy

Reward: Sanguine Rose, staff that summons a random daedra

This shrine is in the middle of nowhere north of Skingrad. If you helped the

Jemane boys return to Weatherleah in "Legacy Lost", Fast Travel there and go

southwest (a little more south than west). Else, leave Skingrad by the West

Gate and follow the road to the Cursed Mine, then go straight north. You may

also get this marked on your map by talking to the owner of All Things

Alchemical in Skingrad and using the "Daedra" topic.

Sanguine is a party animal, and before he'll talk to you, he wants some

Cyrodiilic Brandy. The easiest way to obtain this fine spirit is to buy some

from The Main Ingredient in Imperial City. Offer it to Sanguine and receive

your task: you're to liven up the life of Countess Alessia Caro in Leyawiin.

This is an...interesting quest, and not one without a little trouble (even

though there's no combat involved). Sanguine gives you a spell and tells you

to cast it in the midst of a dinner party to be hosted by the Countess. Travel

to Castle Leyawiin, enter and wait until 6pm.

You'll see the Countess and some friends head into the dining room, which is

to the right as you enter the audience chamber. Talk to the guard outside the

door. If your clothing is of high enough value, he'll let you in no questions

asked. How to know if your clothing is of high enough value? Hard to say,

really fine clothing or higher-level armor will fill the bill.

If your clothing doesn't pass muster, you can still get in by raising the

guard's Disposition to 70 or above. Inside, cast the spell, Stark Reality, on

Countess Caro (casting it at someone else or into thin air won't work).

Everyone loses their clothes.

Including you.

In fact, you've lost everything--clothes, weapons, items...even gold. You're

in your undies and the guards aren't happy. You have two choices:

1) Serve time. You have no gold to pay the fine, so you'll have to do a week

or so jail time. When you get out, you can Fast Travel to Sanguine.

2) Resist Arrest. Of course, you're in no condition to fight guards, so this

basically entails running for it. Hightail it out of the castle and head for

the West Gate of Leyawiin. Outside are the stables, where you can steal a

horse and ride like the wind up the Green Road toward Bravil. Once you find a

spot free of guards (and monsters!) you can Fast Travel to Sanguine. You'll

still have the bounty (increased for stealing a horse), but you'll get your

gold back so you can pay the fine rather than serve jail time.

Sanguine rewards you with Sanguine Rose, a staff that summons a random,

leveled daedra whenever you use it.

| Malacath [DQ06]

+-----------------

Requirements: At least level 10

Offering: Troll fat

Reward: Volendrung, battle axe with Paralyze and Drain Health

To find this shrine, head due north from Anvil's North Gate until you run into

Lord Drad's estate. Then turn northwest to the shrine. For an offering, you'll

need troll fat. Trolls show up in mythic creature dungeons at relatively low

levels (about level 5). You can find them at any time in Tidewater Cave

(south-southeast of Leyawiin, part of Nocturnal's quest) and in Forsaken Mine

(just south of Leyawiin, part of the Fighters Guild quest "Trolls of Forsaken

Mine").

When given the appropriate offering, Malacath demands you release some ogres

that are enslaved by Lord Drad. Easy enough. You passed Drad's estate on the

way in, head back there now. You can talk to Drad (and his wife) or not. The

ogres are in Bleak Mine, just a little way to the east. To get it marked on

your map, either tell Lord Drad you agree with his methods, or talk to his

wife and get her Disposition north of 70.

Bleak mine is a single level with a bunch of guards and ogres in pens to the

north and south. You can...

1) Go in swinging: kill the guards and get keys to the pens from their bodies.

2) Sneak in with appropriate lockpicking devices and release the ogres, who

will then kill the guards.

Option 2 may be preferable--you can even lend the ogres a hand after releasing

them (just make sure you don't kill an ogre, though if the guards kill an

ogre, Malacath doesn't care). The guards in this mine are a bit smarter than

your average NPC and will gang up on you if you're not careful. Since they're

close to your level, with appropriate equipment, you could get in serious

trouble trying option 1.

Return to Lord Drad's estate to find both he and his wife engaging in hard

labor under the supervision of the newly freed ogres. Then back to the shrine

for your reward: Volendrung, a two-handed axe with Paralyze and Drain Health

enchantments.

| Meridia [DQ07]

+----------------

Requirements: At least level 10

Offering: Mort flesh, bonemeal or ectoplasm

Reward: Ring of Khajiiti, Chameleon 35% and Fortify Speed +10

To get a task from Meridia, you must provide the remains of an undead

creature. That means mort flesh (zombies), bonemeal (skeletons & liches) or

ectoplasm (ghosts & wraiths). Meridia is west of Skingrad (if you go west from

the city to the Cursed Mine, you can then go almost due west to the Shrine)

and not far from Miscarcand, which has a number of undead in the first couple

of rooms. (Assuming you aren't already carrying the stuff from all your

encounters with the walking dead.)

Meridia sends you to Howling Cave, east of Castle Skingrad, and orders you to

kill all the Necromancers you'll find there. This is tougher than it sounds.

In the cave, go straight to the T-intersection, turn right and immediately

left to wend your way to a secret door. That door leads to the Lower

Galleries, which is where all the trouble starts. (Hint: Go into Sneak mode

before going through the door.)

There are five necromancers in here, two almost right in front of you. They're

aided and abetted by a half-dozen or so undead. And they *will* gang up on

you. The three necromancers who are currently out of sight will come running.

All the necromancers will start summoning. Depending on your level, some of

the undead (skeleton champions, liches) may start summoning. Things can get

real nasty, real quick.

So, here's what you do. As you enter the Lower Galleries, go straight across

the first room and bear left through a wide tunnel. Turn left at the end of

the wide tunnel and twist around to a small room. If you have high Sneak

levels or an Invisibility spell, you may be able to do this without anyone

noticing. Otherwise, just run for it. You should be able to clear the small

room (one necromancer and maybe one undead), then turn and defend the narrow

opening into the room.

You may even avoid drawing attention from the far (southern) rooms, where the

other two necromancers and more undead are lurking. You should be able to

handle the initial wave, then take your time clearing out the remainder of the

dungeon in the more traditional way.

Once the five necromancers are dead (you don't have to finish off the undead,

just the necromancers, but you'll probably want to kill everything just to be

safe), return to Meridia for the Ring of Khajiiti, with 35% Chameleon and +10

Speed enchantments.

| Nocturnal [DQ08]

+------------------

Requirements: At least level 10

Offering: None

Reward: Skeleton Key, an unbreakable lockpick with Fortify Security 40

Nocturnal's shrine is located just off the road that leads north from Leyawiin

along the east bank of the Lower Niben river. Just leave Leyawiin's Northeast

Gate and follow the road. Keep an eye out on your right (east) side as you

head north. The shrine is about halfway to the mouth of Niben Bay. You can get

this marked on your map by talking to one of the mages in the Leyawiin Mages

Guild (assuming you have Daedra as an available topic).

Nocturnal will only respond to you at night. Her Eye has been stolen and she

wants you to return it. No offering is required. As for leads on the thieves,

you're given only a vague pointer to nearby Leyawiin. Head into town and talk

to any guard. Use the Eye of Nocturnal topic to learn two Argonians, Weebam-Na

and Bejeen, have been boasting about scoring a valuable jewel.

Find Weebam-Na's house using your new objective marker, enter, and talk to

both lizards. They're reticent, and your journal suggests you eavesdrop. Go

into the entry hall and enter Sneak mode. Stand still near the door and you

will eventually hear the two Argonians discuss whether or not the jewel is

safe from the trolls in Tidewater Cave.

Trolls. Goody.

Fire damage works well on trolls, so load up before heading out. Tidewater

Cave sits on the edge of Topal Bay and is just about the most southern point

in all of Cyrodiil. Walk down there and prep for the two trolls you meet

outside the cave.

Once they're down, enter the cave. Your main encounters here will be with

bears, but there are two or three trolls in here as well. If you just want the

Eye, take the first left, left again at the end of the tunnel and then left

again through an underwater passage to find the Eye. Return to Nocturnal's

Shrine and the grateful daedra gives you the Skeleton Key.

This handy device Fortifies your Security skill by 40 points and is an

unbreakable lockpick. Upon obtaining this device, no lock (that does not

specifically require a key) can stand against you. Simply hit Auto Attempt

until the lock opens.

| Peryite [DQ09]

+----------------

Requirements: At least level 10

Offering: None

Reward: Spell Breaker, shield with 30% Spell Reflection

If you look east of Bravil on your world map, you'll see the Silverfish River.

About halfway along its length, on the south bank, is Peryite's shrine.

Peryite isn't picky about hired help. He just wants someone to rescue his

followers, who foolishly tried to summon him. Now their souls are trapped in

Oblivion and he wants you to retrieve them. When you're ready for an extended

trip into Oblivion, with lots of fights against daedra, Activate the statue

again and ask to be sent to hell. (Hand basket not included.)

You're on a circular area, looking over a sea of lava. There are paths off

this "island" to the northeast, east and west. Take the northeast path first.

There are a *lot* of daedra (keyed to your level) roaming this area. They

usually work in pairs, too. (You'll also find some cave entrances. Ignore them

as they don't significantly help you, and just lead to even more fights in

cramped quarters.)

Your first captive soul will not be far along this track--you can tell where

the souls are located by the giant bonfires that give off a lot of light and

smoke. To free the soul, simply Activate it. Return to your starting point--do

not take the west path from this first soul.

From your starting island, now head east and find some rocks that lead across

the lava. Jump across, defeat the daedra and free the second soul. Jump back

across the rocks and head south. The path will eventually curve west and

you'll find the third soul. Go back to your starting point.

From here you should now take the west path. The track will quickly turn

southwest and eventually lead to a tower. The fourth soul is in front of this

tower. Head due north from the tower to reach the fifth soul. Now head back to

your starting point where you'll find a portal back to normality.

Peryite rewards you with a shield with 30% spell reflection. Not bad,

considering all the work you had to put into getting it.

| Mephala [DQ10]

+----------------

Requirements: At least level 15

Offering: Nightshade, between midnight and dawn (about 6am)

Reward: Ebony Blade, Silence and Absorb Health enchantments

Mephala's shrine is northeast of Imperial City, but cannot be approached

directly from the south. Take The Silver Road leading to Bruma from Imperial

City until you reach the intersection with The Orange Road to Chorrol. Turn

and head due southeast and you should find the shrine. (You'll pass Anga on

the way, if you've previously found that ruin, Fast Travel there and head

southeast.)

