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                            - Mages Guild Quests -                     [W03]

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      Anvil Recommendation.......................................(MG01)
      Bravil Recommendation......................................(MG02)
      Bruma Recommendation.......................................(MG03)
      Cheydinhal Recommendation..................................(MG04)
      Chorrol Recommendation.....................................(MG05)
      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)
      
The Mages Guild is one of the four guilds available to join in Oblivion. To
join the guild, all you need to do is visit any one of the Mages Guild halls
that you will find in most of the cities. There are Mages Guild halls in the
cities of Anvil, Bravil, Bruma, Cheydinhal, Chorrol, Leyawiin and Skingrad.
Travel to either one of these, once you have arrived you will have to speak to
the person in the hall who deals with new recruitment. Speaking to anyone
besides this person about joining the Mages Guild, they will point you towards
the person you need to talk to in order to join. Joining the Mages Guild has
some benefits, for one thing once you have completed the string of recommenda-
tion quests, you will have access to the Arcane University in the Imperial
City. You will have access to the university's spell and item enchanting
altars, which allow you to create new spells and enchant unenchanted weapons,
giving them magical properties.

Once you have spoken to the right person and have joined the Mages Guild, the
quest "Join the Mages Guild" will be added to your current quests. You will
first have to complete all of the recommendation quests before you can advance
in rank within the guild. You must visit each of the Mages Guild halls in
Cyrodiil, speak to the hall leader and select "Recommendation" from the list
of dialogue options. You will then need to complete a short quest in order to
receive a recommendation from that hall. You can complete these recommendation
quests in any order you wish. For now, you are an Associate of the Mages Guild.

                       [Associate, Mages Guild achieved!]

==============================================================================
...Anvil Recommendation - (MG01)..............................................
==============================================================================
Speak to Carahil, who should be behind the counter in the main hall, and
select "Recommendation" from the list of dialogue options to get started.
Apparently, there have been some cases of merchants found dead along the gold
road near the Brina Cross Inn. The frost burns indicate that a mage was resp-
onsible for the deaths of these merchants, probably killing them so that they
could take the wares they were carrying. Carahil would like you to investigate
this matter. You are to travel to the Brina Cross Inn, which is north of
Anvil and speak to a woman named Arielle Jurard. Before heading off, you'll
want to speak to Carahil some more about this situation. Ask her about the
Rogue Mage and she will tell you that whoever it is, must be using frost type
spells to kill their victims, hence the frost burns. She will give you three
scrolls of Frost Shell to help you, for use when you encounter the mage.

Follow the north road outside of Anvil until you reach the Brina Cross Inn.
Step inside, approach the counter and speak to Arielle Jurard. Arielle tells
you that you must pretend to be a traveling merchant. Approach Christophe
Marane, the inn keeper, and ask for a bed. Head up the stairs, go down the
hall and open the door to your room at the end. Wait in your room for a
moment, until Arielle Jurard enters. She tells you to sleep at the Brina Cross
Inn, once you awaken, travel along the Gold Road towards the ruined city of
Kvatch. Approach the bed in this room and sleep for at least one hour. Once
you have done that, exit the room and the Brina Cross Inn. Begin to travel up
the Gold Road, just as you were told. Just travel along the road and eventu-
ally you will be stopped by Caminalda, a women that you probably had a short
chat with at the Brina Cross Inn. Didn't see that one coming...

This shouldn't be terribly difficult, you will have Arielle and her battlemage
friend to assist you. If you spoke to Carahil about the rogue mage you can use
the Frost Shell scrolls that she gave you if Caminalda's spells are hurting.
Once Caminalda has gotten what she deserves, you can return to Anvil and tell
Carahil that the Rogue Mage has been dealt with. She assures you that she
will pass along your recommendation to the Arcane University.

==============================================================================
...Bravil Recommendation - (MG02).............................................
==============================================================================
Travel to Bravil and locate the Mages Guild building in this city. Speak to
You must locate and speak to Kud-Ei, an Argonian woman who should be in the
main area of the guild hall. Tell her that you are ready to try and get a
recommendation from her. She will tell you to speak to a Dark Elf named Varon
Vamori, apparently he has been harassing Ardaline, one of the guild members.
He has taken her Mage's Staff, which is of course, very important to a mage.
If you select "Mage's Staff" from the list of dialogue options that are avali-
able to select while speaking to Kud-Ei, she will give you a scroll, Beguile,
that will charm the target, raising their disposition towards you and making
it easier to get information from them.

You need to find this Varon Vamori fellow and confront him. He should be
somewhere in the guild hall. With "Bravil Recommendation" as your active
quest, you can see where he is, denoted by the active quest marker. If he is
not anywhere in the guild hall, use the wait feature and continuously wait
until the marker on your compass turns green, meaning he is in the guild hall.
He should be there from 9am to whatever time. Once you have found him, speak
to him and ask about Ardaline. Once he is done, inquire about the Mage's
Staff. If you have a high enough personality, or you have enough fame, you
may not have to raise Varon's disposition to get him to confess. If he refuses
to say anything about the staff, use the Beguile scroll that was provided to
you by Kud-Ei. He admits to taking Adraline's staff, and apparently he has
sold it to a friend living in the Imperial City.

You can speak to Kud-Ei before taking the trip to the Imperial City, speak to
her about Varon Vamori, and she will give you three Beguile scrolls to use on
his friend in the Imperial City, if necessary. Leave the Bravil Mages Guild
hall and travel to the Imperial City. If you spoke to Varon about his friend,
he tells you that he lives in the Talos Plaza District, so travel there. Once
there, locate Soris Arenim's house and let yourself in. Speak to Soris and ask
about the mage's staff. Once his disposition towards you is high enough, he
will offer to sell the staff back to you for a portion of the gold that he
paid for it. Once you have the Mages Staff, return to the Bravil Mages Guild
hall and speak to Kud-Ei. Kud-Ei assures you that she will send in your
recommendation, and she teaches you the spell Captivate, which acts like the
Beguild scrolls that she gave you to charm the target.

