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Warning: potential side quest (Mages Guild) spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

The Lost and The Discovered

While I had visited a few Mages Guild guildhalls in various cities to trade in the past I was sure I would meet a whole host of new individuals if I were to actually become a member of the guild. I had high hopes that between my ability with magic and my stations with the Fighter’s Guild and now the Imperial City Arena I’d have absolutely no problem joining up. Not so! The mages at the Arcane University were quite standoffish towards outsiders and, in addition to barring my entrance, only disinterestedly referred me to visit guildhalls in other cities when I inquired about recruitment. Fair enough. I packed up and rode for the nearest city, Bravil.

“Back in Bravil.”

In Bravil I was directed to speak with Kud-Ei, the head of the guildhall. Thankfully Kud-Ei was much more friendly and forthcoming with information than her guildmates in the capital. She explained to me that to join the guild I’d need to receive a recommendation letter from the head of every Mages Guild guildhall in Cyrodiil and that typically these recommendations were earned by completing tasks and jobs. So, essentially, I’d be working for free for a while. While this didn’t sit well with me it was, after all, a means to an end. Kud-Ei already had a task in mind for me her recommendation and it sounded simple enough: one of the guild members under her charge, Ardaline, had her Mage’s Staff stolen from her and I was to recover it.

“More symbolic than practical eh? Like the Queen of England!”

Kud-Ei told me that she had received information that suggested that a local Dunmer bard named Varon Vamori might know more about the staff and gave me some charm scrolls to help along with getting him to cooperate. I canvased the city and eventually found Varon on his way into the Great Chapel of Mara. I was able to pull him aside without attracting too much attention. Surprisingly, Varon fessed up immediately. It turns out he had been unsuccessfully pursuing Ardaline for quite a while and, to Elicit a response from her, finally lifted her Mage’s Staff. He apologized profusely, seemingly very concerned about how Ardaline would react when learning about his deception. Unfortunately he couldn’t actually produce the staff as he had sold it to one of his friends. Of course! Soris Arenim in the Imperial City was my next target.

After riding back to the Imperial City I was able to locate Soris in his home in Talos Plaza. Soris was hesitant to part with the staff but after a little coaxing agreed to sell it to me. Probably due to my insistence on acquiring the item, the Dunmer’s greed immediately came out and he started demanding more and more for it. Finally we settled on 200gp which seemed reasonable enough considering the unique value of a Mage’s Staff to its owner and what acquiring it would do for me. Soris seemed quite pleased with this little transaction, no doubt netting him quite a profit, but this was of little importance to me – off I went, back to Bravil!

Kud-Ei promised to send off my recommendation and also offered to teach me a spell in thanks for returning the staff. I had earned my first recommendation.

“Approaching Leyawiin at night.”

I continued south to Leyawiin wherein I sought Dagail who I was told was the head of the guildhall there. Oddly enough, Dagail seemed to speak in confused riddles when asked about a recommendation, eventually referring me to another guild member, Agata. I found Agata elsewhere in the guildhall and she cleared up the situation. Apparently Dagail had been gifted with prophetic visions her whole life. These visions were intense enough that she had to wear a special amulet to suppress and at times focus them. Unfortunately she had recently lost the amulet causing her mind to be assailed and her thoughts constantly distracted. The amulet’s existence had been kept widely secret from the guild members but Agata suggested I start with asking them about the situation directly.

“What in the world is this old bat rambling about?”

No one had anything too ill to say about Dagail or the guildhall’s leadership in general, nor any clue about any amulets or seer’s stones, with one exception: a Nordish man named Kalthar seemed rather annoyed with Dagail and everyone knew it. When I spoke to him and pressed him further, he ranted about how she didn’t deserve her position within the guild, and how it was unfair for him to have to work under someone who was only kept sane because of a magical trinket. When I asked how he knew about the amulet he admitted that he had overheard Dagail and Agata talking once. He continued to rant for quite awhile, even mentioning Dagail’s father and him being unceremoniously buried despite his service to the Emperor, oddly enough. I decided to asked Agata and Dagail about Dagail’s father. Agata knew nothing useful but told me she’d keep an eye on Kalthar. Dagail herself spoke in riddles but seemed to hint that I needed to check the spot where her father served and fell, Fort Blueblood. I might have been wrong, but it all seemed to make sense, and the ruins of the fort were close enough so I headed out to investigate.

“It just wouldn’t be a Garn update without something on fire.”

Fort Blueblood was teaming with bandits but I dispatched them quickly enough as I moved through the ruins. In the lower levels I eventually discovered a long forgotten burial chamber and, upon searching thoroughly, discovered what I believed to be the sarcophagus of Dagail’s father and an amulet that resembled the one described to be by Agata. There’s must have been another one of these amulets and perhaps Dagail’s father needed it for the same purpose as she did. Just as the puzzle pieces about Kalthar’s resentment towards Dagail and his knowledge of her father’s burial place started coming together in my head I was interrupted by a voice from behind. Kalthar had followed me.