You'll need one sample of nightshade, which can be found several places. The

easiest way to obtain it is to check with alchemists. There are two in

Imperial City: The Main Ingredient and The Gilded Carafe. If you purchased the

Frostcrag Spire official mod, you can pick some from the garden in your tower.

Activate the statue between the hours of midnight and 6am with nightshade in

your inventory.

Mephala wants you to start a war in a peaceful village known as Bleaker's Way.

This settlement is west-northwest of the shrine. It is home to two families:

the Dalvilu family of Dunmer and the Ulfgar family of Nords. You are to kill

the leader of each family and leave evidence implicating the other leader.

Travel to Bleaker's Way by going north into the mountains and then turning

west. If it's still the middle of the night, you can do this right away. Break

into Nivan Dalvilu's house (northern side of the village) and kill him while

he sleeps. On a table near the door is a Dalvilu Ceremonial Dagger. Take it

with you when you leave.

Next, visit Hrol Ulfgar in his house on the west side of Bleaker's Way. As you

ascend to the loft where he sleeps, pick up the Ulfgar Family Ring from the

table next to the stairs leading to the third floor. Kill Ulfgar, then "open"

his corpse and place the Dalvilu dagger in it. Return to Nivan's house and put

the Ulfgar ring in his corpse.

If you arrive in Bleaker's Way during the day, you can walk into the houses of

the leaders and take the dagger and ring. Then chat with the two families

(they don't have a lot to say, and what they do say sounds too good to be

true) or Wait until the middle of the night. Then perform the assassinations.

Wait until morning and watch the chaos in the streets. (You may need to speak

to one of the villagers to instigate the fighting.) You can lend a hand if you

like, just don't kill everyone. Return to Mephala for the Ebony Blade, a long

sword with Silence and Absorb Health enchantments.

| Hircine [DQ11]

+----------------

Requirements: At least level 17

Offering: Wolf or bear pelt

Reward: Savior's Hide, light armor cuirass with Resist Magicka

This is a simple quest, but not an easy one. Hircine's shrine is located

midway between Imperial City and Bravil, on the west side of the Upper Niben.

It's almost directly south of Arcane University, so if you take your bearings

on that (using your map) and strike out due south, you should stumble across

it.

Bring a bear or wolf pelt as an offering and Hircine reveals he wants you to

perform the ultimate hunt: kill a unicorn and bring its horn to him. There's

only one unicorn in the game, and it's conveniently located south and a little

east of the shrine in Harcane Grove.

The unicorn is guarded by three minotaurs. Approach slowly, preferably

stealthily, and use a bow or spells to prod one of the beasts to charge you.

Repeat for the other two. This prevents not only the minotaurs from ganging up

on you, but it also keeps the unicorn from joining in the fray. It doesn't

like drawn weapons.

In fact, while it may be tempting to ride the unicorn around, it is a most

unreliable mount. It goes into a frenzy whenever weapons are drawn in its

vicinity and will attack anything--including you, even if you are ostensibly

its owner. The unicorn is good for just one thing: dying to provide its horn

for this quest.

Kill it, take the horn back to Hircine and receive a Light cuirass with a

resist magic enchantment, Savior's Hide.

| Molag Bal [DQ12]

+------------------

Requirements: At least level 17

Offering: Lion pelt

Reward: Mace of Molag, Drain Strength 5 points, Drain Magicka 5 points

Bal's shrine is in the middle of the Great Forest, west of Imperial City. Make

a triangle between Chorrol, Skingrad and the Wawnet Inn on the west shore of

Lake Rumare; the shrine is dead center in that triangle. If you don't have a

lion's pelt to give as an offering, go straight west from Wawnet Inn and

you'll find Breakneck Cave. This three-level dungeon is full of wild animals

and a few mythic creatures, mountain lions should be among them. You can then

head due southwest to get to the shrine.

Molag Bal wants you to corrupt a good man. He refers you to Brindle Home--a

small settlement to the southwest of the shrine. There you are to goad a man

named Melus Petilius into killing you with a Cursed Mace that Bal supplies. Go

to Brindle Home and charm a townsperson to a Disposition of 60 and they'll

tell you all about Petilius. You'll also get his house, set a little outside

the main "town", marked on your map.

You can't do anything with Petilius when he's at home. Wait outside his door

until he leaves to visit his wife's grave. Drop the Cursed Mace on the ground

near his feat, remove all your armor and punch him in the face. He'll pick up

the mace and start beating on you. When you die, you'll automatically be

transported back to Molag Bal's shrine and you'll receive the Mace of Molag

Bal, which drains Strength and Magicka 5 points per hit.

For a little extra fun, return to Brindle Home and talk to Petilius.

| Boethia [DQ13]

+----------------

Requirements: At least level 20

Offering: Daedra heart

Reward: Goldbrand, long sword with +22 fire damage

You'll need a daedra heart for this quest; you get these hearts from dremora

and xivilai. If the main story is still open, pop into an Oblivion gate and

emerge a moment or two later with the necessary item. If you've closed all the

Oblivion gates and used all the hearts you collected...well, you've got a bit

more work ahead of you.

You won't find daedra in many places around Cyrodiil once the gates are gone.

The Wizard's Grotto that leads from Castle Bravil to Fathis Aren's tower has

plenty. Arkved's Tower (from Vaermina's quest) is also full of daedra. You

could also try Summoning a dremora (if your Conjuration skill is up to snuff

and you can find a merchant that sells the spell) and pickpocketing it

(killing it just causes it to vanish).

With the heart in hand, talk to Borba of Borba's Goods & Stores in Cheydinhal

and try the "Daedra" topic (if you have it). She'll mark Boethia's shrine on

your map; that's the easiest way to find it. The shrine is in the middle of

the Valus mountains, with no easy landmarks to guide you to it. If you have

visited Drakelowe for "Vampire Cure", you can Fast Travel there; else, find

Drakelowe by traveling along the east bank of the Reed River south of

Cheydinhal.

Once in Drakelowe, strike due east and try to stick to that direction as you

go up into the mountains. You should be able to find the shrine that way.

Offer a daedra heart to Boethia and he offers you a way to prove yourself in a

Tournament of Ten Bloods. He opens a portal to an Oblivion Plane that consists

of a circle divided by gates into ten sections--one section for each sentient

(i.e. player) race.

You are...well, whatever you are...and you have to face off against one each

of the other nine races. The battles are all one-on-one, there are no

interlopers and there are plenty of hiding places for Sneak attacks or perches

for sniping. Just make sure you bring plenty of sustenance (repair hammers,

potions, soul gems or varla stones, etc.). Nine fights against nine NPCs

kitted out similarly to you is no picnic.

Your reward for defeating the nine is Goldbrand, a long sword with 22 points

of fire damage.

| Clavicus Vile [DQ14]

+----------------------

Requirements: At least level 20

Offering: 500 gold

Reward: Masque of Clavicus Vile, helmet, Fortify Personaltiy 20;

or Umbra, ebony long sword, Soul Trap 120 seconds

Vile's shrine is southwest of Imperial City. If you exit the city to the west

and take the road south, keep your eye to your right (west) as the road begins

to turn east. You should see a wayshrine (if you reach the Ayleid ruin

Vindasel, you've gone too far). From that wayshrine, go almost due west to

find the shrine of Clavicus Vile.

Clavicus wants an offering of 500 gold, which should be peanuts to a 20th or

higher level character. He instructs you to find the sword of a hero named

Umbra and return it to him. In exchange he'll give you a fabulous masque. Your

journal instructs you to begin your search at Pell's Gate. Along the way,

Vile's pet puppy, who now resides in your backpack, will offer some sage words

of wisdom.

Actually, you only need to go to Pell's Gate if you want all the background

story for the quest. (Find Irroke the Wide and ask about Umbra.) The person

now calling herself Umbra resides in Vindasel, an Ayleid ruin located right on

the Red Ring Road not far from the shrine. There's a conjurer and his pet

outside, inside is a straight shot to Umbra, with only low-level wild animals

and a couple of traps in your way. (The first room has a pit trap near the

door; the second main room is a poison gas trap--hug the wall as you go around

the room.)

Umbra can be tough, depending on how you're equipped. You enter her room up on

a balcony, this is an excellent opportunity to Sneak attack with a bow or

ranged spell. She'll come charging up the stairs; have another arrow or spell

ready to meet her. This will shave off a good bit of her health. Don't try

leading her back through the ruins to the traps, she regenerates health, so

that will do you little good.

*NOTE* You can go down and talk to Umbra, but this doesn't help unless you

decide to leave her alone. If you want her sword (for yourself or Clavicus),

don't start the fight face-to-face. That's just stupid.

Now that you have the sword, Vile's hound suggests you keep it. It is, indeed,

a wonderful tool--especially in combination with Azura's Star. However, it has

no damage enhancement, just the soul trap ability. You would need to strike an

enemy with it, then switch to another weapon (or spell) to finish the enemy

off.

So, you have a choice: keep the sword, or return it to Clavicus Vile, where

you get an ugly full-head helmet that increases your Personality by 20 points.

Oh joy. If you decide to keep the sword and don't want the quest sitting in

your open quest list, return to Vile's shrine and refuse to give him the

sword. He'll mutter some threats, but they're hollow. Nothing bad will happen

to you.

| Hermaeus Mora [DQ15]

+----------------------

Requirements: At least level 20

Finished all other daedric quests

Started "Blood of the Daedra" quest in the main story

Offering: None

Reward: Oghma Infinium, special skill book

Mora's shrine is high in the Jerall mountains. If you've been to Sancre Tor

(main story), you can Fast Travel there and find a gully leading north-

northeast straight to the shrine. If not, start from Bruma's North Gate, go

around the west side of the town and find the road heading west. When it

forks, take the right/northwest fork. You should run right past Applewatch

(Dark Brotherhood quests) and Boreal Stone Cave ("A Brotherhood Betrayed").

When you pass over a wood bridge, the path splits again; take the left/north

fork to reach the shrine.

Once you've completed all the other Daedric Lord quests and gotten at least as

far as the "Blood of the Daedra" quest in the main story, you may receive an

invitation to visit Mora. You do not have to wait for that invitation, you can

head straight to the shrine. Activate the shrine to get Mora's quest.