==============================================================================
...Bruma Recommendation - (MG03)..............................................
==============================================================================
Locate the Bruma Mages Guild hall and speak to Jeanne Frasorie, who should be
behind the counter straight across from the door. If she isn't there, wait
until it is around 9am. Select "Recommendation" from the list of dialogue
options to get started. Jeanne would like you to find a Khajiit named J'skar,
who has evidently gone missing. She has been led to believe that a spell may
have backfired, causing his strange disappearance. She wants you to make him
reappear, only then will she give you a recommendation. You will need to
locate a man named Volanaro, speak to him and ask about J'skar. Volarano knows
where J'skar is, but he makes you promise not to mention anything to Jeanne.
He wants you to help him  play a small prank on Jeanne. Juvenile, yes, but it
will help you earn your recommendation nonetheless.

Volanaro would like you to enter Jeanne's room, open her desk and take her
Manual of Spellcraft. He will teach you a spell called "Minor Latch Crack,"
which will allow you to automatically open locks of Very Easy to Easy quality.
From the main area of the guild hall facing Jeanne's counter, turn to your
left and head up the stairs here. This is Jeanne's room, the desk is in the
middle of it. Approach the desk, you can either open the lock by using a
lockpick, or you can use the Minor Latch Crack spell that Volanaro provided
you with. Once you have opened the desk, grab the Manual of Spellcraft and
get out of there. Go down the stairs and hand the book over to Volanaro.
He tells you to meet him in the living quarters around 10pm. The Living
Quarters are on the opposite side of the stairs leading to Jeanne's room.
Wait until it is 10pm, go through the first wood door to your left to find
Volarano. Talk to him and he will make the Khajiit J'skar reappear. Speak to
him, then find and speak to Jeanne, she will give you your recommendation.

==============================================================================
...Cheydinhal Recommendation - (MG04).........................................
==============================================================================
Travel to the city of Cheydinhal and locate the Mages Guild building there.
By speaking to anybody in the building, if you ask about your recommendation
they will tell you to speak to Falcar. Locate Falcar, who could be anywhere
in the guild hall including the basement, and speak to him. Even though Falcar
strictly forbids it... tell him that you're there for a recommendation. He
tells you of a Ring of Burden, which another Associate apparently got his
hands on and chucked it in a well for some reason. He wants you to go down
the well and retrieve the ring for him. This Ring of Burden weighs 150 lbs!
You probably won't be able to carry it without becoming over- encumbered, so
if you know that you will not be able to take an extra 150 lbs, store your
equipment some place safe while you go to get the ring. I suggest saving
before doing this, just in case something unfortunate happens to your gear.

Falcar tells you to speak to Deetsan, an Argonian woman who can be found
wandering the main area of the guild hall, to get a key that will open the
well behind the Mages Guild building. Speak to Deetsan, select "Recommend-
ation" from the list of dialogue options. She will only speak to you if Falcar
is out of earshot. Deetsan believes that this Falcar is trying to get you
killed, saying that he gave this exact same task to an Associate named
Vidkun, who was never heard from again. She will give you the key, and also
teach you a spell, "Buoyancy," that will add the water breathing and feather
effects to you for a short duration of time. This may come in useful, if you
have a high enough Alteration level to cast it. If you have some potions of
feather, you can use those, if not consider dropping some particularly heavy
items in the main hall, and of course save the game just in case.

Exit the guild hall and approach the well behind the building. As you enter,
swim to your left, you will find the body of poor Vidkun. The water breathing
effect gained from the Buoyancy spells isn't really necessary here, because
as you can see the well is quite small. Search Vidkun's corpse and retrieve
the Ring of Burden. There is a nirnroot to the right of the entrance, why not
grab it while you're here? When you have the ring, exit the well and return
to the guild hall. Find Deetsan and speak to her, apparently she confronted
Falcar, who flew into a rage and stormed out. Real mature. Tell her of poor
Vidkun's fate, then head down to the basement and locate Falcar's room. Look
for the locked drawers next to his desk and use crack the lock. Inside, you
will find two Black Soul Gems, take them and bring them to Deetsan. She will
take the soul gems and write up a recommendation for you. 

==============================================================================
...Fingers of the Mountain (Chorrol Recommendation) - (MG05)..................
==============================================================================
Locate the Chorrol Mages Guild hall and head inside. You need to speak to an
Argonian named Teekeeus to start the quest for your recommendation. He should
be walking around the main area of the Mages Guild hall. Once you have located
him, begin a conversation with him and select "Recommendation" from the list
of dialogue options to get started. Teekeeus would like you to speak with a
woman named Earana, who he apparently has a bad history with. He has noticed
that she is in town, he knows she's up to something and he wants you to figure
it out. Leave the guild hall, you should be able to spot Earana relatively
quickly. She has a matter that she would like to involve you in, but she'd
rather you not tell the guild about it. She wants you to retrieve a book
entitled "Fingers of the Mountain." You'll need to return to the guild hall
and tell Teekeeus about this.

Teekeeus doesn't want Earana to get her hands on this book, he wants you to
retrieve the book and immediately bring it back to him at the guild. You have
a little choice here, you can either bring it back to Earana, in doing this
you will learn the spell "Fingers of the Mountain," or you can bring it back
to Teekeeus, who will safely hide it away. Now, keep in mind that either way,
you will still get your recommendation. The Finger of the Mountain spell that
you will be taught if you bring the book back to Earana might cost an insane
amount of magicka to cast, depending on the level you learn it at an amount
that you will probably never be able to achieve without the abuse of glitches.
The Fingers of the Mountain book that Earana seeks can be found on a mountain
located northwest of Chorrol. Travel to this location, retrieve the book, then
return to Chorrol and make your decision. This hill may seem too steep to
climb, but you can use the grass on the side of the hill in certain areas to
help you ascend. At the top, you will find the book in someone's charred
remains. Lovely.

