Introduction
The Mages Guild quest line is a series of quests separate from the main storyline quest, and there are several achievements tied to it. For this reason, and since the main storyline quests can be completed independently of the Guild quests, we have included these achievements in a dedicated section of the walkthrough. You can find the walkthrough for each of the four Guild quest lines (five with the Arena) in their respective sections. You may complete these quest one after another, or you may spread them out throughout your game, it makes no difference.
Since the questlines "Thieves Guild" and "Dark Brotherhood" both deal with a lot of law-breaking business, including breaking the rules of some other Guilds, it's advisable to complete a full quest line at a time, and it's not a bad idea to leave the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood for last.
If you want to find a specific quest in this page, use the CTRL+F search function of your browser to type in the name of the quest preceeded by a " # " marker (like "# Cheydinhal Recommendation"). Here is the index of the quests:
- Cheydinhal Recommendation
- Bravil Recommendation
- Leyawiin Recommendation
- Bruma Recommendation
- Chorrol Recommendation (officially known as "Fingers of the Mountain")
- Skingrad Recommendation
- Anvil Recommendation
- A Mage's Staff
- Ulterior Motives
- Vahtacen's Secret
- Necromancer's Moon
- Liberation or Apprehension?
- Information at a Price
- A Plot Revealed
- Necromancer's Amulet
- The Bloodworm Helm
- Ambush
- Confront the King
Mages Guild
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The Rules
============
In order to remain in the Mages Guild you must observe these rules:
- Never steal from or kill another member of the guild
- Never steal from the guild's stocks
The items found in the Mage Guild's quarters are usually interesting and/or valuable, but you'll have to hold yourself and never lift anything.
After being expelled you can join the guild again: ask Raminus Polus (the Arch-Mage found in the Imperial City - Arcane University) and he will tell you to collect:
- 20x Dragon's Tongues or 20x Redwort Flowers if you committed a theft
- 20x Daedra Hearts or 20x Vampire Dust if you committed a murder
If you are expelled again you can get a third chance, but this time you will need to collect:
- 20x Dragon's Tongue and 20x Redwort Flowers for a theft
- 20x Daedra Hearts and 20x Vampire Dust for a murder
There won't a fourth chance if you fail to respect the rules for the third time, which will cause your permanent banishment from the guild.
=========================
Joining the Mages Guild
=========================
The only pre-requirement to join the Mages Guild is to not have a bounty on your head. If you do, speak with a guard and decide to pay your fee to clean your "crime history".
Once you have this requirement fulfilled, visit one of the seven Mages Guilds (we'll see where they are soon) and ask to join. You'll be told to collect a "recommendation" from each of the seven Mages Guilds of Cyrodiil. It doesn't matter in which order you get them, as long as you get them all. Let's see them one by one.
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# Cheydinhal Recommendation
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Cheydinhal Mages Guild
Cheydinhal is the city East of Imperial City. Fast-travel to the West Gate, and proceed South from the gate hugging the West city wall. The second building that you will see on your left (East) is the Cheydinhal Mages Guild -- get inside during day time (10AM).
Speak with Falcar and tell him that you're there to "Join the Mages Guild". Confirm your interest in the business and he will give you the Mages Guild Key and the Mages Guild Charter (a random book). You will become an Associate of the guild, and therefore you will unlock:
You will also notice that there are red markers put in correspondence with all the seven Mages Guilds from where you will need a recommendation. Speak with Falcar again and ask about his Recommendation to officially start the quest.
Wait until it's night time (2AM will work) and speak with Deetsan, the Argonian female that is always in the Cheydinhal Mages Guild. Tell her about the Recommendation to receive the Buoyancy spell and the Well Key; this will work as long as Falcar is not in the room (he leaves at night, so you should be fine if you do this at 2AM).
Make sure that you have at least 150 Weight available. If that's not the case, drop the heaviest items you have on the ground in the guild -- you'll pick them up again later. Once you are light enough, exit the guild's building.
Cheydinhal and Mages Guild Well
Locate the well on the rear of the Mages Guild quarters and enter inside this underwater place. If you have it, make sure to equip the Fin Gleam; alternatively you can cast the Buoyancy spell to get the Water Breathing effect.
Inside the well you will find a man floating in the water on the right (Vidkun). Loot his body to find the Ring of Burden item, which has a weight of 150. Grab it and return outside.
Cheydinhal Mages Guild
Return in the guild's place and speak with Deetsan. She will update you with some news; when she's done talking pick the "Recommendation" option to continue. Feel free to drop the Ring of Burden (she tells you that you can throw it away at this point if you ask her about it) and get back the stuff that you might have had to drop to get some extra weight available.