He wants you to collect one soul from each of the ten sentient races (i.e. the

player races). He gives you a special Soul Trap spell and soul gem. You can

only collect one of each soul and you can only collect one soul at a time

(i.e. you can only cast the spell on one NPC at a time). Cast the spell on an

NPC (it's a ranged spell) and then kill that NPC before time (120 seconds)

runs out. The soul will be stored in Mora's special soul gem.

*NOTE* If you do cast the spell on two NPCs at the same time, the quest will

get "stuck" and you won't be able to trap any more souls. Avoid casting on

another NPC until the first one is dead! (Even if it's a race you already

captured.) PC users can download a fix for this bug from:

http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2863

You have several options:

1) Go on a killing spree through a city. Imperial City is a good choice, as

you'll find plenty of representatives of every race within its walls. The

downside is the difficulty (breaking into all those houses) and the risk

(getting caught).

2) Kill the daedric shrine worshippers. They're all alone in the wilderness

(and Mora doesn't care, even if you kill his own worshippers) and you can

definitely find all ten races. Some caveats: don't kill the worshippers at the

shrine of Molag Bal, one of them is the Master level Conjuration trainer. Even

though the killings take place in the wilderness, you still end up with a

bounty and the psychopathic--that is, psychic--guards will chase you the next

time you enter a city.

3) Run down some bandits and marauders. There are numerous bandit camps spread

around Cyrodiil. In addition, you can find bandits in the first level of

Vilverin (Ayleid ruin outside the starting sewer exit); the Cursed Mine just

west of Skingrad and Dzonot Cave, on the southwestern shore of Lake Rumare.

Marauders can be run down in Fort Cedrian (on the Yellow Road where it crosses

the Carbolo River) and Fort Strand (just east of Anvil). You might not

encounter all ten races (Argonians are especially hard to find), but there's

no bounty and you might find some other things as well (Fort Strand plays in

"When the Vow Breaks" and Vilverin is a location for "The Collector").

When you have all ten souls trapped, return to Mora's shrine and Activate the

statue. He gives you the Oghma Infinium, a special skill book. When you read

it, you are asked if you want to read the...

* "Path of Steel": Strength +10, Speed +10, Blade +10, Blunt +10, Heavy Armor

+10

* "Path of Shadow": Speed +10, Agility +10, Sneak +10, Security +10, Light

Armor +10

* "Path of Spirit": Intelligence +10, Destruction +10, Conjuration +10,

Restoration +10

*NOTE* The "Path of Spirit" is also supposed to set your Willpower +10, but

it's bugged, so you just get the INT and skill boosts. PC users can download a

mod to fix this from:

http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=4878

[SQ05]

<~~~~~~ THE FORLORN WATCHMAN ~~~~~~>

The rumor mill in Bravil is rife with the story of a ghost who wanders the

coast of Niben Bay. You're referred to Gilgondorin, proprietor of Silverhome-

on-the-Water. He tells you the ghost appears every evening at 8 at Bawnwatch

camp and marks the camp on your map. It is on a point of land southeast of

Bravil.

Travel there and wait until nightfall and watch the ghost appear. You can't

elicit any information from him, so follow him as he begins his solitary

journey down the shores of Niben Bay. On the cliffs above Fort Irony, the

ghost stops, turns and speaks to you.

He identifies himself as one Grantham Blakeley and requests that you free him

from the "mouth of the Panther". Your journal refers you back to Gilgondorin

for more info on the "mouth of the Panther"; however, it's nothing more than

the point where the Panther River empties into the Niben, which just happens

to be directly east of where you are now, across the river.

Swim across and look for the ruined hulk of a ship among the rocks. You can

enter the upper deck the ship through a hole in the side. Inside you'll meet

your fair share of restless spirits. These aren't quite as amiable as

Grantham.

On this upper deck you'll find a couple of spirits and a hatch up to the

captain's cabin (good loot) and a hatch to the middle deck. You can also find

a logbook that reveals the fate of the ship. Fight your way through the middle

deck to the cargo hold, where you'll dispatch the ghost of the lead mutineer.

From his remains, pick up a small key. This opens a door further back in the

hold and inside is the skeleton of Blakeley.

The key will also unshackle the skeleton, which releases Blakeley's spirit to

pursue more pleasant fields of travel. As parting advice, he says the room

contains a map to his "gratitude". Look on the floor behind the post that was

holding the skeleton. Pick up the map you find there, which will pinpoint a

burial place further up the Panther River. Go upriver, following your

objective marker to the loot, which is lodged between rocks underwater.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ06]

<~~~~~~ THE GHOST SHIP OF ANVIL ~~~~~~>

This is a "simple" step-n-fetch quest. Find the "Serpent's Wake", a ship

docked at Anvil. It's the western-most of the two ships in port. On deck a

distraught Varulae has a sad tale...The ship is hers and she sent it to pick

up a crystal ball that belonged to her mother. When the ship returned, she

found the sailors all murdered and roaming the decks as vengeful spirits.

Work your way through three levels of wraiths, with nasty spells and even

nastier swords and retrieve the crystal ball. Return it to Varulae for your

reward, including an enchanted cutlass.

The murders of the sailors will remain unsolved unless you play through the

Dark Brotherhood quests. In "Following a Lead", you find a diary that

implicates a Brotherhood traitor who lived beneath the Anvil lighthouse. In

his diary he writes:

"I did it, mother! I killed them all! I killed them and I cursed them to

wander their ship in undeath for all eternity! They came to talk to the old

man in the lighthouse. When they saw me, they could have kept walking. But no.

They laughed! They laughed at me, mother! They called me names! They said I

was strange, that I was a human rat, living here in the cellar of the

lighthouse. They did not know who they were dealing with! So I snuck on board,

later that night, and I slit their throats. Every last one of them. So there

the Serpent's Wake sits. The ghost ship of Anvil they'll call it now! Ha ha ha

ha ha!"

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ07]

<~~~~~~ GO FISH ~~~~~~>

This relatively simple quest is picked up outside Imperial City. Heading west,

out of town, past the stables, you'll run into a little hamlet called Weye.

Here you will meet an old man named Aelwin Merowald. He asks for some help.

Seems he has a deal with an alchemist to sell scales from Lake Rumare

slaughterfish. The scales from these particular fish apparently have some rare

alchemical properties.

Unfortunately for Aelwin, a slaughterfish recently got the better of his leg

and he can't go after them any more. He wants you to procure 12 sets of scales

so he can make one last sale and finally retire. Your quest marker now points

to a location in Lake Rumare just north of Weye. You'll need water breathing

potions/spells/equipment (or be an Argonian). Fishing in Oblivion does not

involve a rod and reel.

Walk down into the lake toward your quest marker. Find the first fish, kill it

and take its scales. Killing these fish may not be easy, depending on your

level. They can be quite tough and you can't use targeted spells under water.

After a moment, your quest marker will update and point you to the next fish.

Each fish only spawns once you've killed the previous fish, so you can't just

walk around and run into them, you have to follow the quest marker.

Once you have 12 scales, return to Aelwin and hand them over. He'll give you a

ring with Fortify Athletics and Water Breathing enchantments.

If you're of an evil disposition, you can raise Aelwin's Disposition to 70 and

he'll tell you where he keeps all the money he's earned thus far from selling

scales. You'll need the key he keeps on him to open the chest, so either pick

his pocket or kill him; then, steal his retirement money. You stinker.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ40]

<~~~~~~ GOBLIN TROUBLE ~~~~~~>

Find the spot where the Yellow Road, running southeast from Imperial City,

crosses the Carbolo River. Fort Cedrian is on the east side of the bridge; on

the west side is Crestbridge Camp. In the camp, speak to Barthel Gernand to

get the story. A small family (Gernand, his daughter and his son-in-law) were

trying to start a farm at Cropsford.

Unfortunately, goblins interrupted them. Goblin war parties have overrun

Cropsford. Now, before you run off to Cropsford (northwest of the camp), talk

to Mirisa, a guide helping the Gernand family. She gives you the full scoop. A

tribe of goblins living from Timberscar Hollow (Rock Biter goblins) stole the

tribal totem from the goblins in Cracked Wood Cave (Bloody Hand goblins).

Cropsford is right in the middle of these two caves, and the war parties

traveling back-and-forth wreak havoc on their way.

Mirisa gives you two options for ending the trouble...

1) Kill the shaman in the Cracked Wood Cave. Without their leader, those

goblins won't venture forth to retrieve their totem. You'll probably have to

kill every other goblin in the cave as well, but them's the breaks.

2) Get the totem (a staff with a shrunken head on the end) from Timberscar

Hollow; once the Rock Biters no longer have the totem, the Bloody Hand will

leave them alone. You can pull this off without combat if your Sneak skill is

high enough. There's also a bonus if you retrieve the staff...

Once either mission is complete, return to Crestbridge and speak to Mirisa (if

you stole back the totem) and speak to Gernand. The family thanks you and

heads off to Cropsford to begin re-settling the farm.

What? No reward? Well...no. Here's where retrieving the staff comes in handy.

Take it back and drop it back in Timberscar Hollow, or another goblin tribe's

headquarters. The Bloody Hand will once more take off in pursuit of their

tribal totem. And the Cropsford settlers...well, that's what they get for

leaving you high and dry, right?

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ35]

<~~~~~~ THE GRAVEFINDER'S REPOSE ~~~~~~>

You get this quest by talking to Malene, proprietor of the Roxey Inn on the

north shore of Lake Rumare. She wants you to kill a necromancer named Raelynn,

who operates out of Moss Rock Cavern. The cave is just up the hill, north of

the Inn. It's a single level necromancer + undead hangout. When Raelynn is

dead, return to Malene for a reward.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ08]

<~~~~~~ IMPERIAL CORRUPTION ~~~~~~>

There are two residents of Imperial City, Ruslan and Luronk gro-Glurzog, who

will complain of being shaken down by a corrupt Imperial guard captain. They

were rousted at Jensine's "Good as New" Merchandise in the Market district.

Visit Jensine and boost her Disposition over 70. She'll then tell you the name

of the corrupt soldier: Audens Avidius. Your journal suggests you report

Avidius to the authorities.

If you talk to a soldier, he'll refer you to Captain Hieronymus Lex. (If Lex

has been taken out of the picture because you've been playing through the

Thieves Guild quests, you'll get sent to Servatius Quintilius.) Use your quest

marker to track the captain down. Either one will be dis-interested in your

report and push you along to Itius Hayn.