You'll be able to find Earana at the Grey Mare tavern in Chorrol, so if you
choose to bring it to her then head there. If you choose to give it to
Teekeeus instead, return to the Chorrol Mages Guild and give it to him, he
will lock it away safely in a chest and give you your recommendation. If you
choose to give it to Earana, the "Fingers of the Mountain, Part II" quest will
be added to your quests. You will need to complete this quest, then speak to
Teekeeus and tell him that you gave the book to Earana. He tells you to steal
the book back from here and bring it to him, if you want to receive a recomme-
ndation from him. Go to the Grey Mare and head up the steps, unlock the door
to the room at the end of the hall. Unlock the chest and take the Fingers of
the Mountain book back. Return to Teekeeus and give him the book.

==============================================================================
...Leyawiin Recommendation - (MG06)...........................................
==============================================================================
Locate the Leyawiin Mages Guild hall and enter. If you speak to anyone in the
hall about your recommendation, they will tell you to speak to someone named
Dagail. Dagail can be found around the Mages Guild hall, locate and speak to
her about your recommendation. Apparently, she has lost an amulet and is
unable to help you without it. You will need to find this amulet and bring
it back to her before she can give you a recommendation. She points you
towards a woman named Agata, who will be able to help you get that amulet
back. Locata Agata and speak to her, she tells you that the Seer's Stone,
which Dagail uses to control her visions, has gone missing. Locate and speak
to a man named Kalthar, who seems a little too glad that the stone has gone
missing. After you have spoken to him about the seer's stone, speak with
Agata again. Agata finds it strange that Kalthar mentioned Dagail's father,
she believes that something might have happened between their families.

Speak to Dagail, you will need to travel to Fort Blueblood, southeast of
Leyawiin, where her father was stationed, the amulet should be within here.
When you have arrived at the fort, find the door and head inside. Inside, you
will have to fight some marauders. Just remain cautious as you progress
through the fort, as you may run into a situation where you are being attacked
by more than one marauder at once. With "Leyawiin Recommendation" as your
active quest, the active quest marker will be pointing towards Dagail's
amulet. Just follow the arrow on your compass and occasionally glance at the
local area map to make sure that you are headed in the right direction. As
you get closer to the amulet, you will come to a room that will house several
marauders, as well as the marauder warlord, who you will need to kill to get
the Fort Blueblood key. Use the key to open the door leading to the area that
contains the amulet.

Past this door you will find some monsters, will-o-the-wisps, trolls or
minotaur depending on your level. When they have been dealt with, locate
Manduin's coffin in this area and take the amulet from it. Before you get the
chance to leave the fort and return to Dagail, you will be stopped Kalthar,
what a surprise. It turns out that Kalthar was the one who took the amulet,
and he came after you here to kill you to prevent you from bringing this one
back to Dagail. He is quite weak, so just strike him until he goes down.
With Kalthar dead, amulet in hand, leave the fort and return to the Leyawiin
mages guild hall. Speak to Dagail and tell her that you have retrieved the
seer's stone. Once she has her amulet, you will have earned your recommend-
ation.

==============================================================================
...Skingrad Recommendation - (MG07)...........................................
==============================================================================
Locate the Mages Guild building in Skingrad and speak to Adrienne Berene, she
can be found anywhere within the main area of the guild hall. To get a recomm-
endation from Adrienne, you must find a Wood Elf named Erthor and bring him
back to the Skingrad Mages Guild. You can speak to the mages in the guild hall
and ask them if they know anything about Erthor's location. If you speak to
the Nord Vigge the Cautious, he will tell you that Erthor can probably be
found at Bleak Flats Cave. He doesn't remember the exact location of this
cave, he points you towards Druja, who apparently has a better memory than
him. Druja is an Argonian, she can be found wandering around the main area of
the guild hall. Speak to her and ask about Bleak Flats Cave, she tells you
that it's northwest of Skingrad, and marks it on your map. After, speak to
Adrienne about Bleak Flats Cave, she will teach you the spell "Weak Fireball."

Leave Skingrad and travel to Bleak Flats Cave. Inside, you'll have to fight
off some zombies! Erthor is trapped inside this cave, and still alive too.
To get to Erthor, from the entrance head straight into the large room, take
a left and go through the passage on the end. Go straight up all the way to
the top of this next room and turn right, from this room exit through the
bottom passage. Go straight down in this room, turn left and follow the
passage here. You need to be careful, because as you have surely noticed, the
cave is full of the undead. There are a few instances where you will probably
have to take on multiple zombies at once, so don't run ahead through the next
areas, you'll just gather up more zombies and make things harder for yourself.
Once you have found Erthor, speak to him, he will refuse to cooperate until
all of the zombies in Bleak Flats Cave are dead.

When you are sure that they are all dead, speak to Erthor again and he will
agree to leave the cave. Allow him to follow you, than make your way out
of the cave and return to the Skingrad Mages Guild. Erthor is an "Important
character, so you don't have to worry about him getting killed. As soon as
you enter the guild hall, Erthor will stop following you, he will automatic-
ally find Adrienne and have a little chat with her. Speak to Adrienne again
afterwards and she will give you a recommendation.

==============================================================================
...A Mage's Staff - (MG08)....................................................
==============================================================================
When you have received recommendations from all of the local guild halls in
Cyrodiil, you will be able to gain access to the Arcane University. You will
first need to travel to the Arcane University, which is located in the
Imperial City, and speak to the unfortunately named Raminus Polus. Speak to
him and ask about "Recommendations." That's it, you're now have full access to
the Arcane University and all of its facilities (Well, except for the Orrery,
you have to pay for that one)!