Still in the guild, locate the door to the basement and go downstairs. In the Basement follow the green marker to enter Falcar's room and find a drawer locked with an "Average" lock. Lock-pick the drawer and get the Black Soul Gems inside (there is two of them, but one is enough). After taking these items (they don't count as a theft, you won't be expelled of course) go give them to Deetsan to finally receive the recommendation from this guild.
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# Bravil Recommendation
========================
Bravil
Bravil is the city South of Imperial City. The Bravil Mages Guild is on the West side of the city (set the "Join the Mages Guild" quest as your current quest to add a red marker in correspondence of the place).
Inside the guild quarters, speak with Kud-Ei (another Argonian) and say that you're ready for the job. Continue the conversation and ask about these topics: Ardaline, Varon Vamori, Mage's Staff. This will officially start the quest and earn you a Beguile (spell scroll, nothing special).
Set the quest as your active quest, so that Varon Vamori's position gets marked with the usual icon. He may very well be in the guild quarters, but he can also be elsewhere. Either way, locate him, raise his "disposition" above 70, then ask him about Ardaline and then about the Mage's Staff -- you will receive a quest-update message.
Return to Kud-Ei and tell her about Varon Vamori. She will give you 3x Beguile scrolls and send you to get the staff.
Imperial City - Talos Plaza District
Fast-travel to this location and follow the marker to find Soris Arenim's House. Get inside and then break into the Basement of the house (an Average lock protects it). Next, locate some drawers in the Basement and open them (there is a Hard lock to open before getting access to it) (the furniture you're looking for is next to the central column of the basement) to find the Mages Staff. Alternatively you can also raise Soris' disposition and pay him 200 Gold to get the staff without having to lockpick. Either way, once you have the Mages Staff you can return to Bravil.
Bravil
Hand over the staff to Kud-Ei (speak with her about this topic) and you will complete this quest, getting the recommendation from this Mages Guild. She also gifts you a spell, "Captivate".
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# Leyawiin Recommendation
==========================
Leyawiin Mages Guild
Leyawiin is the city South of Bravil. Enter the Mages Guild in day time (10AM) and find Dagail; she might be upstairs, so follow the markers around the place. Agree to help her find her amulet to officially start this quest.
Now you have to find Agata, who is probably on a different level of the house. This might get tricky, because it's not unusual that Agata stands downstairs exactly below where Dagail is, so the green marker seems to point towards Dagail when you actually have to head for Agata. Anyway, find this lady (Agata) and speak with her about the "Seer's Stone".
Of the many other mages in the guild's building, now all marked with green markers, you want to speak with a guy named Kalthar -- ask about the Seer's Stone. Then report what he said to Agata (speak about the usual Seer's Stone). Lastly, speak once again with Dagail to get a real lead: Fort Blueblood. Go outside of Leyawiin and reach the fort, now marked on your map.
Fort Blueblood
Reach the area and enter inside the fort through its old wooden door. Once inside, head East and then Southeast past a "guard" (Marauder) to reach a larger room with another guard. Go Northeast from the large room to find another large room with a guard; go Northwest from here to reach a door to the next area of this place.
Fort Blueblood Halls
Sneak past/kill some more guardians and follow the hallways to a large room. In this room you start on the upper floor; remain on the upper floor and cross a bridge. Past the bridge take the path leading Southwest to find a door which needs a key to open. Kill the Marauder Warlord (an Orc) or simply steal his Fort Blueblood Key, so you can go through the door Southwest.
You will reach a room with a few bodies on the ground and some Trolls (enemies) guarding the coffins. Head for the one indicated with the green marker (Manduin's Coffin) and open it to find Manduin's Amulet inside.
Backtrack outside and someone will try to stop you. Pick whatever choice in the dialogue with this NPC, and then defeat the traitor. At this point you can exit Fort Blueblood and return to Dagail. Note that you can take a shortcut to exit: after backtracking in the room where you got the Fort Blueblood Key you can take the path Northwest (following the red marker) to head through a door (which you open with the Fort Blueblood Key) to return to the first area of this dungeon (behind a gate that you can raise by pulling a lever on the ground) just next to the exit.
Leyawiin Mages Guild
Report the situation and give the Manduin's Amulet to Dagail (tell her about the Seer's Stone) to complete the quest.
Before leaving the place, find Alves Uvenim (she is usually downstairs in the Mages Guild quarters), a lady who sells a bunch of alchemy stuff and spells. You may already have a "dispel" spell, but in case you don't then make sure to get the cheap (about 60 Gold) "Dispel Other" from her now, since you'll need a spell with this effect for the next recommendation quest.
This spell requires you to have Mysticism at level 25 to be casted: if that's not your case, purchase also the "Minor Life Detection" spell from her. Then "equip" the Minor Life Detection spell and spam it repeately to raise your Mysticism skill. Also remember that you can use spells more quickly if you enter "combat mode" (press X to draw your weapon) and hold the Block button (LT) while tapping RB to cast spells. It shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to reach Mysticism level 25, so you become an "Apprentice" of Mysticism and therefore you are able to use "Dispel Other".