Hayn wants to believe you, but he needs two witnesses. Your best bets are

Ruslan and gro-Glurzog. You need a Disposition score of 70 with them to

convince them to talk. (Jensine is a tougher nut to crack.) You can use your

quest markers to find the two and send them along to Hayn. Wait for a day.

Your journal should update that Avidius has been arrested and the quest moves

to completed status.

But wait...

Ten days later (or when you hit 5th level, whichever comes later), Avidius

escapes and comes looking for you. He'll find you, wherever you are, and

attack. Unfortunately, he attacks with a dagger and wearing nothing but his

prison clothes.

Idiot.

Once he's dead, the quest is truly complete.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ09]

<~~~~~~ THE KILLING FIELD ~~~~~~>

Visit the Grey Mare in Chorrol to meet Valus Odiil. His sons are on their way

to clean out some "vermin" from the family farm and Valus wants you to go help

them. Leave town by the south gate and go toward Weynon Priory to find the

Odiil boys standing on the road. Talk to Rallus, the older son, his brother

wants nothing to do with you.

Follow them down the road to their farm and stand with them in the vegetable

garden. Kill off three waves of goblins, trying your best to keep the boys

alive. Afterward, speak to Rallus and they will return to Chorrol. Help

yourself to vegetables from the garden to use in potions. (It's not a crime to

take the veggies.)

Return to the Grey Mare and talk to Valus and get Chillrend, an enchanted

sword--but only if both boys survived the goblin raid.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ10]

<~~~~~~ KNIGHTS OF THE WHITE STALLION ~~~~~~>

After completing "Mazoga the Orc", Count Caro offers you and Mazoga positions

as Knights of the White Stallion--if you first kill Black Brugo, leader of the

Black Bow Bandits. (If Mazoga did not survive her earlier encounter at

Fisherman's Rock, you can't perform this quest.)

Talk to Mazoga. She jumps at the chance and she also happens to know where

Brugo has his headquarters and what kind of schedule he keeps. Make your way

to Telepe, an Ayleid ruin northwest of Leyawiin. Make sure you arrive during

the day.

There are two guards, one an annoying archer that fires from the top of the

ruin. You can stand back and trade shots/spells with him, or, go around to the

back of the ruin where a combination of a small ledge and some boulders on the

ground allow you to jump up there with him. Step inside and go down the

stairs. The room to the right has two more Black Bow bandits. Kill them and

collect their bows (Count Caro will pay a bounty for them). Now skulk in the

corner and Wait until after midnight.

Brugo shows up and wonders what happened to his guards. Educate him. He'll

have two cronies with him, but concentrate on him before turning to deal with

the regulars. Take his key, open the gate at the back of the ruin by pushing

the button in the room to the left. Unlock Brugo's treasure chest and take his

portion of the bandit's loot.

Return to Count Caro and sell off the bows you collected (you should have four

or five). Caro makes both you and Mazoga Knights of the White Stallion and

gives you keys to the White Stallion Lodge, which is north of the city on the

west bank of the river. Tell Mazoga, who happily hurries off to settle in.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ11]

<~~~~~~ LEGACY LOST ~~~~~~>

This is a continuation of Separated at Birth. You must complete that quest

before you can begin this quest. Talk to Guilbert Jemane in Chorrol after he

has been reunited with his brother Reynald. He mentions he wants to find his

family's old farm and see if it's still occupied by ogres.

It is.

Prepare yourself before venturing forth. Guilbert doesn't exactly know where

the farm is; so, ask NPCs until one of them mentions Sabine Laul. Sabine hangs

out at the Fighters Guild. Find her and she'll mark the location of the Jemane

family farm, Weatherleah, on your map.

Go to the farm and clear out three ogres wandering the yard outside the house,

then return to Guilbert and escort the brothers to their farm. Talk to

Guilbert again to close out the quest. You can help the Jemane boys one more

time, in the quest Sins of the Father.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ12]

<~~~~~~ LIFTING THE VALE ~~~~~~>

If your Fame score is at least 10, speak to Countess Narina Carvain in Castle

Bruma. She collects Akaviri artifacts and has partially tracked down one

called the Draconian Madstone. The artifact is supposedly at Pale Pass, an

Akaviri headquarters during the wars against Reman during the First Era. The

Countess will, in fact, relate nearly all the ancient history to you if you're

willing to listen.

The upshot is, Carvain has an Akaviri courier's journal along with directions

to Dragonclaw Rock. From the Rock, you can follow the directions west to a

giant statue and then north to the entrance to Serpent's Trail. This is,

basically, a tunnel inhabited by several ogres. Along the way you'll find the

courier's skeleton. Take the orders from the body and proceed.

You exit Serpent's Trail into Pale Pass. The path is constantly blocked by

ogres, so you're either in for a dozen or more rough fights or you need to

sneak a lot. You'll finally reach the Fortress of Pale Pass, which is guarded

by two more ogres. These you'll have to dispatch so they don't follow you into

the ruins.

Inside you'll be in the "Mouth of the Serpent". Your goal is the "Venom of the

Serpent" and here's the quickest route to your objective. Go down the stairs

and watch out for the swinging log trap at the bottom. Just past the trap,

turn left and follow the hallway around until it crosses over where you just

were. You have to make a running jump across the gap to reach a door to the

"Scales of the Serpent".

In Scales, follow the hall straight until you are forced to turn left; then,

continue straight to a raised bridge. Use the nearby lever to lower the bridge

and go across to the "Fangs of the Serpent". You are facing a group of

columns, some of which have arrow traps. To safely go around the columns, hug

the right-side wall until you reach another raised bridge.

TRAPPED COLUMNS

Fangs of the Serpent

___ A ___ A,B = Doors to "Eyes of the Serpent"

| | C = Door to "Scales of the Serpent"

| O OX| O = Column

B | X = Area covered by arrow trap

| OXXXXXOX| D = Drawbridge

| X D

|XO O |

C X X |

| O O |

|_________|

Turn the wheel to lower the bridge, go across and turn left to reach Venom.

Inside is the spirit of the Akaviri commander, Mishaxhi. Talk to him. If you

have the orders you picked up earlier, you can give them to him and he'll

depart, taking his undead warriors with him. The way is now open to the

Draconian Madstone.

You can also attempt to kill Mishaxhi, but that's going to be a difficult

task. Either way, once you have the Madstone, take the door just to the right

of the Madstone and you'll come back out in Scales, right above the bridge you

lowered earlier. Go back out the way you came in. Once you're outdoors, you

can Fast Travel back to Bruma and give the Madstone to Countess Carvain. She

rewards you with the Ring of the Vipereye, which has Fortify Agility and

Resist Magicka enchantments.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ13]

<~~~~~~ MAZOGA THE ORC ~~~~~~>

You can find Mazoga hanging around Castle Leyawiin, making a nuisance of

herself. If you try to talk to her, she'll refuse since you aren't the count.

Talk to the count instead about "Service to Leyawiin". He asks you to find out

what Mazoga wants and deal with it.

When you talk to Mazoga again, you can now represent the count and Mazoga

launches into her tale; or, at least, part of it. She wants to see a hunter

named Weebam-Na. Mssr. Na has a house that is not far from the castle's

entrance. You'll need to get his Disposition over 50 in order for him to agree

to go see Mazoga with you.

Mazoga wants Weebam-Na to guide her to a camp at Fisherman's Rock, a ways up

the Niben River. Weebam-Na refuses since Mazoga won't say why she needs to get

to Fisherman's Rock. She then appeals to you, telling you a bit more of the

story. Leave by the Northeast Gate and trek upriver along the east bank until

you reach the camp at Fisherman's Rock, which is occupied by bandits.

Mazoga will jump ahead and carry on a conversation with the bandit leader. As

soon as the two of them start in with the fighting, join in, keeping the

minions off Mazoga's back. Return to Castle Leyawiin and report in to the

Count. He is pleased by the adventure and offers both you and Mazoka positions

as Knights of the White Stallion...If you first complete the quest by the same

name.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ41]

<~~~~~~ NO STONE UNTURNED ~~~~~~>

Lithnilian has lost his notes and doesn't know where to find them. Well,

actually, he does know where they are, he just can't get them. Lithnilian was

researching welkynd stones found in a cave--not an Ayleid ruin--when he was

attacked and ran, leaving his journal behind. He wants you to go get it for

him. You'll find this absent-minded professor at the Imperial Bridge Inn, on

the north bank of the Silverfish River (east of Bravil), just east of the

Yellow Road.

The journal is in a creature lair known as Bramblepoint Cave. This cave is

west-northwest of the Imperial Bridge Inn. It's a three-level dungeon full of

both wild animals and mythic creatures. From your starting point, go north

from the first room to reach Inner Bramblepoint Cave.

In this second level, go south from the second room and find a door in the

"pit" of the room beyond. This leads to Deep Bramblepoint Cave. Go south from

the entrance and continue south to reach the "boss" room. On the far (south)

wall, you'll see the welkynd stone cluster the elf was studying. His notes are

to the left (southwest corner) of the stones, inside a chest.

When you return the notes to Lithnilian, he gives you a few potions as a

reward.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ36]

<~~~~~~ NOTHING YOU CAN POSSESS ~~~~~~>

This sequel to "The Collector" begins after Umbacano has three statues. He

offers you "another task", to collect a carving from an ancient Ayleid site he

knows only as the High Fane. He shows you a sketch, which may or may not mean

anything to you.

The High Fane is now known as Malada. If you previously visited Malada or have

read the book, "The Cleansing of the Fane", your character will immediately

recognize Umbacano's sketch and you'll know where to go. If not, you'll find

out quite quickly.

As you leave Umbacano's estate, you'll meet Claude Maric. If you already know

about Malada, you can ignore him. Otherwise, charm his Disposition to 60 and

Maric will tell you all about High Fane and Malada. Malada is just about as

far east as you can go in Cyrodiil. Find the Silverfish River on your world

map, and then Lake Canulus to the southeast. Due north of the 'k' in "Lake" is

Malada.

Approaching from the west, you'll find a couple of "hunters" and a small

campsite. These two don't have anything to say, but, on a hill south of

Malada's entrance is a Khajiit, S'razirr. Question him and he'll offer you a

deal: he'll help you out in whatever goes down later if you'll give him half

your pay. (If your Speechcraft skill is 51 or higher, you can bargain him down

to 25 percent.)

These three are Maric's hired guns and you'll have to fight them when you

leave Malada with the carving. (Under no circumstances does Maric try to fight

you.) You have a few options:

1) Do nothing about the mercs. When you leave Malada, hand the carving to

Maric. You lose out on the reward.