You will be able to use the altar of enchanting and the altar of spell making.
The altar of enchanting will allow you to enchant initially unenchanted items
and give them magic properties with the use of filled soul gems. The list of
effects you get to choose from is dependant on the spells that you know,
meaning that you will only be able to apply attributes to your items if you
have a spell in your spell book that applies that attribute to the target when
cast. The altar of spell making, as the name implies, allows you to create
your own spells. Your selection of effects is under the same limitations as
the altar of enchanting. Raminus Polus will promote you to Apprentice, and he
will give you the "Robe of the Apprentice!"

                      [Apprentice, Mages Guild achieved!]

To rise in your rank in the guild, you will need to complete tasks. For the
most part, each time you complete one of these tasks, you just need to speak
to Raminus Polus about your advancement and he will promote you to a higher
rank. So, speak to Raminus Polus and select "Tasks" from the list of dialogue
options. Since your now a member of the Arcane University, and you're
considered a mage (Even if you're character isn't magic oriented...), you will
need a Mage's Staff. You'll need to retrieve the wood required to make the
staff yourself, though. Raminus tells you about a grove near Wellspring Cave,
which is northeast of the Imperial City. You'll need to visit this area to
acquire the wood needed to make your staff.

Leave the Arcane University and travel to Wellspring Cave. Enter the cave,
inside you will find Zahrasha, one of the people Raminus told you to
converse with upon your arrival... dead. Not good! A necromancer will be in
this area, now get used to fighting necromancers, as you will encounter them
very frequently during the Mages Guild quest line. Examine Zahrasha's body and
retrieve the Wellspring Cave Key. The path through the cave is very straight-
forward, just find your way to the end and use the key to open the wooden
door. The cave is full of necromancers, so remain vigilant. When you exit the
cave, you will be greeted by Noveni Othran. Kill her, then proceed straight
ahead, open the stone chest surrounded by the purple flames and retrieve the
Unfinished Staff within. You'll get attacked by a couple more necromancers
before, kill them and you're free to go unobstructed.

Return to the Arcane University and speak to Raminus. He will point you
towards the Chironasium, where you will need to speak to Delmar, who will help
you finish your staff. First, you'll need to select which magic school appeals
to you, you will be able to select an ability to enchant your staff with from
one of these groups. You're choices are Destruction, Illusion and Mysticism.
Destruction encompasses spells that deal damage or drain attributes, Illusion
encompasses spells that will effect your enemy in some way, Mysticism magic
effects the environment.

If you are a mage type character who uses staves as their primary weapon,
you'll probably want to take this opportunity to create a powerful new staff
for you to use. If your character does not use magic or doesn't use staves,
you might want to consider creating something like a staff of telekinesis,
something fun that you will probably never use. Delmar needs one day to
prepare you're staff, so wait for at least 24 hours, then speak to him again.
Once you've got your staff, quest complete! Return to Raminus and ask about
your advancement within the guild to be promoted to Journeyman.

                      [Journeyman, Mages Guild achieved!]

==============================================================================
...Ulterior Motives - (MG09)..................................................
==============================================================================
After completing "A Mage's Staff," Speak to Raminus and ask him for another
task. Raminus would like you to retrieve a book from the count of Skingrad,
Janus Hassildor. Exit the Arcane University and travel to Skingrad. Locate
Castle Skingrad, which is actually outside the city walls, and enter the
courtyard. You'll find the door leading to the county hall straight ahead.
Janus Hassildor is a secretive type of person, he won't be in the main area
of the castle, instead you will have to find a man named Mercator Hosidus.
He should be wandering around the main entrance area. Speak to him, after
lightly insulting you a bit, Mercator tells you to return tomorrow, as he
may have managed to get the count to change his mind. Wait for at least 24
hours, then locate and speak to Mercator in the county hall once more.

After the 24 hour period, Mercator will approach you and initiate a convers-
ation. He tells you that the count will grant you an audience, but he doesn't
want it to be in Castle Skingrad. Apparently, he will meet with you outside of
the Cursed Mine west of the town after 2am. Sounds very, very suspicious
doesn't it? Nevertheless, you will have to go to this location at the aforeme-
ntioned time and meet the count to progress. When you are ready, leave the
town and go to the meeting spot. With "Ulterior Motives" as your active quest,
you can use the local map to make sure that you are standing in the right
spot, since the active quest marker will be pointing directly to the meeting
spot. Wait until it is a little after 2am, you will eventually be approached
by Mercrator, who unfortunately doesn't have the count with him.

Mercrator is accompanied by two necromancers, so you can guess who's side he
is on. Waste no time in attacking him. Things can get pretty hectic while you
are fighting, as it is very dark outside and you will have everybody coming at
you at once. You will have to be very cautious however, as Janus Hassildor,
the count of Skingrad, will appear partway through the battle. He will not be
hostile towards you, but if you strike him enough times out of confusion, he
will quickly turn on you. If you do accidentally strike him, which causes him to
start attacking you, you can hold the LT and press LB while facing him to
yield, he should more than likely accept.

Once Mercrator and the necromancers have been dealt with, Hassildor will speak
to you. After a short chat, you will learn that in actuality, there is no book
to retrieve, you were simply sent to spy on the count to see if you could
learn anything. Return to the Arcane University and speak to Raminus, speak to
him about the task and after ask about your advancement to gain the rank of
Evoker. Raminus will also give you the "Spelldrinker Amulet."

                        [Evoker, Mages Guild achieved!]

==============================================================================
...Vahtacen's Secret - (MG10).................................................
==============================================================================
Raminus needs you to travel to an Ayleid ruin where a research project is
underway. You must assist Irlav Jarol, the one in charge of the project. He
is apparently in need of some help. You can find Irlav Jarol either in the
Arch-Mage's Chambers, or in the main entrance area of the Arcane University.
Speak to him, he will give you the key to the Ayleid ruin that you are to
travel to, Vahtacen. Upon your arrival, you must speak to Skaleel, who is
currently over-seeing the project. There is reportedly a blocked passage that
they are having trouble getting past, you're going to have to help them
figure it out. The Vahtacen has been marked on your map, it is located just
south of the city of Cheydinhal. Leave the Arcane University and travel to
this location. Enter the cave and proceed through the cave area, it is a very
straightforward path. Once you reach the ruin type area, locate and speak to
Skaleel, who is in the bottom left corner of this area.