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# Bruma Recommendation
=======================
Bruma Mages Guild
Bruma is the city North of Imperial City. The Bruma Mages Guild is the building immediately Southeast of the North Gate, so fast-travel to Bruma North Gate and go down the stairs to find the building and get inside when it's day time (10AM).
Speak with Jeanne Frasoric, the lady behind the counter, and ask her about the "Recommendation" as usual. Then ask her about J'skar, so the quest can officially start.
Equip the Fin Gleam if you have it, or simply use some Detect Life kind of spell to check if there is an invisible person somewhere on this floor. If you don't know this, the forms of life around you are "detected" with some purple fog. If you see some purple fog but you can't see a person where the color is, then it means that there must be an invisible form of life in that point. As a matter of fact, the target of this quest is a guy under a 100% Chameleon effect.
You probably won't find him on the main floor though -- take either set of stairs to go down in the "Living Quarters" of the guild's building and search through the four rooms to locate J'skar (the invisible guy). Once you find him, cast a "dispel" type of spell on him, such as your recent purchase "Dispel Other", and speak with J'skar, who will now be visible.
Now report the situation to Jeanne Frasoric (tell her about J'skar) to complete this simple quest.
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# Chorrol Reecommendation
==========================
Chorrol
Chorrol is the city West of Imperial City. Enter the Mages Guild quarters in day time (10AM) and speak with Teekeeus inside (he's probably upstairs in the Mages Guild Library), asking him for the Recommendation. Then ask him about Earana, so the "Fingers of the Mountain" starts. Despite its name, this is in fact the "Chorrol Recommendation" quest, only that for some reason they decided to name it after the item of interest for this quest instead of simply "Chorrol Recommendation".
Your target, Earana, is located somewhere in town; she will probably be just outside the Mages Guild quarters, but she might also be in a building called "The Grey Mare". The marker on your map (if you make this your current quest) will lead you to her regardless of where she is. Once you find her, tell her that you are interested in helping her (second option).
After the conversation, return inside the Mages Guild building and report the situation to Teekeeus (tell him about "Fingers of the Mountain") -- he will now send you to the Cloud Top area, in the middle of the mountains Northwest of Chorrol. Get there by horse or on foot.
Cloud Top
Once you reach the area you will find some ruins of a shrine or something. On the ground there is a burned corpse; search it to find the Fingers of the Mountain item. Grab it and return to Chorrol.
Chorrol
There are two ways to end the quest, but in fact the best thing to do is simply to return the book to Teekeeus (the other option is to hand it over to Earana, but the first option is better since it gives more Fame points. Moreover you'd still have to speak with Teekeeus to get the recommendation and complete the quest, so it's easier if you just go to him right away). Once you complete the Fingers of the Mountain quest the recommendation is yours.
To properly complete the quest you must do something else though. Go outside and find Earana. Tell her that you gave the book to Teekeeus, and when she asks say that you won't help her (you can also help her, but saying "no" speeds things up). This will start and complete the "Fingers of the Mountain - Part II" quest. This extra step is not part of the "Fingers of the Mountain" quest, but if you don't do this then there will be still a marker in correspondence of Teekeeus when your current quest is "Join the Mages Guild". So yea, just complete the "Part II" too.
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# Skingard Recommendation
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Skingrad Mages Guild
Skingrad is the city Southwest of Imperial City. Enter the Mages Guild quarters in day time (10AM) and speak with Adrienne Berene about the Recommendation.
Speak with the other mages in the building, in particular with Sulinus Vassinus, a humanoid (ask about Erthor), and then with Druja (ask her about the Bleak Flats Cave). Now speak with Adrienne Beren again, this time about the Bleak Flats Cave -- she tells you to go there.
Before doing so (the location is added on your map with the usual red marker), speak with Druja again and access her shop: among the other spells she sells is the Snowball spell (Frost Damage effect). You will need a frost-damage spell for one of your future quests of the Mages Guild, so make sure to get this cheap one now if you don't already have a similar spell.
Bleak Flats Cave
Enter inside the cave after finding the place. Make sure to kill all the Deranged Zombies that you can find; there is a total of seven of them. Help yourself with the Fin Gleam or simply the "life detect" types of spells to find them more easily. You will find the last of them shortly before finding Erthor.
When you do find Erthor, speak with him. He asks you to eliminate the monsters so he can leave with you. If you already did so, simply exit the cave. Otherwise turn around and defeat the enemies until the last falls. Then speak back to Erthor and tell him whatever you want (there is no need to escort him, you can simply tell him to find his own way back).