2) Do nothing about the mercs. When you leave Malada, refuse (twice) to hand

over the carving, and you'll have to kill the three mercs. (Maric doesn't

fight.)

3) Kill all three mercs before entering Malada. (You'll find a note outlining

the plan on the female warrior, Rigmor.) Maric will not show his face when you

leave Malada.

4) Make the deal with S'razirr. When you leave Malada, refuse (twice) to hand

over the carving. S'razirr will join you in fighting Rigmor and Brucetus

Festinius. If the cat survives, you'll find him later at the Tiber Septim

hotel and can pay him off. (Note that, if you make the deal with S'razirr and

then attack the other two before entering Malada, S'razirr will join them and

you'll have to kill him as well.)

Getting the carving from Malada is relatively simple. On the first level are

mainly wild animals and a couple undead. When you reach the carving on the

second level, removing it causes the wall in front of you to crumble and

reveals three fairly high-level undead. If you Sneak run real fast back the

way you came, you don't even have to fight them.

Return the carving to Umbacano, who rewards you based on your level (to a

maximum of 2,500 gold). He also mentions yet "another task", which starts

"Secrets of the Ayleids".

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ14]

<~~~~~~ ORDER OF THE VIRTUOUS BLOOD ~~~~~~>

While wandering around the Temple district of Imperial City, you'll be met by

one Ralsa Norvalo. She asks that you meet her husband, Gilen, at the house of

an elf named Seridur. Seridur lives in the Temple district.

Enter his house and Seridur takes you down to the basement and introduces you

to the Order of the Virtuous blood. They're vampire hunters.

Oh, goody.

They've identified a vampire, one Roland Jenseric. Jenseric's house is across

the garden from Seridur; break-and-enter to search the place. On the table

near the door is a book, and there is a note on top of the book. Pick up the

note to learn the location of a cabin hideaway used by Jenseric.

This cabin is east-northeast of Imperial City, along the road to Cheydinhal.

When you enter, Jenseric wants to talk. He, of course, claims Seridur is the

vampire and gives a little different story. Who's telling the truth? Well,

Roland is, but you can kill him anyway and return to Seridur for a reward.

Or, you can believe Roland. He suggests asking about Seridur at First Edition

Books in the Market district. Do so. Phintias, proprietor of First Edition,

reports that Seridur likes to visit Memorial Cave to the southeast.

When you enter the cave, your journal updates that you've found a vampire

lair. Uh huh. Remember, fire is your friend when fighting vampires and make

sure you visit a chapel after you finish to rid yourself of porphyric

hemophilia. You've got a bunch of animals, some undead and several vampires--

including Seridur--to dispatch.

Return to Roland at his cabin and inform him of the good news. Meet him back

in Imperial City at Seridur's house. The Order of the Virtuous Blood is going

to carry on the good work of hunting vampires. From now on, they'll pay you

250 gold for any vampire dust you bring them, starting with what you picked up

at Memorial Cave.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ15]

<~~~~~~ ORIGIN OF THE GRAY PRINCE ~~~~~~>

The Gray Prince is Agronak gro-Malog, Grand Champion of the Arena, and he

spends his time down in the Bloodworks, working out. Talk to him and he

professes he's the half-son of a Lord Lovidicus. He gives you a key, given him

by his mother, and asks that you find out what it unlocks in Crowhaven, the

place of his birth.

Crowhaven is at the extreme west end of Cyrodiil, northwest of Anvil. It's

essentially a one-level dungeon (a second level has a trifling amount of loot

and some undead encounters). You'll find it filled with wild animals, mostly

wolves, until you come to a locked door. gro-Malog's key opens the door and

you've found the quarters of Lovidicus himself.

Lovidicus will attack you on sight, and you'll have to kill him. Find his

journal to learn the truth; then, return it to gro-Malog. He gives you an

initial reward, which is training that boosts your Blade, Block and Athletics

skills by 3 pints. Then, he reads the journal and he's distraught at what he

learns. If you play through the Arena, gro-Malog will beg you to challenge

him; then, surrender to your sword during the match.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ16]

<~~~~~~ PARANOIA ~~~~~~>

Not long after you've entered Skingrad the first time, you'll be approached by

a nervous elf named Glarthir. He wants you to meet him behind the Chapel of

Julianos at midnight. You can go any day--Glarthir dutifully shows up at

midnight every night until you meet him. When you do meet him, he tells you

there are people out to get him and he wants you to spy on them.

If you turn Glarthir down, he goes crazy, runs back to his house, gets a

battleaxe and goes on a killing spree. His targets are the three people he

wants you to spy on: Bernadette Peneles, Toutius Sextius and Davide Surilie

(whose wine you've seen all over Cyrodiil). You can do a few things here: wait

until he attacks his first victim, then step in and kill him (if you kill him

before he attacks it is considered murder); run along behind him and watch

until the city guard finally catches up to him and kills him; or, help him out

(you'll have to pretty much depopulate Skingrad if you go this route).

The other option is to humor Glarthir. He'll ask you to spy on Bernadette

Peneles, then report back at midnight the next night. You don't have to

actually do anything, just Wait until midnight and report in. The same is true

of Toutius Sextius and Davide Surilie.

If you tell Glarthir none of the targets is interested in him, which they

aren't, he believes you're in on the plot and tries to kill you...with his

fists, and not wearing any armor. Well, that won't end pleasantly--for him,

anyway. You can loot his corpse and get the key to his house, which you can

then loot for whatever you can find.

If you lie and report even one target as a spy, Glarthir offers a reward of

1,000 gold if you kill any conspirators. You can make the hit and collect the

reward; you can turn the note over to the constabulary, who will chase after

Glarthir and give him the pointed end of justice; or, you can show the note to

Davide Surilie, who, along with his brothers, will deal with the matter

personally.

So, basically, anything you do ends with Glarthir dead. Simply Waiting one day

at a time and reporting the truth is, thus, the quickest way to end this

quest.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ42]

<~~~~~~ THE POTATO SNATCHER ~~~~~~>

Faregyl is an Inn along the Green Road between Imperial City and Bravil. It's

just northwest of the Inn of Ill Omen, part of the Dark Brotherhood's

initiation quest (and east of Nenyond Twyll, from the Mages Guild quests).

Inside is S'jirra, a baker of famous potato bread. She's lost six jumbo

potatoes and thinks the thief took off to the west.

Indeed. Follow your quest marker to an ogre with an addiction to spuds and

take the potatoes (undigested) off his body. Return them to S'jirra, who

rewards you with her potato bread (an alchemy ingredient with Damage Agility,

Damage Strength, Detect Life and Restore Health effects).

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ34]

<~~~~~~ RAID ON GREYLAND ~~~~~~>

Outside the West Gate of Leyawiin stands a guard, Lerexus Callidus. Talk to

him to open this quest. Basically, he's trying to shut down a skooma (drug)

gang that operates out of the little homestead of Greyland. He can't get close

to the house without the gang going into hiding, but figures you might be able

to walk right in and "deal with" (i.e. kill) them.

You can. Greyland is just south along the main road. Enter the house and kill

gang leader Kylius Lonavo and his buddy. Take Lonavo's ring to Callidus for

your reward.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ17]

<~~~~~~ REPAIRING THE ORRERY ~~~~~~>

This quest is added as soon as you load a game after having installed the

official mod Orrery DLC2; or, installing the Knights of the Nine mini-

expansion pack. (See the Mods section for information on obtaining the mod.)

After installing the mod, the next time you load a game (or leave the tutorial

sewers), you get a note from Bothiel, resident astronomer at Arcane

University.

It seems she is attempting to repair the Imperial Orrery, an astronomical

device, but parts she was having delivered were stolen. Evidence points to

Camp Ales as a possible base for the bandits who stole the parts. Camp Ales is

due north of Kvatch. Travel there and kill the lone bandit inhabiting the

place. From his body, get an undelivered message and the first Dwarven part.

The message points you to four other camps: Dagny's Camp, Brotch Camp, Bodean

Camp and Varus Camp. These camps are arranged in a rectangular pattern around

Ales. Travel to each one and kill the bandit or bandits you find there. From

one of the bodies in each camp, retrieve a Dwarven part for the Orrery. At the

last camp you visit, you'll face the bandit leader and two minions, so prep

for a major battle before entering the camp.

After all five Dwarven parts are in your pockets, Fast Travel to Arcane

University. If you have not completed the Mages Guild Recommendations quests,

Bothiel will be waiting for you, during normal hours, in the Arch Mages Lobby.

(The only place open to the general public.) If you are a member of the Mages

Guild with access to Arcane University, you may find Bothiel elsewhere. Just

use your objective marker to track her down.

After delivering the parts, Wait until the next day and visit Bothiel again.

She'll give you a key to the Orrery, which is accessible from a door in the

Arch Mages Lobby. Go up to the Orrery and Activate it.

Once activated, the Orrery will permanently grant you a greater power

depending on the phase of the moon. Just Activate the Orrery any time you want

to gain a power. These powers are just like racial powers: use them once per

24 hours; each has a duration of 60 seconds.

To figure out which power you will get, look up the number of days that have

passed since you started the game (available on the Accomplishments tab of

your Stats menu). If the number of days passed is greater than 23, divide by

24 and look at the remainder (modulus).

* Days 0, 1 & 2 - Masser's Might: Strength +20, Speed -20

* Days 3, 4 & 5 - Masser's Grace: Agility +20, Endurance -20

* Days 6, 7 & 8 - Secunda's Will: Willpower +20, Intelligence -20

* Days 9, 10 & 11 - Secunda's Opportunity: Luck +20, Personality -20

* Days 12, 13 & 14 - Masser's Alacrity: Speed +20, Strength -20

* Days 15, 16 & 17 - Secunda's Magnetism: Personality +20, Luck -20

* Days 18, 19 & 20 - Secunda's Brilliance: Intelligence +20, Willpower -20

* Days 21, 22 & 23 - Masser's Courage: Endurance +20, Agility -20

Example 1: 83 days have passed since you started the game. 83/24 = 3 remainder

11. The power granted on day 11 is Secunda's Opportunity. Example 2: 120 days

have passed since you started the game. 120/24 = 5 remainder 0. The power

granted on day 0 is Masser's Might.