She tells you of the "pillar" that they have been having trouble with. It,
apparently, doesn't react very well to spells, as several guild mages have
already been injured by it. You will need to help then solve this puzzle,
to get to the pillar start by leaving this area, locate the locked gate and
use the Vahtacen Ruins Key to unlock it. At the end of this area, just before
the room with the pillar, you will find a man named Denel. Denel tells you of
the strange Ayleid markings on the walls surrounding the pillar. They are
unable to translate them, but Denel mentions that perhaps Skaleel has a book
that may assist you in deciphering the text. Return to Skaleel and ask her
about this book. She'll hand over the Ayleid Ruins book, with this in hand,
you can solve the puzzle that has stumped them for weeks. By reading this
book, it will become evident that you must cast certain spells on certain
parts of the giant pillar.

In the area where Denel is, you can find a chest behind the table here. This
contains a spell that will cast each and every spell that you will need to
solve this puzzle. I suggest saving your game at this point, just incase you
accidentally make a mistake. Grab every scroll from the chest and enter the
room with the pillar. Inside, you will find the inscriptions surrounding the
wall that contains the text that is deciphered in the Ayleid Reference book.

Av molag anyammis refers to fire, av mafre nagaia refers to frost magicka
loria refers to damage magicka and magicka sila refers to fortify magicka.
Each of these tablets refer to a spell that you must cast on a part of the
pillar. This next part is going to be a little hard to explain, so please
bear with me. The parts of the pillar that you must cast the spells on, are
the parts that are whole pieces. Some parts of the pillar have small
rectangles on the bottoms, these are not the parts that you need to target
with the spells. 

You need to do this in the correct order for this to work. You need to start
with the "av molag anyammis" inscription. This refers to a fire spell, so aim
your fire spell towards the whole rectangle portion of the pillar diagonal
from the tablet and hit it. Next, move up to the "av mafre nagaia" inscription
and hit that part of the pillar with an ice spell. Move across to the "magicka
loria" inscription and hit that part of the pillar with a damage magicka spell.
Lastly, move down to the "magicka sila" inscription and hit that part of the
pillar with a fortify magicka spell. If you did this correctly, you should not
have been hit by any lightning, the pillar should open and you will receive a
notification telling you that you have solved the puzzle. Climb down the
stairs and enter "Vahtacen Lorsel."

Follow the path in front of you until you reach a giant room. Do not step on
the middle panel in this room, as it effectively acts as a trap. If you step
on that portion of the floor, it will fall down to the ground level, spikes
will protruded through the holes in the panel, so move through this room by
the sides and jump diagonally across to the other side over the panel. In this
next area, you'll have to step on the floor panel in this room to open two new
passages to your left and right. Head through the opening straight ahead. There
is another trap in the middle of this room, as the blood stains should
indicate. Avoid it in the same fashion as the first trap in the first area,
proceed through the passage at the end of this room.

Follow the straightforward path, when you emerge you will find yourself in a
very large room. As soon as you enter run straight ahead, locate the set of
stairs and climb up. To your left, there is a pillar that has a switch in the
middle, activate it and the stairs surrounding the platform in the middle of
the room will rise. Hope back down the steps and climb up to the middle
platform. Locate the switch on one of the pillars, activate it to raise the
cage in the middle to reveal an "Ancient Elven Helm." Take this item and leave
the Vahtacen Lorsel area.

Go back, speak to Skaleel, she tells you to take the object that you found
inside of Vahtacen's ruins and bring it back to Irlav at the Arcane Univer-
sity. Do just that, return to the Arcane University and speak to Irlav with
the item in your inventory. Once you have given the helmet to Irlav Jarol,
speak to Raminus about your advancement within the guild. He will raise your
rank to Conjurer, and give you the "Robe of the Conjurer."

                       [Conjurer, Mages Guild achieved!]

==============================================================================
...Necromancer's Moon - (MG11)................................................
==============================================================================
Your task is to visit the Mystic Archives and speak to Tar-Meena, the 
specialist on magicka arcana. You need to visit her and ask her specifically
about the Black Soul Gems and their power. The Mystic Archives are located on
the Arcane University grounds, step outside the door leading to the grounds
and locate the area on your map. Inside, you will find Tar-Meena, she appears
to be terribly busy, but ask her about the Black Soul Gems when you have the
chance. She will speak of a book entitled "Necromancer's Moon," which contains
information on those Black Soul Gems. You will need to search the archives and
find this book yourself.

Necromancer's Moon is the blue book on the table behind the desk to your right
as soon as you enter the Mystic Archives. Speak with Tar-Meena once you have
the book, then leave the archives and bring the book back to Raminus. He will
tell you to speak to Bothiel, who will surely know something about this "Shade
of the Revenant" that is mentioned in the text. Locate this Bothiel and speak
to her about the Shade of the Revenant.

She will give you Falcar's notes, that he apparently dropped when he visited
the university to ask bout the revenant. The note will list several locat-
ions, or "altars" as they are referred to. Speak to Raminus once you have the
note and select "Shade of the Revenant" from the list of dialogue options. He
will mark Dark Fissure on your map, one of the locations mentioned in the
note. You must travel there and see if you can discover anything.

The Dark Fissure cave east of the Imperial City and southeast of Cheydinhal,
so leave the Arcane University and travel there. The altar is on a hill, and
it may seem a little step, but just continue moving around it until you find
some patches of grass that you can use to help you ascend. When you arrive,
you will see the altar in front of a the cave. Step inside the cave, you will
need to find a necromancer referred to as the "Worm Anchorite." You should be
able to find them in the opening area of this cave.