Note that sometimes if you eliminate all the enemies he will still ask you to eliminate them; if this happens, exit the cave and return inside to find another Deranged Zombie next the entrance -- defeat this respawn and you should be done with it. Also make sure to pull a lever near a rock wall North of Erthor's position, since it's a handy shortcut to the exit. Return to Skingrad after making sure that he will leave the cave.
Skingrad Mages Guild
Report the situation to Adrienne Berene. In case Erthor hasn't returned yet, wait 24 hours and then speak with Adrienne Berene again; ask her about the Recommendation to complete the quest.
======================
# Anvil Recommendation
======================
Anvil Mages Guild
Anvil is the West-most city of all. Speak with Carahil inside the guild quarters and ask her about the Recommendation as usual. When she asks your opinion, choose "Go on" to officially start the quest. You'll be redirected to the Brina Cross Inn, located North of Anvil.
Brina Cross Inn
Find the place and get inside. Speak with Arielle Jurard and she will tell you to rent a room in this inn. Speak with Cristophe Marane, the innkeeper; choose the "Bed" option and say whatever you want about your occupation. Speak with him again and pick the "Bed" option again; confirm your interest to rent a room for the night (it costs 10 Gold) and go where he tells you to go.
As you head for your room you will be asked a question from "Caminalda"; tell her that you are not a merchant and continue to your room (find the room with a door which isn't locked). Approach the bed and sleep for 24 hours (less is enough actually, but anyway). When you wake up Arielle Jurard will be in the room with you; speak with her again and she will tell you to spend the night at the inn.
Do so (sleep again) and a quest message will tell you to follow the Gold Road towards Kvatch. Exit the inn.
Cyrodiil - The Gold Road
Go where the green marker is, following the "Gold Road", and Caminalda will come and attack you. Kill her without killing the other NPC that will also attack her (they are on your side). Once she is dead, return to Anvil.
Anvil Mages Guild
Speak with Carahil in day time (10AM) and make your report about the "Rogue Mage" to complete the quest and get the recommendation.
Exit the guild's quarter and wait a few seconds; a quest message will inform you to find Raminus Polus in Imperial City if you got all the seven recommendations.
======================
Join the Mages Guild
======================
Imperial City - The Arcane University
Once you have all the seven Mages Guilds recommendations, fast-travel to Imperial City - Arcane University (it's Southeast of the city). Get inside the main tower (Arch-Mage's Lobby) of the district in day time (10AM) to find Raminus Polus, a humanoid; he's the current Arch-Mage. Now that you got the recommendations, tell him about the "Recommendation" and he will welcome you to the Mages Guild. You will receive the Robe of the Apprentice and you will also unlock:
Hard-earned, but yours at last. Now let's proceed with the rest of the "real" Mages Guild quests.
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# A Mage's Staff
================
Speak with Raminus Polus about the "Tasks" topic, and then ask him about the Mage's Staff to start this quest. The first thing to do is to get some wood to make your staff: exit the Arch-Mage's Lobby and reach the Wellspring Cave, East of Imperial City.
Wellspring Cave
Reach the place and enter inside. A quest message suggests to ask a couple of NPCs for more info on what to do. Proceed onwards a bit and investigate the body on the ground (Zahrasha) to pop-up another quest message. Note that there will probably be a "Necromancer" next to Zahrasha -- kill him, he's not on your side (Necromancers are the main enemies of the Mages Guild, so kill them whenever you see one). Make sure to get the Wellspring Cave Key from Zahrasha's body.
Adventure further through the cave to reach a larger area; more Necromancer will be in your way, and you can defeat them all. In the larger cave area there is also some water; should you fall in the water, the only way to get back on the land is through a "sharp-C-shaped" underwater passage on the West side of the room.
Anyway, follow the passage Southwest past a small bridge above the water to reach a door which needs the Wellspring Cave Key to open -- go through it.
Cyrodiil - Waterfront
As soon as you exit outside you will find more Necromancers. One of them will come and tell you that they are going to kill you; show them that they got the subject and object inverted. After defeating the three Necromancers outside you will get another quest message; examine the other body on the ground (it was next to where you were "welcomed" as soon as you got out of the cave) to find that it's Eletta, the other NPC you were looking for.
At this point you can open a small coffin placed on a stone table between two flames to find the Unfinished Staff inside. Get it, then fast-travel to The Arcane University to make your report to Raminus Polus.
The Arcane University
Raminus Polus is still in the Arch-Mage's Lobby (day-time only). Speak with him about the Necromancers to update the quest.