You can only have one power at a time. Each time you use the Orrery, whatever

Orrery-granted power you currently have will be replaced by the new Orrery

power.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ43]

<~~~~~~ REVENGE SERVED COLD ~~~~~~>

This is a goblin-genocide quest given by a bereaved husband. Corrick Northwode

lives on a small farm called Harm's Folly. This single-dwelling farmstead is

north of the Blue Road, halfway between Imperial City and Cheydinhal. It's

right on top of the 'n' in "Heartlands" on your world map.

During the day, you'll find Northwode kneeling in front of his wife's grave to

the side of the house. Speak to him and he'll ask you to wipe out the goblins

that killed his wife; and, he wants you to bring back her jade amulet so he

has something to remember her by.

The goblins are holed up in the Exhausted Mine, just a little to the

southwest. This is the three-level, very linear dungeon filled with goblins.

The jade amulet is on the body of the "Netherboss" (after you kill him, of

course) in the last room of the third level. There's no shortcut back out, so

you'll have to retrace your steps.

Return to Northwode, who gives you a handful of gems as a reward.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ37]

<~~~~~~ SECRETS OF THE AYLEIDS ~~~~~~>

Once you've obtained the carving in "Nothing You Can Possess", Umbacano asks

you to do something else for him. He wants the crown of the last Ayleid king;

but, you can't just go dungeon-crawling for this one. The crown is owned by

another collector, Herminia Cinnia. Umbacano gives you 1,000 gold to get the

crown and tells you to keep whatever you don't spend on the crown.

First, don't take this quest until you've finished "The Collector". Umbacano

ends up dead, so he won't be able to pay you for any more statues, or the

5,000 gold bonus for all ten if you finish this quest before finishing the

first quest. Second, Cinnia is not going to sell you the crown. Whether or not

you even bother to talk to her depends on how much work you want to do.

| Option #1

+-----------

Steal the crown from Cinnia. She lives in the Elven Gardens district, near the

southeast corner. Her door faces the east wall of the district. Cinnia wanders

the town most days, but you're still better off breaking in during the middle

of the night, when she's asleep. You'll have to pick the lock on her front

door, the lock on her bedroom door and the lock on the Ayleid cask in the

corner. Take the crown to Umbacano, who now asks that you accompany him

through Nenalata, the city of the last Ayleid king. He'll meet you there in

three days.

| Option #2

+-----------

Use your quest marker to track down Herminia Cinnia, who wanders around town

most of the time. Talk to her about the crown and she'll tell you Umbacano

isn't just a collector, but a man obsessed with returning the Ayleid

civilization to power. She suspects the Crown of Nenalata that she has will

make Umbacano too dangerous.

She suggests an alternative--take Umbacano a fake crown. She gives you the key

to another ruin, Lindai, and tells you to get that crown. Lindai is due east

of Castle Chorrol, in the Great Forest. There is a rather large number of

undead spread over two levels. You are confronted immediately with two sets of

swinging blade traps, and it's only going to get worse. Watch your step.

The second large room has a pit trap in the center, and the third has three--

yes, three--ceiling crusher traps laid out in a row. If you walk to the far

(northwest) edge of the middle crusher trap and step onto it, you'll be pushed

into the cavity in the ceiling, but there are no spikes, so you won't be hurt.

What you will see is a pushbutton. Activate it to open the side rooms below

and collect a boss chest for your trouble.

Beyond the crusher traps is the door to the Inner Tombs. Nothing remarkable

here except a boss undead guarding the cask containing the crown of Lindai.

Exit the boss' room to the southeast for a shortcut back to the beginning of

the dungeon. Careful going through the door, there will be an undead right on

top of you as you come out of the Tombs. Return the crown to Umbacano, who

seems doubtful, but accepts it as the real deal. He asks you to meet him at

Nenalata in three days.

| Nenalata

+----------

You don't have to wait a full three days. Umbacano shows up at Nenalata on the

morning of the third day, counting the day you turned over the crown. E.g. if

you gave him the crown in the evening of Saturday (Loredas), he'll be at

Nenalata by Monday morning (Morndas). Claude Maric shows up the day before,

saying Umbacano wants the both of you to escort him through the ruins.

Nenalata is full of undead, often in pairs. If you are high level, you'll get

summoning undead (skeleton champions and liches), which means the possibility

of four-on-one battles. You may appreciate having Maric and Umbacano help you.

On the other hand, if Umbacano dies, the mission is over. While he does have

healing magic, you might want to tell him to Wait Here and clean out the

dungeon on your own--especially if you rely on Stealth and ranged kills.

Nenalata is very linear and there are no traps. Just lots and lots of leveled

undead. When you reach the third level, Sel Aran Arpena, you'll find a slot

that fits the carving you obtained in "Nothing You Can Possess". Umbacano

places the carving, incants and a door to the throne room opens.

(If you're using a Detect Life spell, you may be alarmed at the life forms

showing around the throne room. Get ready...)

Umbacano sits on the throne, puts on the crown and incants. If you gave him

the Lindai crown, the dark welkynd stones around the room kill him. If you

gave him the Nenalata crown, he transforms into the King of Nenalata, a lich.

If you gave him the correct crown, step up close while he's transforming and

whack him hard and fast. He should go down easily.

Now, regardless of which crown he used, wait for the doors to the side rooms

(one each north, east and south) to open, then run to the north side room as

fast as you can. Run up the stairs in the north wall.

You have two choices: run like crazy--at the top of the stairs is a shortcut

back to the beginning of Nenalata and sweet safety. Or, turn and use the

stairwell to channel the undead to you one at a time. If you stay down in the

throne room, you and Maric (if he survived) will be mobbed by six undead. (If

you're high level, they'll all be summoners and it will be twelve undead.

Think about that before you decide to stand and fight in the throne room.)

The quest ended when Umbacano died. Your reward was whatever you Magickaged to

pull out of the dungeon. If you kill all the undead in the throne room, you

can loot Umbacano's corpse for a lot of very nice items. You'll also get the

keys to his manor, which means you can Sneak in and steal back all the statues

you previously collected for him, as well as whatever other filthy lucre you

can find.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ44]

<~~~~~~ SEEKING YOUR ROOTS ~~~~~~>

You kick this quest off the first time you find a nirnroot plant. Nirnroot is

a rare alchemical ingredient, and, unlike other flora in Cyrodiil, it does not

grow back after you pick it. (Also, there's a 100% chance of success

harvesting it, which is also different from other plants.) Your journal

suggests you see an alchemist about the plant. Any alchemist you talk to is

going to kick you over to Sinderion in Skingrad, so just go to him first.

Sinderion lives and works in the basement of the West Weald Inn. You'll find

the Inn near the West Gate of Skingrad. Sinderion is excited about the plant

and tells you all about a rare Elixir of Exploration he can make using the

plants. He needs 10 for the first level of the Elixir. There are four Elixirs

in all:

* Weak (requires 10 nirnroots): Fortify Health 20, Night Eye, 300 sec duration

* Moderate (requires 20 nirnroots): Fortify Health & Fatigue 20, Night Eye,

300 sec duration

* Strong (requires 30 nirnroots): Fortify Health & Fatigue 20, Night Eye,

Fortify Blade, Blunt, Destruction, Restoration, Sneak & Security 5, 300 sec

duration

* Grand (requires 40 nirnroots): Fortify Health & Fatigue 20, Night Eye,

Fortify Blade, Blunt, Destruction, Restoration, Sneak & Security 10, 300 sec

duration

Each level of the potion requires the full number of nirnroot plants, so, to

get the Grand potion, you'll have to collect a total of 100 nirnroots (10 + 20

+ 30 + 40). And, they aren't that easy to find. Sinderion points you to

Shadeleaf Copse, just north of Skingrad. You can, indeed, find three nirnroot

plants around the pond in the copse. As for the rest...

Nirnroot is most commonly found near water, and is usually growing among

rocks. However, there's a lot of water in Cyrodiil--and most of the shore is

lined with rocks. You can also find nirnroot in some flooded dungeons and even

in some houses. Here's a partial list (if you find others, feel free to

contribute their locations):

* Just beyond your sewer exit at the start of the game

* In the Mages Guild well that's part of the Cheydinhal Recommendation quest

* Near the entrance to Wellspring Cave, east of Imperial City, on the opposite

shore of Lake Rumare

* In the Border Watch Inn (you visit Border Watch for Sheogorath's quest)

* On the southwestern shore of Lake Rumare, just south of Fort Virtue

* In Anvil, near the statue next to the main gate

* Dairihill's bedroom; Dairihill is the steward in Castle Anvil, you'll invade

her office during the Thieves Guild quest "Taking Care of Lex", her bedroom is

behind her office

* Next to the entrance to Redwater Slough, on the Panther River's easternmost

north branch

* Near the entrance to Tidewater Cave, at the southern end of Cyrodiil (beyond

Leyawiin)

* In the moat in the Arboretum of Imperial City

* Arch-Mage's quarters in Arcane University

* At the eastern end of the Old Bridge along the southern shore of Lake Rumare

* Near Culotte, an Ayleid ruin on the east shore of the Upper Niben

* On the top floor of Silverhome-on-the-Water in Bravil

* On the second floor of the Bravil Fighters Guild

* In the Wizard's Grotto that is part of the Thieves Guild quest "Arrow of

Extrication"

* In Baenlin's bedroom in his house in Bruma (part of the Dark Brotherhood

"Accidents Happen" quest)

* At the mouth of the Panther River, near the wrecked ship

* Inside Fort Cedrian along the Carbolo River

* In Cheydinhal, on the island in the river that cuts through town

* In the Gilded Carafe, Imperial City, Market District

* In the captain's cabin of the Marie Elena, the northernmost ship docked at

Imperial City's Waterfront, part of the Dark Brotherhood quest "A Watery

Grave"

* Near the entrance to Welke, an Ayleid Ruin on the Panther River's

southernmost branch, two more are across the Panther from Welke

* Near the entrance to Fort Irony, on the west shore of Niben Bay south of

Bravil

* On the shore of Imperial City's Waterfront, just beyond the north section of

the docks, near the ship Marie Elena

* In the Smuggler's Cave under Castle Anvil

* In the Hunter's Run, the dungeon under Fort Grief, part of "Caught in the

Hunt"

* In Lord Rugdumph's Estate, part of the Fighters Guild quest "The Noble's

Daughter"

* Along the coast near the Anvil lighthouse.