Once you have located them, kill them and retrieve the handwritten note from
their corpse. The note will explain how the necromancers are acquiring these
Black Soul Gems, by using dark fissure and the other altars in Cyrodiil. Once
you have this note, there is no reason to go further in the cave. Return to
the Arcane University and speak to Raminus, after he is done speaking ask
about your advancement to be promoted to the rank of Magician.

                       [Magician, Mages Guild achieved!]

==============================================================================
...Liberation or Apprehension? - (MG12).......................................
==============================================================================
Speak to Raminus Polus at the Arcane University and select "Tasks." He tells
you that Arch-Mage Traven, who has a special assignment for you. Step through
the portal leading to the "Arch-Mage's Tower Council Chambers" and speak to
Hannibal Traven about your task. Mucianus Alias, an informant for the Mages
Guild, may be in danger. He has infiltrated the necromancer ranks and has been
giving information to the Mages Guild. He has not been heard from for some
time, and Arch-Mage Traven fears for the worst. You need to travel to his last
known location, Nenyond Twyll, and make sure that he is safely rescued from
the necromancers. Nenyond Twyll is located south of the Imperial City, you
must travel there and escort Mucianus Alias back to the Arcane University.

Leave the Arcane University and begin traveling to Nenyond Twyll. Once you
arrive, enter the ruin, you'll meet a battlemage named Fithragaer as soon
as you step in. Fithragaer is the only battlemage left, the necromancers
defeated them all and retreated further into the ruin. Fithragaer won't last
very long, since he is so intent on killing those necromancers he fails to
see the floor trap in his path. When you're finished laughing, continue moving
straight ahead to the exit of this room. Go down the steps and turn left, open
the iron gate and enter the large area. You'll want to remain cautious here,
after all this is a necromancer lair. You will find necromancers, as well as
some undead enemies in this ruin. Exit this area once it is clear and enter
the "Nenyond Twyll Riellesel" area.

By the threshold, you will run into Mariette Rielle. She tells you that Alias
is now a worm thrall and then tries to kill you. Kill her, then proceed down
the stairs and open the iron gate. Once the enemies in this area have been
dealt with, move straight down to the end of this area and push the switch
to the left of you. It will open a new passage right next to it, you will have
to deal with the Necromancer Adept. Once they have been taken care of, step 
through the passage. Inside, you will find Mucianus Alias, who is evidently
not doing too well. When you have discovered him, return to the Arcane Univer-
sity and to Traven. Tell him of Mucianus Alias' fate, then speak to Raminus
about your advancement to be promoted to Warlock.

                        [Warlock, Mages Guild achieved!]

==============================================================================
...Information at a Price - (MG13)............................................
==============================================================================
Speak to Hannibal Traven in the Arch-Mage's council chambers and select
"Tasks" from the list of dialogue options. Apparently, the count of Skingrad,
Janus Hassildor, who you have already dealt with in the past, has some very
important information for the Mages Guild. Travern wants you to travel to
the city of Skingrad immediately and converse with Hassildor on this matter.
Leave the Arcane University and travel to castle Skingrad. Locate and speak
to the count's stewardess, Hal-Liurz in the main hall. She will go to the
count's chamber and inform him of your arrival. You will only need to wait
a little while before Hal-Liurz appears again with Hassildor. He will approach
you and initiate a conversation, assuring you that the information he is about
to provide will not be to your liking.

This information does come at a price, however. Janus Hassildor has a small
task that he would like you to complete for him before he will give the info.
Bloodcrust Cavern, a cave outside of town, is home to some vampires. This has
attracted some vampire hunters to Skingrad, which is making the count, who is
a vampire himself, a little edgy. He wants you to deal with the vampires in
Bloodcrust Cavern, and at the same time get the vampire hunters out of
Skingrad. He doesn't care whether you kill them personally or scare them out
of town, he just wants them gone. Once you are done learning more about the
hunters and the cavern outside of town, leave the castle and head into the
streets. You really don't need to kill the hunters yourself, as it can be
quite difficult to catch the hunters when they are alone so that you can
murder them and if the Skingrad guards catch you breaking the law, they
will of course act accordingly.

You will first need to find Eridor, one of the hunters, in the streets of the
town. If you have "Information at a Price" as your active quest, a second
active quest marker away from the cavern will be pointing to Eridor in the
town. Speak to him, tell him that you have some information for him. He will
ask about the location of the vampires, cooperate and tell him they are in
Bloodcrust Cavern. Speak to him after and ask him where the hunters are
looking, this will mark every member of the vampire hunters on your map, so
you know where everyone is. Now, if you tell him where the vampire nest is,
you're really killing two birds with one stone here. Eridor and his men will
eventually set out towards the nest and enter in an attempt to clear it of the
vampires. It is very unlikely that they will be able to do this, however,
since the cave is full of them. They will clear out a good number of them
before going down, more than likely. Just wait for about 10 hours, by using
the wait menu, and they will surely move towards the Bloodcrust Cavern.

At this point, you will probably want to travel to the cavern yourself,
because keep in mind that you will still need to clear the cave of the remain-
ing vampires before the count will be willing to give you the information.
Just wait outside of the cavern (or you can go inside if you'd like), until
you receive a notification telling you that all of the vampire hunters are
dead. When you receive this notification, enter the cavern and finish off what
the hunters started. If you receive the message that the vampires would killed
first, which is highly unlikely, you will have to go into the cave before the
hunters exit and kill them, presumably. Before leaving here, you may want to
explore the rest of the cave, because you can search through the dead vampires
and vampire hunters and maybe retrieve some useful items or equipment. You
will receive a notification telling you that all of the vampires are dead upon
the death of the final vampire in Bloodcrust Cavern.

Return to castle Skingrad once the vampire hunters and the vampires in Blood-
crust cavern have been dealt with. Enter the main hall and speak to the
count's stewardess, Hal-Liurz, once more. She will tell you to wait while she
goes and informs the count that you have completed the task. Hal-Liurz will
return shortly with Count Hassildor. Select "Information" from the list of
dialogue options. Mannimarco, the King of Worms, has returned to Cyrodiil,
and he hopes to bring down the Mages Guild. Return to the Arcane University
and speak to Traven at once. You will need to wait for a day or two before
Traven will be able to give you another task.