Exit the Arch-Mage's Lobby and find the Chironasium (one of the other buildings in the University complex). Speak with Delmar inside the Chironasium and tell him about the Mage's Staff. He will ask you how you want to customize your staff. It doesn't really matter what you do, though some choices are better. You'll be asked to choose one among the nine possible effects:
- Destruction: Fire Damage, Frost Damage, Shock Damage
- Illusion: Charm, Paralyze, Silence
- Mysticism: Soul Trap, Telekinesis, Dispel
Telekinesis can be a fun choice. More practical choices (if you plan to use a staff in the first place) are Paralyze and Silence. Paralyze is probably the best of all, at least in theory, since it can "stop" the enemies with a single touch. On the other hand, Silence can be equally useful against all the mage enemies that you will find in the next quests of the Mages Guild. Of course feel free to choose whatever you prefer, since it's just a custom item that you make now, but all the effects associated to your staff are also available via spells anyway. Note that the effects will be stronger if your level is higher, and in particular they max-out if your character is at level 15.
Once you've made your choice, wait 24 hours and speak with Delmar again about the Mage's Staff, thus completing the quest. You can get your [Custom] Staff (the name depends on your choice) from the Cupboard behind him.
Now return to Raminus Polus and speak with him about your Advancement: he will promote you to to the rank of Journeyman, and you will unlock:
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# Ulterior Motives
==================
Speak with Raminus Polus about the next Tasks to receive this new quest; exit the Arch-Mage's Lobby to continue.
Castle Skingrad
Fast-travel to Castle Skingrad (it's the city Southwest of Imperial City). Go through Castle Skingrad Courtyard and enter the County Hall from here.
Inside the County Hall, speak with Mercator Hosidus. He will tell you to wait a day: wait for 24 hours and then speak with him again (actually he will seek you). To have a meeting with the Count you must reach a place a bit West of Skingrad: exit back to the Courtyard and fast-travel to the Grateful Pass Stables of Skingrad.
Cyrodiil
Head West from the stables, following the markers on your map/compass to reach the meeting place. Wait until it's night time (2AM) and Mercator Hosidus will arrive, bringing some friends of his, too. Defeat all the Necromancers (and also Mercator Hosidus), but be careful not to damage Janus Hassildor who will come and help you in the fight.
Speak with Janus Hassildor after the fight; pick the "Go on" options when they are available if you don't want to ask him about the other optional things too. He will then tell you to return to Raminus Polus and make report.
The Arcane University
Speak with Raminus Polus (same place, same day/night schedule) and tell him about Janus Hassildor. Pick all the options available in the dialogue to continue the conversation and complete the quest.
Speak with Raminus Polus about your next Advancement now -- he will promote you to the rank of Evoker, giving you the Spelldrinker Amulet, and you will unlock:
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# Vahtacen's Secret
===================
Ask Raminus Polus about your next Task to start this quest.
From the Arch-Mage's Lobby, locate a warp device on the ground and activate it (press A) to use it as a teleporter to the upper floor. On the upper floor (Arch-Mage's Tower Council Chambers) you will find Irlav Jarol. Note that he may also be in the Arch-Mage's Lobby, so follow the marker as usual to determine where to go to find him. Either way, speak with him to receive the Vahtacen Key and progress with the quest. Then exit the tower and head for Vahtacen, a place rather far East of Imperial City (it's easier to reach the city of Cheydinhal and go South from there to get to the place).
Note that you will need a Frost Spell to continue in this quest; if you don't have a spell with this effect, make sure to go get one (for instance the Snowball spell can be bought from Druja, one of the members of the Skingrad Mages Guild; she's found in the guild quarters) before you leave.
Vahtacen
Enter inside the cave once you find it. Once inside, go on and take a turn left (Southeast) at a fork. Follow the hallways to find Skaleel in a large room; pick whatever option you want at her first question, and then choose the "Pillar" option at the next question.
Follow the other passage (Northwest of the room with Skaleel) and follow more hallways to find a guy named Denel. Speak with him about the Pillars too, so the quest gets updated again. At this point you are supposed to investigate the tablets near the pillars and ask Skaleel/Denel about some "translation help" to know which spells you should cast at the pillars in the last room (the one beyond Denel). The solution of the puzzle is to cast the spells on the large pillar in the middle of the room past Denel in this order (beware that you'll be damaged if you make a mistake; save before trying, just to be safe):
- "Av Molag Anyammis": Fire Damage (Flare)*
- "Av Mafre Nagaia": Frost Damage
- "Magicka Loria": Damage Magicka (Sever Magicka)*
- "Magicka Sila": Fortify Magicka (Elevate Magicka)*
*You can find a scroll for three of these effects (written in parenthesis in the above list) in the chest next to Denel's desk; the only exception is Frost Damage, but hopefully you followed the advice of getting a Frost-Damage spell from some place before coming here. Note that the "Sever Magicka" scroll is an "On Touch" kind of spell, so you must be next to the column when you cast it.