* Along the western side of the small island just off the coast west of Anvil.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ18]

<~~~~~~ SEPARATED AT BIRTH ~~~~~~>

Talk to NPCs around Chorrol and find out they've seen the local drunk, Reynald

Jemane, in Cheydinhal--sober no less. When confronted in Cheydinhal, he claims

he doesn't know his buddies from Chorrol. Track down Reynald, who will give

you 50 gold to go to Cheydinhal and find out who's impersonating him.

Travel to Cheydinhal and ask around about Reynald Jemane. The people in this

town don't know a Reynald, but they do know a Guilbert Jemane. Find him and

you'll learn some history of these two brothers. Guilbert will go to Chorrol;

return there after a couple of days, once the brothers have had a chance at a

reunion. Track down Guilbert in Chorrol and talk to him to finish this quest,

and start the next in the series...Legacy Lost.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ19]

<~~~~~~ SHADOW OVER HACKDIRT ~~~~~~>

Whilst wandering about Chorrol, you may meet an Argonian named Dar-Ma. Be

polite to her and you get instant 20-point Disposition increases with both

Dar-Ma and her mother, who runs Northern Goods and Trade. At least three days

later, provided you've left Chorrol for another city and then returned, you'll

be able to talk to Seed-Neeus, the mother, and find out Dar-Ma is missing.

(If you failed to talk to Dar-Ma earlier, or were impolite to her, then you'll

have to pick up the rumors of Dar-Ma going missing and then confront her

mother with this information.)

Seed-Neeus explains Dar-Ma went to make a delivery to Hackdirt, a little

village to the south. She's overdue for her return. Head out the south gate of

Chorrol and make your way to Hackdirt. This nasty little town is filled with

even nastier people.

You can poke around town, talking to people identified by Seed-Neeus. You can

find Dar-Ma's horse, Blossom. You can even find Dar-Ma's diary in a room in

the Moslin Inn. But, in the end, none of this leads anywhere, except the

conclusion something is badly wrong in Hackdirt.

The lone help you get is from Jiv Hiriel. Find him and speak to him. He says

to come meet him at his house between 6pm and midnight. Show up on schedule

and he'll fill you in on the whole story. There are still things left unsaid.

Who are the Deep Ones? What are the Brethren changing into?

--

As many people have pointed out, this quest is a take-off of a novella by H.

P. Lovecraft, "Shadow Over Innsmouth". In Innsmouth, the people worship a fish

god, Dagon, and are turning into fish people. You can read more about "Shadow

Over Innsmouth" here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_Over_Innsmouth

--

In any case, Hiriel gives you a key to the Hackdirt caverns and tells you to

wait until the middle of the night and use the trapdoor in Moslin's Inn.

Excellent advice. Wait until 2 or 3 in the morning, then enter the Inn and

find the trapdoor.

Drop down into the caverns and, right around the corner, is the cell with Dar-

Ma. Release her using your trapdoor key and head back to the surface. Find

Blossom behind the Dry Goods store and Dar-Ma will mount up. You can then lead

her back to Chorrol. Once you've reunited mother and daughter, Seed-Neeus

gives you a +5 increase to your Mercantile skill.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ20]

<~~~~~~ SINS OF THE FATHER ~~~~~~>

This is, essentially, the third and final part of the Jemane brothers' quests

(begun in Separated at Birth and continued in Legacy Lost). The quest begins a

few days after you've dropped the Jemane boys at Weatherleah. The next time

you're in Chorrol and out and about at night, you'll be approached by one

Fathis Ules, a Thieves Guild fence.

Seems the Jemane's father wasn't a noble and honorable man, but a thief who

decided to keep his last score rather than fence it to Fathis. Fathis knows

the item was stored at Weatherleah and suspects the ogres took it back to

their home cave after sacking the place.

They did.

Fathis points out Redguard Valley Cave on your map; it is due south of

Chorrol. Travel to the cave and take care of the goblins guarding the door.

Inside, the cave is infested with ogres. You have to find the ogre chieftain

and kill him to retrieve the Honorblade of Chorrol. You get a journal entry

that suggests you might want to see someone in the castle about this.

You can sell it to Fathis Ules, for a rather large amount of gold. You can

keep it for yourself (though this leaves the quest as incomplete). Preferably,

you will head for Castle Chorrol and see the steward, Laythe Wavrick. He

identifies the sword, takes it from you, and gives you the Escutheon of

Chorrol shield (Fortify Endurance and Reflect Damage) in return.

If you handed the sword over to Wavrick, head out to Weatherleah and visit the

Jemane boys. Talking to Guilbert nets you an additional reward as well as his

thanks.

GLITCH WARNING: If you complete this quest in any way other than selling the

sword to Fathis Ules; then, Fathis won't talk to you--even if you join the

Thieves Guild and want to fence items with him. You can get around this by

wearing the Gray Cowl to talk to him; or, PC users can download a fan-made fix

for this problem:

http://www.tessource.net/files/file.php?id=2106

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ21]

<~~~~~~ THE SIREN'S DECEPTION ~~~~~~>

Rumors in Anvil mention a gang of women preying on married men. When you

pursue the topic, you are pointed to Maelona. You may also run into Maelona

before hearing the rumors. Either way, talk to Maelona about her husband,

Gogan's, involvement with these women. Seems they took a family heirloom and

Maelona wants you to get it back. She points you to The Flowing Bowl as the

base of operations for the gang.

The Flowing Bowl is a tavern in the docks area outside the southwest gate in

Anvil. Enter and wait a bit. You'll be approached by either Faustina Cartia or

Signy Home-Wrecker. If you're male, you'll be tempted with delights beyond

your wildest dreams. If you're female, you'll be offered a position with the

gang.

Either way, you're invited to the Gweden farmhouse at 11:00 that evening.

Travel to the farmhouse, southeast of Anvil and now marked on your map, and

enter during the 11pm hour. You'll talk to Faustina. Regardless of your gender

and the original reason for the invitation, the talk ends in violence.

You'll have to fight Faustina, Signy and a third member of the gang, Tsarinna.

This part is difficult because you're confined to the small farmhouse and have

three foes to deal with. Anything you can do to immobilize one or two while

you work on the others is a good thing.

When all three are dead, Maelona and her "husband" Gogan enter the farmhouse,

in their normal work clothes: uniforms of the Anvil city guard. They've been

working undercover trying to stop the gang and decided to use you as bait.

Nice, ain't it? Loot the bodies for a key to the basement and go check it out.

It's filled with the swag collected by the gang in earlier conquests, so help

yourself.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ45]

<~~~~~~ THE SUNKEN ONE ~~~~~~>

Just northeast of Kvatch you'll find an abandoned homestead named Shetcombe

Farm. When you enter the house, you get a journal entry saying you should

search for clues to the whereabouts of the occupant. On the table, inside a

bowl, is a page torn from a journal. This identifies the owner as Slythe

Seringi, and he has gone to Sandstone Cavern to make a sacrifice to "The

Sunken One".

You'll find Sandstone Cavern northeast of the farm; it's a two-level creature

dungeon. From the first room, take the south exit and continue until you reach

a room divided by a chasm. After killing the beasties upstairs, drop down into

the chasm and look for a treasure chest along the west wall. On top of the

chest is a second page from Seringi's journal. Pick up the page in order to

advance the quest.

Go south through the chasm to enter Sandstone Big Caverns. Go straight through

the first room (down into and then back out of the pit) to enter another chasm

where you find Seringi's body. Activating his corpse not only lets you find

the last page of his journal, it also triggers the Sunken One--a storm

atronach--who spawns in right behind you.

When you retrace your steps, going through the first chasm with the treasure

chest takes you to an alternate route out of the dungeon. Your reward is

whatever you collected in Sandstone Cavern.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ32]

<~~~~~~ TEARS OF THE SAVIOR ~~~~~~>

Talk to S'drassa, the hooded Khajiit at the Leyawiin Mages Guild. He collects

crystals. He's looking for a specific crystal known as Garridan's Tear. He

wants you to track some down for him. He suggests you visit Julienne Fanis at

Arcane University for a lead.

Fanis will be found in the Arch-Mage's Lobby, the publicly accessible part of

the university. Fanis can give you the full legend; or, you can shortcut

directly to the useful information which is to read a book called

"Knightfall". First Edition in the Market district should have a copy. Buy the

book from Phintias and Frostfire Glade will be marked on your map.

You need two things before you start out: refined frost salts and some type of

protection from frost damage. You can buy the refined frost salts from Fanis

over at Arcane University. S'drassa will give you five potions of frost

immunity. You are now ready to go to Frostfire Glade.

The glade is southeast of Bruma, almost halfway to Cheydinhal. You first go

through a cave with a few daedra; then, enter the glade. In the center of this

area is the hero, Garridan, frozen in battle with a frost atronach. There's

also a non-frozen frost atronach waiting for you. In a circle around the ice

sculpture is the area where you need frost resistance; else you'll take

serious damage.

There are five tears, which are elongated blue crystals that can be difficult

to find lying on the ground. Here's a map showing the crystals' locations:

http://www.papagamer.com/files/frostfire_glade.png

Note that one crystal is actually up on top of the rocks supporting the ice

sculpture and, just below that, another is hidden on the ground among some

rocks. One tip: try to draw the frost atronach out of the center area and kill

it outside the frost circle. If you kill it inside, it may fall on one of the

crystals, and then good luck finding it. Return all five crystals to S'drassa

for your reward.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ22]

<~~~~~~ THROUGH A NIGHTMARE, DARKLY ~~~~~~>

While not part of the Mages Guild quests, you can get this task once you've

finished the Bravil Recommendation for the Mages Guild. After completing that

quest for Kud-Ei, speak to her again. She'll ask that you help her friend,

Henantier. You can also get this quest by speaking to various NPCs around

Bravil until one of the rumors concerns the missing Henantier.

Speak to Kud-Ei about Henantier and she'll explain he is trapped, but she

knows where he is. Agree to follow her to Henantier's house, where you find

the unfortunate fellow trapped in his own dreams. Kud-Ei gives you Henantier's

Dream Amulet. Equip it; then, rest in the bed next to Henantier.

You find yourself next to Henantier in a dream-version of his house. There are

four portals: Tests of Patience and Perception upstairs, Tests of Courage and

Resolve downstairs. You have no equipment and cannot cast spells. You must use

what you find in each portal to retrieve an element of Henantier's personality

and restore him to himself.

