Oblivion:Affairs of a Wizard

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1 Quick Walkthrough
2 Detailed Walkthrough
3 Notes
4 Journal Entries

The first Dead Drop contract at Hero Hill, to stop a Necromancer from achieving immortality. ^edit

Quest Giver: Dead Drop at Hero Hill
Location(s): Hero Hill, Leafrot Cave
Prerequisite Quest: The Purification
Next Quest: Next of Kin
Reward: 500 gold
Fame/Infamy: Infamy +1
ID: Dark10SpecialWizard

Look around for clues.

[edit] Quick Walkthrough

Retrieve your first dead drop from a hollow rock on Hero Hill.
Head to Leafrot Cave.
Learn of a Lich's weakness, and decide how you will deal with Celedaen.
Head to the next dead drop under the Great Oak in Chorrol.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] The Dead Drop

This is your first contract as a Silencer of the Black Hand and is initiated by "The Dead Drop" mini-quest, which requires you to travel to Hero Hill to find your orders.

[edit] Leafrot Cave

Your target is Celedaen, a Necromancer in Leafrot Cave who is trying to gain favor with the great Sovereign by attaining lichdom. Once you get inside you will come upon a few leveled undead near a bedroll, with some alchemical equipment, a chest, and various books - make sure you look for a skill book that raises destruction, The Art of War Magic.

[edit] Liches' Weakness

On the table is Celedaen's journal, The Path of Transcendance, which tells of his quest for becoming one of the Worm Eremites by becoming one of the undead. It appears that the fabled way of killing Liches by shattering their Soul Container at any time is actually a myth, and the only way to truly kill a Lich is to take away their Soul Container from their physical person only while it acts as a vessel when transporting the soul from their mortal body, during the process of becoming a Lich. Luckily, his transformation is not yet complete, leaving that weakness open for exploitation. This gives you two options: simply fight this powerful mage, or sneak up on him and pickpocket his Soul Container, the Sands of Resolve (looks like an hourglass), off of him. If you steal the hourglass, he instantly falls over dead, and you simply need to go to the next Dead Drop in Chorrol to complete this quest. A Paralyze or Chameleon spell will facilitate the pickpocketing greatly.

[edit] Notes

Celdeaen's journal makes reference to Falcar, whom you may remember from the Cheydinhal Recommendation quest, if you are in the Mage's Guild. It seems that Falcar is a highly regarded necromancer who has not been willing to comply with Traven's new anti-necromancy policies.
Celdeaen is not actually that tough if you do need to beat him up. Just corner him and whack him a couple of times with a good sword and he'll go down hard.
The name of the quest is a reference to a quote from the Lord of the Rings: "Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."

[edit] Journal Entries

Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
The Dead Drop (Dark10SanctuaryFIN)
10		According to Lucien Lachance, I will now receive my contracts, as well as any rewards I may be owed, by visiting secret dead drop locations scattered around Cyrodiil. My next contract can be found in a hidden hollow inside the moss-covered rock on the top of Hero Hill, which is to the southeast of Fort Farragut.
100	0	I have visited my first dead drop location and received my next contract.
Affairs of a Wizard (Dark10SpecialWizard)
10		I have received my new orders from Lucien Lachance. I must go to Leafrot Cave and kill a Necromancer who has begun the process of transforming himself into a lich. This Necromancer, Celedaen, has not yet completed his metamorphosis but is still incredibly powerful -- possibly too powerful to kill if faced directly. I should search the cave for Celedaen's writings, and try to discover his weakness.
20		I have discovered the journal of the Necromancer Celedaen. It appears he has used a magic hourglass called the Sands of Resolve to turn himself into a lich and extend his life indefinitely. The process is not yet complete, however, and the hourglass must remain on Celedaen's person for some time, as it contains his life force. If I could remove the Sands of Resolve from Celedaen's posession, perhaps through pickpocketing, he would surely die.
30		Celedaen is dead. I must pick up my reward and next contract at the dead drop located in an old sack hidden in the bushes beneath the Great Oak, in the city of Chorrol.
100	0	I have picked up my reward and received my next contract.

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 quest stage. Where quest is the internal name of the quest, and 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.