Oblivion:Liberation or Apprehension?

Locate a Necromancer informant and return him safely to the Arcane University. Quest Giver: Arch-Mage Traven at the Arcane University Location(s): Arcane University, Nenyond Twyll Prerequisite Quest: Necromancer's Moon Next Quest: Information at a Price Reward: Promotion to Warlock Fame/Infamy: Fame +1 ID: MG12Gate

Liberate or apprehend?

Quick Walkthrough

1. Speak to Arch-Mage Traven who tells you to find Mucianus Allias and some Battlemages at Nenyond Twyll.
2. Once you arrive, talk to Fithragaer - the only Battlemage remaining.
3. Explore Nenyond Twyll until you find Mucianus Allias, who has been turned into a unique zombie called a Worm Thrall.
4. Return to Traven with the sad news concerning Mucianus.
5. Go visit Raminus for advancement to Warlock.

Detailed Walkthrough

The Name's Allias

Speak to Arch-Mage Traven after completing Necromancer's Moon. After he gives you a little speech about how you've shown great promise and such, he'll get down to the business of your next quest. It seems that in their efforts to gain information about the Necromancers, the Mages Guild has enlisted Mucianus Allias as a spy within the organization. This move has given the guild valuable information, but Traven now feels that the informant is in danger. In particular, Traven is worried that a group of Battlemages sent to find Mucianus by the Council of Mages will mistreat him or even mistake him for one of the necromancers. To prevent this Traven sends you to Nenyond Twyll - Mucianus's last known location - an Ayleid ruin to the south of the Imperial City.

Fithragaer

Once you travel to the ruins and step inside, you meet what remains of the Battlemages - namely, a Bosmer called Fithragaer. According to him, the necromancers were ready for the battlemages and ambushed them. This obviously doesn't sound like good news for the informant. Still, Fithragaer is eager to continue the fight and he tells you to follow him. This turn of events only lasts a few seconds, as Fithragaer steps onto a platform that rises rapidly into the air and impales him on spikes attached to the ceiling. The platform is on the bottom of the first set of steps, in the center of the room. Now you'll be searching for Mucianus alone. There is however a method for keeping Fithragaer alive, which is quite tricky. See the Notes section for more information. Keep in mind though that the survival of Fithragaer is not mandatory, nor do you gain a reward at the end of the quest for keeping him alive.

The Rest of the Ruin

After passing the trap, the rest of the quest is straight forward. Just make your way past the three necromancers and towards Nenyond Twyll Riellesel. In there, you'll find a necromancer named Mariette Rielle. Surprisingly, she doesn't attack you on sight. Speak with her if you want to. If you'd rather just attack her, that's fine too. If you do choose to talk, Mariette will tell you that Mucianus Allias has been turned into a Worm Thrall (a Zombie), and then she will attack you.

After you kill her, hit the switch on the northwest wall beyond the pool to open a nearby door. Behind the door is Mucianus who - as Mariette rightly claimed - is now a Worm Thrall. Attempt to talk to Mucianus. Sadly, there is no way to help him, so the only thing you can do is head back to the Arcane University and report what happened. Don't forget to speak with Raminus for a promotion to Warlock. He will tell you that you can now access the Council Chamber - the second floor of the Arch-Mage's Tower - freely, but in fact the chamber is accessible at the previous rank of Magician.

Notes

• You do not need to kill Mucianus. Activating him (i.e., trying to talk to him) is sufficient to update the quest.
• You can keep Fithragaer alive, although his death is a scripted event which triggers a journal update and updates your quest marker. If he does not die, the quest may not update properly as a result. If you wish to keep him alive, one way to do it is:

1. Enter the ruin and let Fithragaer talk to you.
2. Run ahead and trigger the trap. When Fithragaer arrives he is likely to make it across the trap without it activating quickly enough to kill him.
3. Kill the nearby creatures without them hurting Fithragaer (he has very low health). You may want to lower the difficulty setting to do this quickly.
4. Fithragaer will now stay in this room until you slay Mucianus. Shortly after killing Mucianus, Fithragaer will begin to walk back to the entrance door with a small chance of being killed by the traps. Save after killing Mucianus in case Fithragaer dies.

• Alternatively, if you are skilled enough, you can hit him with a high powered Drain Speed spell to prevent him from running into the trap.
• Alternatively, you can initiate combat with him and then quickly yield, then just not talk to him until after finishing everything else.
• If Fithragaer survives, he will stay in the ruin. If you get him to attack you and he follows you outside, he will die instantly. If you want to try this, use a spell that doesn't damage but does anger, such as an Absorb or Drain Skill/Magicka spell.
• If you cast invisibility before or during the fight with Mariette, she will not cease combat and may occasionally cast a spell in your direction, despite the fact she cannot detect you.
• An achievement will be unlocked upon being promoted to Warlock.
• The two Varla Stone Cages in the main chamber of "Nenyond Twyll Riellesel" can be activated by pushing buttons located on the sides of the two sets of stairs leading from/into the water. Both cages house a single Varla Stone

Journal Entries

Liberation or Apprehension? (MG12Gate)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		I need to speak with Hannibal Traven, who has a special assignment for me.
20		I need to travel to Nenyond Twyll, south of the Imperial City, and make sure Mucianus Allias is safely rescued from the Necromancers there. I am to escort him back to the Arcane University.
30		Fithragaer is the only survivor from the group of Battlemages sent to find Mucianus Allias. I need to help him reach the Necromancers within Nenyond Twyll.
40		Fithragaer, the only surviving Battlemage, is dead. I'll need to continue on my own into the ruins to find Mucianus Allias.
50		I've found Mucianus Allias. He's been transformed into some kind of walking dead; there's nothing I can do for him. I should report his fate to Hannibal Traven at the Arcane University.
100		Arch-Mage Traven has been informed of Mucianus Allias' fate.

Notes

• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in random order.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage MG12Gate stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages. See SetStage for more information.

Prev: Necromancer's Moon

Up: Mages Guild

Next: Information at a Price