*NOTE* At any time during these tests, if you are low on health, you can use

the Wait function to wait an hour and fully restore your health and Magicka.

| Patience

+----------

At the beginning you can retrieve a mysterious scroll from the chest. This is

a map across three arrow traps ahead. Make your way safely across the traps,

either following the map the game gives you, or these more easily decipherable

maps:

*HINT* Use third person view and walk (don't run) to make sure you walk across

the correct squares. This is the test of Patience, after all. In these maps,

'S' marks the safe squares.

TRAP 1 TRAP 2 TRAP 3

S X X X X X X X S X S X X X X X X X

| | |

S X X X X X S--S--S X S X X X S--S--S--S

| | | | |

S--S X X X S--S X X X S--S--S--S--S X X S

| | |

X S X X X S X X X X X X X X S--S

| |

X S--S--S X X X X X X S X

| |

X X X S X X X X S--S--S--S--S X

|

X X S X X X X X

|

X X S X X X X X

Once past the third trap you can pick up the Element of Patience, which

returns you to Henantier's dream room.

| Perception

+------------

Pick up a torch from the chest at the beginning of this stage and carefully

pick your way around pressure plates. The first pressure plate sets off a

falling rock trap. Beyond are swinging blades. You can't stop them, but you

can dodge them easily enough.

Past those are poisonous gas traps--stay away from them--then avoid the

pressure plate that sets off another falling rock trap. Next is a broad avenue

with blades overhead. You can try running through, or carefully walk in

between each set and wait for them to rise again.

Beyond is a hill of blocks with several pressure plates. Avoid them or suffer

frost damage (Nords may choose to just run through...) Now you can get the

Element of Perception and return to the main room.

| Courage

+---------

The first door you come to downstairs leads to the Test of Courage. Inside the

chest is a Weak Potion of the Sea (water breathing for 30 seconds). Drink the

potion and dive in. Navigate carefully--you'll have to occasionally turn the

camera to twist your way through the tunnels. Halfway through is another chest

with another potion--just in time to ingest to make it the rest of the way

through. When you surface, the Element of Courage is there for the taking.

| Resolve

+---------

You get to fight two minotaurs. Yay! Suit up with items from the chest at the

beginning of the test and take on the minotaurs in whatever fashion suits you.

You may be able to just dispose of them using the Staff of Lightning,

regardless of your class. Once the minotaurs are dead, stairs rise from the

ground leading up to the Element of Resolve.

After collecting all four elements, speak to dream-Henantier about Dreamworld

and you will both wake up in the real world. Henantier gives you several

scrolls as a reward. You don't keep anything you picked up in the dream world.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ23]

<~~~~~~ TWO SIDES OF THE COIN ~~~~~~>

Follow rumors in Bruma pointing to a spat over money between Arnora and

Jorundr. Find Arnora, she's usually at her house behind the chapel, and get

her Disposition above 60. She then tells you she started the "spat" rumor to

lure an adventurer in for a little scheme.

If you're up for a bit of skullduggery, agree to help her out and she'll lay

out the whole tale. She and Jorundr were petty thieves who finally decided to

strike the big time by stealing money from an Imperial tax convoy. During the

fracas, Jorundr killed a soldier. They escaped and hid; but, while Arnora was

out collecting supplies, the Bruma guard showed up and arrested Jorundr.

Unfortunately for Arnora, Jorundr had moved the stash while she was gone and

she can't get him to tell her where it is. She promises half the loot if you

will go speak to Jorundr and find out where the cache is hidden. Go to Castle

Bruma, and hang a right through the guard's room and down the stairs to the

prison. Ask the guard to speak to a prisoner and he takes you in to the main

cell room.

Find Jorundr (he's the only prisoner in the place) and talk to him. He refuses

to speak to you. He doesn't trust anyone who's "on the outside", so to speak.

Simple enough, all you have to do is get yourself arrested. You can do

anything; the guard who let you in is helpfully standing at your shoulder

shouting orders. Punch him, or pick the lock on a cell door or rifle through a

chest. Whatever suits your fancy.

Choose to go to jail and you'll be thrown in the cell with Jorundr. Talk to

him again. Now he gives you his side of the story. (The other side of the

coin, get it?) Arnora was the one who killed the soldier and Jorundr believes

she set him up by turning him into the Bruma constabulary. But, he was bright

enough to move the loot and that is frustrating her. He knows he's done for,

so he promises to tell you the location of the loot if you'll do one eeny,

teeny, tiny thing for him...kill Arnora and bring back the family amulet she

always wears.

Return to Arnora's house. You have two choices:

* Whack her. This counts as a murder and you may be arrested for the crime.

Don't bother with the amulet she's wearing, get the key from her corpse and

find the chest next to her bed. That contains the "true" amulet. Return to

Jorundr.

* Tell her of Jorundr's request. She suggests a trick: she'll give you the

amulet and you tell Jorundr she's dead. She'll give you a key and direct

you to the chest next to her bed where you can get the amulet. Return to

Jorundr.

Jorundr accepts the evidence of the amulet, whether Arnora is actually dead or

not, and gives you the directions to the cache. It will now be marked for you

on your map, just outside the North Gate. Head for the marker. If you killed

Arnora, the loot is yours.

If you fooled Jorundr, you'll run into corrupt guard Tyrellius Logellus (you

encountered him while in prison, but couldn't talk to him). He overheard your

conversation with Jorundr, went and killed Arnora and then waited by the cache

for you to show up so he can tie up all the loose ends. Demonstrate to him the

error of his ways; then, collect the loot. To officially close the quest, go

to Arnora's house to confirm her death.

<~~~~~~ finis ~~~~~~>

[SQ49]

<~~~~~~ UNEARTHING MEHRUNES' RAZOR ~~~~~~>

*NOTE* Before installing the Mehrunes' Razor mod, you must install the

v1.1.511 patch. If you install the mod first, the patch will fail and the mod

won't run without the patch.

To get this quest, you have to download the official plug-in, DLC9 ($2.99 for

PC, also available on Xbox360 in the Marketplace for 250 points); or, install

the Knights of the Nine mini-expansion pack. After installing the plug-in, the

next time you load a game or exit the tutorial sewers, you will get a message

informing you of rumors of a fabled weapon, Mehrunes' Razor, that may be

located beneath the ruined fort of Sundercliff Watch.

Before setting off in search of Mehrunes' Razor, divest yourself of all non-

essential equipment. You'll be underground for quite a while, and you don't

want to leave loot behind because you're over-encumbered. (Investment in a

Feather spell or potions or equipment is recommended.) You should also be high

enough level to handle four or five enemies at once. There are some pitched

battles ahead of you.

Sundercliff Watch is in the far east of Cyrodiil. The nearest quest-related

point is Peryite's Shrine (due west of the fort). Inside the front door is a

large room with two guards, one standing still and one patrolling. Take them

out, then approach the wooden door to the south. To the right of the door is

an abandoned knapsack. Loot this for a diary that gives you the password to

get through the door, "Chimer". Beyond the door are two more guards.

To the south you'll come out on a raised platform with another guard

patrolling below. Your path then turns east through a tunnel, which leads to

the upper level of a circular room. There are three to four guards below you,

one of which is a veteran (much tougher than the soldiers you've faced thus

far). Once you've cleared the lower level, exit to the north to reach

Sundercliff Village.

This underground town has quite a few NPCs wandering about. Immediately to

your left as you exit the tunnel you'll find four to five soldiers sitting

around a campfire. Wait until a couple have gone off on patrol before

attacking the ones that remain. If you get lucky, the patrol won't come

running back to help. If you're unlucky...

Well, hope you have some decent weaponry or spells or it's reload time. These

soldiers are the main problem on the upper level of this large cavern. Stay on

the upper levels, exploring the buildings. Most buildings have one or two

occupants and a fair bit of treasure. In the northwest corner is the jail;

inside, locked in a cell, is a Morag Tong (Morrowind assassin). Kill him for

his full suit of Morag Tong armor (especially good for Stealth-based

characters).

From the top level of the cavern, exit to the east into Sundercliff Forge. At

the T-intersection, go left (north) and follow the tunnel around until you see

a large tunnel to your left (east). Follow this tunnel to the door to

Sundercliff Mines.

The Mines is basically one large room with two levels--you enter at the

bottom. There are a lot of soldiers and laborers in the Mines, and it is

almost impossible to avoid a 4-on-1 or 5-on-1 battle near the entrance.

Fortunately, the laborers aren't that tough and do little damage (unless

you're attempting this as a low-level character).

Once you've cleared your way into the Mines, it gets easier. Find the tunnel

entrance to the southeast and follow the path to the upper level of the main

cavern--you can pick off the laborers and soldiers here one-by-one. Once you

reach the upper level of the main cavern, you'll have to pick your way through

two or three patrolling soldiers. Again, if you're careful and watch the

patrol patterns, you can take them one at a time.

To the northeast is the tunnel that leads back to Sundercliff Forge; this

time, you're below where you came in from the Village. Follow the only path,

fighting your way through four apprentices, to reach the Forgemaster. Watch

out for his enchanted axe! Once he's dead, loot his tent, making sure you pick

up the enchanted bezoar. Return to Sundercliff Village through the shortcut on

the north side of the Forgemaster's cave.

Clean out the lower portion of the Village. Find one of two exits to the west

(the upper-level exit is better) to enter Sundercliff Commune. If you come in

on the lower level of the Commune, you'll face a couple of veterans. On the

top level are mostly laborers and a couple of soldiers. Along the bottom chasm

of the Commune is the Veteran's Lodge, which contains two or three veterans

and a boss-level chest.

On the north top tier of the Commune is Drothan's cabin, mentioned in the

diary you picked up earlier. Enter his cabin and find his journal on a small

table. It mentions the Ayleid city where Mehrunes' Razor is hidden, and tells

how Drothan has shielded the entrance. You need two enchanted bezoars to get

through the shield. You got one from the Forgemaster. The other is right next

door in the Commander's quarters.

Now that you have the two enchanted bezoars in hand, go west through the lower

chasm of the Commune. At the Ayleid door, Activate the pedestal to either side

to place a bezoar and dispel the shield. Follow Drothan through the door to

the Ayleid ruin. This first section is a long series of halls with no enemies

and no traps. Just run through to the door into Varsa Baalim.

Varsa Baalim is a large cavern with an Ayleid ruin inside. Advance carefully

(and, preferably, in Sneak mode) to witness a battle below you. The combatants

are some Drothmeri soldiers and vampires. Wait until the dust has settled to

go down and take out the survivors. Along the south wall are two entrances to