==============================================================================
...A Plot Revealed - (MG14)...................................................
==============================================================================
After at least two days have passed, speak to Arch-Mage Traven. He wants you
to travel to the Bruma Mages Guild and check on Jeanne Frasoric, who has been
out of contact for a few days, which is very unusual for her apparently.
Leave the Arcane University, travel to Bruma and locate the Mages Guild there.
Step inside, it will immediately become evident that something isn't right.
The Bruma Mages Guild hall has been attacked, you will need to investigate and
search for survivors. As you search the building, you will run into some
undead ghost-type creatures. You cannot harm ghosts with normal weapons, as
you are surely aware of at this point. You will need to use either silver,
magic, or daedric weapons to cause damage. Search the fist level and clear out
all of the ghosts, then proceed down to the Mages Guild living quarters.

You will find more undead creatures in this hall. It is very narrow and diffi-
cult to fight in this corridor. You have to go through the living quarters
to get to Jeanne Frasorie's room, the path from the main hall is blocked by
flames. So you will need to exit the living quarters through the door opposite
the one you used to enter this area. You will have to fight a necromancer,
Camilla Lollia, then the Khajiit J'Skar will appear, he managed to survive
by remaining invisible while the attack was underway. After a short chat,
J'Skar sets off to the safety of the Arcane University. Travel back to the
Arcane University and speak to Traven. After, speak to Raminus about your
advancement within the guild, he will promote you to Wizard. He will also
teach you the spell "Wizard's Fury."

                        [Wizard, Mages Guild achieved!]

==============================================================================
...The Bloodworm Helm - (MG16)................................................
==============================================================================
Once you have attained the rank of Wizard, speak to the Arch-Mage and you will
have two quests "The Bloodworm Helm" and "The Necromancer's Amulet" added to
your quest log. You can do these quests in any order, I simply have them
listed in the order I completed them. The Bloodworm Helm has been taken by a
group of wizards, led by Irlav Jarol, to Fort Teleman. Fort Teleman has been
marked on your map, it is located far southeast of the city of Bravil and
closer northeast of Leyawiin. Leave the Arcane University and travel to this
location. Once you have arrived, locate the door leading to the interior and
step inside. As soon as you enter, it becomes evident that trouble is amidst.
The fort is full of necromancers, so what of Irlav and party? You'll just have
delve deeper into the depths of the fort and find out.

You'll need to locate the "Fort Teleman, Order of the Black Rose" area, the
path to this area through Fort Teleman is very straightforward, but also very
treacherous, as it is full of necromancers. With "The Bloodworm Helm" as your
active quest, the active quest marker will be pointing to the door leading to
the "Fort Teleman Order of the Black Rose" area. In this area, you will likely
encounter some lesser Daedra as well as the usual necromancers. These Daedra
will attack anything that is daedric, so if you are about to enter a room
where the two groups are locking horns, sit back and move in once the brawl
is over to finish off the remainders. Progress through the Order of the Black
Rose area and locate the room with Irlav. Unfortunately, you're too late, you
will find Irlav's body in the middle of this room with one or more enemies
surrounding him. When they have been dealt with, search Irlav's corpse and
retrieve the Bloodworm Helm.

Exit Fort Teleman and return to the Arcane University, or if you choose, you
can go now and complete the "The Necromancer's Amulet" quest and return to
the Arcane University with both of the artifacts in hand. Speak to Traven at
the Arcane University and tell him that you have retrieved the Bloodworm Helm.
If you have also completed the "The Necromancer's Amulet" quest, speak to
Raminus afterwards concerning your advancement within the guild to be promoted
to the rank of Master-Wizard.

                     [Master-Wizard, Mages Guild achieved!]

==============================================================================
...The Necromancer's Amulet - (MG15)..........................................
==============================================================================
Once you have attained the rank of Wizard, speak to the Arch-Mage and you will
have two quests "The Bloodworm Helm" and "The Necromancer's Amulet" added to
your quest log. You can do these quests in any order, I simply have them
listed in the order I completed them in. Caranya and some other guild mages
have taken the amulet to Fort Ontus, where they are currently at work studying
its rather unique properties. You need to go to the fort, retrieve the amulet
and bring it back to the safety of the Arcane University. Fort Ontus will be
marked on your map, it is far northwest of Skingrad and far west of the Imper-
ial City. Leave the Arcane University and begin traveling to this location.
The mountain that the fort sits on is quite steep, approach it from the west
and move around it until you can find patches of grass that you can walk on to
help you ascend. When you have made it up, locate the entrance to the fort and
step inside.

Inside, you will find several guild mages standing around, if spoken to, they
will tell you to go and see Caranya. From the main area of Fort Ontus, there
is actually two ways that will lead you to the "Fort Ontus Understreets," but
you need to enter the Understreets a specific way. Basically, just don't drop
down from the bridge to the lower area, this will prevent you from being able
to reach Caranya, as there is a switch activated gate in this area that you
can't open. With "The Necromancer's Amulet" as your active quest, follow the
red active quest marker to the door on the top level leading to the under-
streets. Follow the green active quest marker to Caranya and speak to her.
Yeah, she's a necromancer, attack and kill her as soon as she's done talking
and take the Necromancer's Amulet from her corpse. As for the other mages that
you passed on your way here? Yup, unfortunately they're with her, have fun
getting out. They sure switched out of those standard Mages Guild robes
quickly...

Exit Fort Onus and return to the Arcane University, or if you choose, you can
go now and complete the "The Bloodworm Helm" quest and return to the Arcane
University with both of the artifacts in hand. Speak to Traven at the Arcane
University and tell him that you have retrieved the Necromancer's Amulet.
If you have also completed the "The Bloodworm Helm" quest, speak to Raminus
afterwards concerning your advancement within the guild to be promoted to the
rank of Master-Wizard.