Once the puzzle is solved the pillar will be completely dismantled and you'll be able to reach a door leading to the Vahtacen Lorsel.
Vahtacen Lorsel
Go Southeast and follow the only possible way. When you reach a larger room be careful: in the middle of it there is a spiked platform that will damage you if you step on it (there are some holes in the floor in correspondence of this platform).
Continue Northwest as far as you can. When the hallway apparently ends there is a platform on the floor: "activate" it (press A on it), so you become able to go further Northwest into another large room. In this second large room there is another trap-platform in the middle of the room: beware of it, since it will try to smash you in the spikes attached to the ceiling.
Proceed through more hallways until you reach another very large room. Ignore the green marker in the middle of it (it's up a platform where you can't go) and proceed further Southeast up some stairs. Upstairs you will find a "button" that you can push; it's placed inside one of the pillars. Once you find it, push it -- a couple of staircases will spawn in the middle of the room, giving you access to the green-marked "thing" on the central platform. Go up the platform in the middle of the room and look for another "push-block" button on the pillars around it; push it too, so that the item on the platform "turns" into the Ancient Elven Helm. Grab this item, then head back to Skaleel in the previous area.
Vahtacen
Speak with Skaleel to continue the quest. Then exit Vahtacen for good.
The Arcane University
Return to Irlav Jarol in the main tower of the Arcane University to make report on what you just found and complete the quest.
======================
# Necromancer's Moon
======================
Speak with Raminus Polus, and pick whatever options you like to answer his questions and start the next quest. Before going after your duty, ask him about the next Advancement, so you get promoted to the rank of Conjurer (you are also gifted the Robe of the Conjurer) and you unlock:
The Arcane University - Mystic Archive
Exit the Arch-Mage's Lobby and follow the red marker to find the Mystic Archives, another building of the University complex. Get inside and speak with Tar-Meena; pick all the options available to advance with the quest.
Still in the Mystic Archives, find the Necromancer's Moon (a book) on a small wooden table; read it and take it (press X as you read it) to continue with the quest.
Return to the Arch-Mage's Lobby to speak with Raminus Polus about the Necromancer's Moon. Still in the Arch-Mage's Lobby, find Bothiel and speak with him about the Shade of the Revenant to get a "Hastily Scrawled Note". Speak with Raminus Polus once again about the Shade of the Revenant to progress. Now that you have a target, exit the tower and fast-travel to Vahtacen, which is probably the closest location (just a bit West of it) to the Dark Fissure, which is where you have to go.
Dark Fissure
Reaching this place is a bit annoying since it's up a high mountain, but if you search for it you'll be able to find an unmapped trail that takes you all the way up there. When you arrive you will notice that the green marker points at an altar outside. Unless you are really lucky though, you probably won't see anyone coming.
Therefore enter inside the Dark Fissure cave. Once inside, kill the first guy you find on the left (Worm Anchorite) and loot his body to get the Handwritten Note item -- read it if you want, then exit outside the cave. As you exit, a quest message will prompt, telling you that you should make your report to Raminus Polus at the Arcane University. Do so.
The Arcane University
Tell Raminus Polus about the Necromancers to complete this quest.
Speak with him about the next Advancement, so he promotes you to the rank of Magician and you unlock:
=============================
# Liberation or Apprehension?
=============================
Ask Raminus about your next Task to start this quest. He tells you that you should find someone else from the next quests, and the guy is Hannibal Traven, another Arch-Mage who is found in the "Council Chambers" area (upstairs from the Arch-Mage's Lobby; use the teleporter thing on the ground to reach him). Ask Hannibal about your Tasks and accept to continue with this quest. He doesn't really start off with the right foot, since your first quest from him will take place in an isolated shrine called Nenyond Twyll, rather far away from the main cities -- follow the red marker to get there.
Nenyond Twyll
Get inside the place. You'll be greeted (sort of) by Fithragaer; tell him you've been sent here, then follow him through the rooms and hallways. His careless rush will cause him to step on a trap (spikes on the ceiling) that will kill him, but that's not a big problem since you have a handy red marker leading the way better than any NPC could possibly do.
Avoid the trap that he fell for and follow the only possible way to continue. There will be some Necromancers ahead, but no more traps. Continue until you find a door to another area of this dungeon.
Nenyond Twyll Riellesel
Make a few steps in this area and Mariette Rielle will come and talk to you. Continue in the next room after hearing what she has to say (then take her life if you want). You'll find yourself in a large room with a lot of water on either side. In order to continue you have to press a push-block button on the Northwest side of the room (outside the water), just left of the door where you should go through to follow the green marker.
Pushing the button will lower a gate, allowing you to continue and find Mucianus Alias. Defeat him, then return in the room with a lot of water: instead of backtracking the way you came, follow the red marker to find a shortcut on the West side.
After returning in the previous area of Nenyond Twyll, go up a couple of stairs and stand on a block on the floor to lower some more walls that will allow you to reach the exit in no time.
The Arcane University
Make your report to Hannibal Traven, telling him about Mucianus Alias, to complete the quest.
Then find Raminus Polus and ask him for your next Advancement, so he promotes you to the rank of Warlock and you unlock:
========================
# Information at a Price
========================
Go back to Hannibal Traven and ask him about your next Tasks. He tells you to head for Castle Skingrad -- do so.
Castle Skingrad
Wait for day time (10AM) and go through the Courtyard to reach the County Hall. Inside speak with the Argonian marked with a green marker (Hal-Liurz). Wait for some hours a couple of times, so she first goes calling Janus Hassildor and then he spawns at your second awakening. You can also simply wait real time anyway; waiting twice in a row will only speed things up a bit.
Once Janus Hassildor appears, ask him about the "Information" he has for you to be told where to go: the Bloodcrust Cavern. Exit the castle and travel to the Bloodcrust Cavern, just Southeast of Skingrad.
Bloodcrust Cavern
Enter inside the cavern once you find it. In the cave there will be many "Bloodcrust Vampires": defeat them all and make sure to get the Vampire Dust from one of their bodies. A quest message will inform you when the last vampire has been defeated.
Exit the cavern and return to Skingrad - West Gate to deal with the Vampire Hunters.
Skingrad
From the West Gate proceed East to find one of the Vampire Hunters marked on your map: it's Eridor. When he asks, say that you don't live there, and then tell him that you have information for him. Tell him that the vampires are all dead, and show him the Vampire Dust you collected to convince him.
Note that you could have also killed all the Vampire Hunters; convincing Eridor to stop his hunting is simply a faster way of completing the quest.
Skingrad Castle
Fast-travel to the castle and speak with Hal-Liurz who will inform Janus Hassildor to come and speak with you. Again, you can wait for a few hours twice in a row so the count is immediately spawned next to you. Once you can speak with him, tell him about the Bloodcrust Cavern and the Vampire Hunters. Then choose the "Information" topic to progress with the quest. This is all -- exit the county hall and fast-travel to The Arcane University.
The Arcane University
Make your report to Hannibal Traven (tell him about Mannimarco) to complete the quest.
=================
# A Plot Revealed
=================
Wait for 48 hours (24+24), then speak with Hannibal Traven again to receive your next task. Exit the tower to fast-travel to Bruma - West Gate (city North of Imperial City), where the quest will take place.
Bruma Mages Guild
Reach the Mages Guild quarters. You'll be asked to look for survivors. The only one will be found in a room upstairs, but due to the "accidents" that happened to the building you must go through the basement and exit from the other door of the basement to end up in the half of the room where the stairs are.
Kill some of the ghosts floating around the place, then head upstairs and defeat Camilla Lollia. In the same room as she is (upstairs) there is also J'skar, who will un-Chameleon himself after dispatching the enemy in the room. Tell J'skar about the King of Worms to receive a quest-update message. Backtrack through the basement to return outside, then fast-travel to The Arcane University.
The Arcane University
Tell Hannibal Traven about J'skar to complete the quest.
Go speak with Raminus Polus to receive your next promotion to the rank of Wizard (he also gives you the Wizard's Fury spell, a multi-elemental Destruction spell for a Destruction level of 50+), so you unlock:
=======================
# Necromancer's Amulet
=======================
Speak with Hannibal Traven about the Necromancer's Amulet to start this quest, then exit outside, fast-travel to Chorrol and make your way up the mountains of Cyrodiil Southwest of the city to reach Fort Ontus. Again, there is no trail leading to the place, but you shouldn't have too many problems this time since the mountains are not particularly steep.
Fort Ontus
Enter the fort ruins from the West, and then find the door to get inside. Inside the fort there will be some mages; they are not Necromancers, so don't attack them!
Continue always West, crossing a bridge when necessary. After the bridge take the South-most of the paths leading West, so you find a door leading to the Fort Ontus Understreets.
Fort Ontus Understreets
Your target is in this area. If you want, simply force one of the two Hard-locked gates to reach her; otherwise go around the hallways to the West side and pull a lever on the ground to raise a gate. Either way, speak with Caranya and ask her about the Necromancer's Amulet. She won't reveal herself to be particularly friendly, so change your plans and kill her to loot the Necromancer's Amulet from her dead body.
Make your way out of the Fort the way you came. As you can imagine, the other mages of the place will be hostile, so feel free to attack them to defend yourself. Once you're out of the Fort, fast-travel back to The Arcane University.
The Arcane University
Report the situation to Hannibal Traven, as usual, to complete the quest.