                     [Master-Wizard, Mages Guild achieved!]

==============================================================================
...Ambush - (MG17)............................................................
==============================================================================
Once you have attained the rank of Master-Wizard within the Mages Guild, speak
to the Arch-Mage Traven. The necromancers apparently have a large Black Soul
Gem in some ruins. You need to travel to the ruins of Silorn and meet outside
with a group of Battlemages who are preparing to storm the place. The ruins of
Silorn have been marked on your map, the ruins are located southeast of
Skingrad. Leave the Arcane University at once and travel to these ruins. The
leader of this group of necromancers is none other than Falcar, that [Insert
expletive here] that you dealt with during your Chorrol recommendation quest.
You can meet the troop of battlemages, Thalfin, Merete and Iver to the east of
the ruin of Silorn. If you haven't been spotted by the necromancers, you can
speak to Thalfin and work out a sort of strategy. This isn't really necessary,
you should probably be able to handle the necromancers by yourself at this
point. There may be some sort of advantage from giving the battlemages orders,
but I haven't really explored that yet.

Move to the center of the ruins and you will be spotted by some necromancers,
who will immediately alert their leader, Falcar, to your presence. At this
point, you'll have to enter the ruins all by your lonesome, find Falcar, kill
him and snatch that gem. locate the entrance leading to the interior and step
in. Inside you'll find, you guessed it... necromancers. Remain vigilant as you
are traveling through this ruin, the large areas usually hold a fair number of
necromancers in the one area. From the entrance, follow the path down until
you reach a small room. From here, move straight down, turn left and exit the
room through this opening. Turn right as soon as you can and keep on moving
straight ahead. Exit this room through the passage on the bottom left area,
refer to your local area map. Find the entrance to the "Silorn Sedorseli" area
and go through the door. Head straight down through this area, move down the
passage and enter the next room. Locate the push block on one of the pillars
in this room and exit through the new path that is opened to the south of this
room.

You will find yourself in a large area with a small body of water in the
middle. There are a couple of Varla stones on pedestals in this area, quite
rare so take them when you come across them. Locate the steps on the north
side of this room and climb up. Hit the push panel on the floor to open a new
passage, go through and turn right. Hit the push panel on the floor right in
front of the gate, cross the bridge and exit back into the main Silorn area.
Hit the press block straight ahead, then jump down to the lower level below
and cross the bridge. Enter the "Silorn Buroseli" area via the door across
this bridge. Move through this area, in one of the areas you can push a press
block to raise a Varla stone cage in the middle of the room. In the area right
after this, you will encounter Falcar. After you have killed him, search his
body, retrieve the key and the Colossal Black Soul Gem. When you have the gem,
exit Silorn and return to the Arcane University and speak to Arch-Mage Traven.

==============================================================================
...Confront the King - (MG18).................................................
==============================================================================
After completing "Ambush" and giving the Colossal Black Soul Gem to Traven,
speak to him and select "Tasks" from the list of dialogue options. After a
short chat, the Arch-Mage sacrifices himself. Search his body and retrieve the
Filled Colossal Black Soul Gem from him, this will protect you against Manni-
marco. You must now travel to Echo Cave and defeat the King of Worms. The Echo
Cave is northwest of the Bruma, so leave the Arcane University and travel to
this location. Once you arrive, you will be greeted by Bolor Savel, who has
a rather interesting skin tone. You will have to kill him to get the key that
will open the door to the interior of the cave. Once he is dead, grab the key,
unlock the door and step inside.

Inside the Echo Cave, you will find necromancers as well as an array of undead
creatures. With "Confront the King" as your active quest, the active quest
marker will be pointing to Mannimarco, so just follow your compass through the
cave. You will find the King of Worms in the "Echo Necromancer's Chamber"
The path here is rather straightforward, and if you have this quest as your
active quest, you shouldn't have a problem finding the door leading to this
area. When you enter the Necromancer's Chamber, you'll have to deal with the
necromancer adept before you can face the king. Mannimarco is in the middle
of this area, get ready to face him. You may want to consider saving your
game at this point. Cross the bridge and step onto the platform. That's Manni-
marco... not quite what you were expecting was it? He's rather unimpressive
for the supposed King of Worms.

When you approach him, he will cast a paralyze spell and have a little chat
with you. You can try to get a sneak attack on him, which is very easy if you
are using a bow. Once he is finished talking to you, immediately strike out
at him. After the battle, search his body, retrieve the disgusting Staff of
Worms, which allows you a target for 30 seconds, and the King of Worms' Robe.
Now that you have defeated the dreaded King of Worms and saved the future of
the Mages Guild, all that is left for you to do is to return to the Arcane
University and retain your rightful place as the new Arch-Mage. As soon as
you enter the Arch-Mages Lobby, you will be approached by Raminus, who
acknowledges you as the new Arch-Mage!

                       [Arch-Mage, Mages Guild achieved!]

Being the Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild does have a couple of perks. For one
thing, you now have full, legal access to the Arch-Mages Quarters in the main
tower of the University. If you speak to Raminus about "Ingredient Collection"
he will point you towards Julienne Fanis, who can be found in the Lustratorium
on the Arcane University grounds. After speaking to Raminus, the quest "Alchemy
Acquisitions" will be added to your current quests. Speak to Julienne Fanis at
the Lustratorium and ask about "Ingredient Collection." You have access to an
enchanted treasure chest in the Arch-Mages Quarters.

This chest can be used to dupe alchemical substances by small quantities. All
you must do is place an item in the chest and wait for 24 hours. At this
point, open the chest and retrieve the duplicated item. This can only be done
once a week, so you'll only really want to duplicate rare items. Of course,
there are some limitations on some items, such as nirnroot, for obvious
reasons. You can also speak to the Mage Apprentice in the Arcane University
and have them follow you around. That' it, congratulations on completing the
Mages Guild quest line!