=====================
# The Bloodworm Helm
=====================
Speak with Hannibal Traven about the Bloodworm Helm to start this other quest. Exit outside and fast-travel to whatever location you have discovered next to your next destination, Fort Teleman. Unfortunately this is another of those places lost in the middle of nowhere, so you may have to make your way there all the way from Leyawiin.
Fort Teleman
When you finally arrive, locate the door to enter inside. Inside the fort there will be some Necromancers that you can/should defeat on your way to the main target. Go North and follow the way down and up some stairs when necessary. You will find a door after another one-way-only hallway.
Fort Teleman Order of the Black Rose
There is quite some confusion in this place, with Necromancers fighting against other random monsters. Go South to reach a larger area; ignore the path leading West and take the path through a broken wall that goes East first and then South. Make your way through a few more elemental Atronachs and you will eventually reach the body of Irlav Jarol. Loot his body to find and get the Bloodworm Helm, possibly after taking care of the enemy (Dremora Kynmarcher) nearby, just to be safe.
After retrieving the precious helm, make your way outside the Fort and fast-travel to The Arcane University. Note that there is a typical shortcut-exit that you can take to save some time (follow the red markers).
The Arcane University
Give Hannibal Traven the Bloodworm Helm to complete the quest.
Find Raminus Polus (in the Arch-Mage's Lobby, as usual) and ask him for the next "Advancement" to be promoted to the rank of Master-Wizard, so you unlock:
===========
# Ambush
===========
Return to Hannibal Traven once again to ask for your next Tasks. Ask him some questions if you want, then choose the "Go on" option to start the quest. Exit and fast-travel to the Bloodcrust Cavern outside of Skingrad, since it's rather close to your next destination (Silorn).
Silorn
As you approach the area you will come across Thalfin (green-marked guy). Speak with him and he will lead you to Silorn (like you really needed him to find the ruins in front of you...). After some more dialogues he will ask you to strategically place him and his men so they can defend the area from the enemies. If you want you can mess around with this sort of tactic minigame a bit, but you can also just tell each of them to occupy a random position.
In any case, after taking their position some enemies will spawn. Kill all the Necromancers, with or without the assistance of the other three NPCs. The enemies will spawn, two by two after some intervals, from the West. Once you kill the non-random Necromancer named Falcar, loot his body to find the Colossal Black Soul Gem stone. Get it, then fast-travel to The Arcane University.
The Arcane University
Tell Hannibal Traven about your discovery of the Black Soul Gem to hand it over and complete the quest.
===================
# Confront the King
===================
Speak with Hannibal Traven again about the Tasks to start this last quest. Among the quest information you may read that you've been promoted to the rank of Arch-Mage, but you won't unlock the correspondent achievement until you complete this quest and speak with Raminus Polus. Exit outside the tower and fast-travel to Bruma, and then move on to the mountains on the West side to reach the Echo Cave, your destination.
Echo Cave
Before you can enter, Bolor Savel will tell you that you have to kill him if you want to get his key and enter the cave. Well, since he asked so nicely...
Once you have the Echo Cave Key get inside the cave. As you can imagine the cave is full of Necromancers, so be ready to fight your way through it. It's a long walk, but there is only one way to go, so keep walking and killing Necromancers until you find the door to the Echo Passages.
Echo Passages
This other part of the cave is also linear until before the end, where you will find a path leading South towards a trap-door (ignore this path) while the red marker is on the West side and will take you to the last area of this dungeon.
Echo Necromancer's Chamber
Go straight North through some doors and past a bridge to find Mannimarco, your target. Pick whatever option you like when prompted a choice, since you'll have to kill him either way. He's particularly weak against spells, so it's probably a good idea to use them instead of melee attacks. Grab the Staff of Worms from his dead body maybe, it's a rather nice unique piece (it's not necessary to complete the quest, so nevermind if you miss it).
Follow the red markers to make your way outside the cave, and then return to The Arcane University.
The Arcane University
Speak with Raminus Polus to update him on the current situation. He will "officially" promote you to the rank of Arch-Mage (he also gives you the Arch-Mage's Hood and Arch-Mage's Robe). Quit the dialogue menu with Raminus Polus to unlock:
=====================
Being the Arch-Mage
=====================
Now that you are the Arch-Mage you are also above the rules, and stealing/killing other members will not result in your expulsion (you do however have to pay a fine).
If you talk with Raminus Polus about the "Ingredient Collection" you will start a very short quest that gives you access to a chest in the Lustratorium that duplicates your Alchemy ingredients for free once a week. Not very useful due to the limited use you can make of it, but it can be really interesting if you want to get more units of the more important items.
You can also speak with the newbies of the guild and tell them to follow you around to help you. They won't do much, but hey it's better than nothing.
Lastly, you have access to all the rooms of the main tower of The Arcane University, including your private quarters at the top of it.
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