“I ask myself that all the time…”

Confirming my suspicions, Kalthar told me that he couldn’t let me leave with the amulet and that he had taken the other one in hopes of getting Dagail removed as head of the Leyawiin guildhall. I was obviously ruining his otherwise masterful plan by my involvement. I drew my sword and attempted to pass him but as I approached him he lunged at me with a powerful burst of lighting. It was foolish of Kalthar to challenge me so directly – obviously the actions of a desperate man. As he prepared another lightning burst I hurled a fireball at him and dove at him with my blade. He fell quickly and I returned to the city to deliver the news, and the amulet, to Dagail.

Dagail was most pleased about receiving the amulet and having her mind back in some semblance of control. Agata told me that Kalthar had been a very ambitious mage for as long as she’d known him, even being a necromancer until it was outlawed. He was one of the few who decided to abandon the craft rather than leave the guild. Apparently he had never abandoned his lust for power and control though. My recommendation was secured.

“Yeah, it’s not exactly a big thrill for me either, asshole.”

I rode back up north for Cheydinhal. After the long ride I was greeted at the guildhall by the head mage there, Falcar. Falcar had a simple task – to find and recover a missing enchanted ring for him. He thought it might be at the bottom of the guildhall’s well and directed me to Deetsan so that she could unlock it for me. Deetsan agreed to unlock the well but wanted to speak with me further about the situation… in private. I met with her in one of the other chambers of the hall a short time later and she told me that I was not the first Associate to be given this task. Another, Vidkun, went looking for the ring and went missing thereafter. She cautioned me that Falcar might be trying to get me killed and to very wary while performing my task. She also gave me a scroll of waterbreathing to help me along the way.

“Ah ha! I found out why your water has been tasting so funny lately.”

Deetsan’s suspicions may have been correct. I located the ring and Vidkun’s body at the bottom of the well. The ring appeared to be enchanted to burden the wearer with an incredibly heavy weight – it was all I could do to heave the ring up but alas I could not climb the ladder out of the well while holding it so I dropped it to the bottom yet again. Apparently Vidkun had the misfortune of drowning trying to attempt the same task. When I approached Deetsan with the news she seemed to already be in a state of anxiety. She told me that, still angry about her suspicions about the task Vidkun and I had been given, she confronted Falcar after I had left. When she told Falcar that she had helped me he flew into a rage. When she threatened to report him to the Council, he stormed off. She suggested I not worry about it and check Falcar’s office to see if he might have already prepared a recommendation letter for me.

“Further proof that Falcar is a prick.”

I briefly looked around on Falcar’s desk but saw no sign of a recommendation. I did find something a unexpected, however: two Black Soul Gems. Black Soul Gems were a special type of Soul Gem usually only used in necromancy that allowed trapping the souls of humans. Nasty indeed. I took the gems and brought them to Deetsan who couldn’t believe the sight. She told me she’d have to report Falcar to the Council of Mages and would write my recommendation herself.

I was surprised to find so much necromancy within the ranks of the guild, and so quickly, but I quickly dismissed this as coincidence and saddled back up to ride for Bruma.

Warning: potential side quest (Arena) spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

The Fame and the Fury

“The Arena.”

Having left Modryn Oreyn to see to my Fighters Guild business I decided that it was time for something a little different – some much deserved time off, perhaps. I returned to the capital city to plot my next move as well as finally offload the considerable spoils that I had amassed in the previous months to the usual storekeepers and traders in the Market District. During this time I finally, mostly out of curiosity, visited the Arena. After watching and betting on a few low and mid-level gladiatorial matches I began to wonder if participating myself might be a good way to earn some extra gold while I was taking some time off of adventuring. It had also occurred to me that mingling with other gladiators as well as appearing in front of such a large audience could finally give me a break or at least some hints to discovering my still unknown past.

“That joke would probably go over a lot better in a place not so filled with necromancers and undead abominations.”

Owyn, one of the Blademasters in the Arena and the one that everyone directed me to speak to about joining, was at first entirely dismissive of my interest in becoming a gladiator even after I offered him my Fighters Guild credentials. After I returned a second time, wearing my full armor and adventuring gear, he seemed to take much more interest in my claims and decided to offer me a spot, though only as a lowly “Pit Dog”. It was no matter, I was sure I could rise through the ranks rather quickly and was actually fairly relieved that I would be built up as anything too remarkable.

“One down…”

My first fight was a surreal experience: walking up the ramp from the Bloodworks while listening to the announcer describe the combatants, being blinded by the sun as I stepped outside, drawing my sword and kicking the dirt under my sandals as I waited for the gate to open, and the monstrous roaring of the crowd as I effortlessly blocked her attack and cleaved my Daedric blade into my Bosmer opponent’s side. While the fight wasn’t any more difficult for me than it would be taking on a more aggressive bandit or marauder the stage of exhibition made the whole thing feel like something much different. I held up my hands and the crowd went wild. I had won my first match.

“Standing ready as the Argonian prisoners charge.”

I fought a match or two every two or three days advancing through the ranks until I came to one of my first legitimate challenges. As my initiation for reaching the “Gladiator” rank I was to fight three Argonian prisoners. They were only lightly armed and protected but if they won they were to be given their freedom – a more meaningful prize than I or anyone else here was fighting for. I knew that they would fight hard and indeed they did. While I tried to pepper them with lightning and fire spells to keep them at a distance they were too quick and soon cornered me. Distracted by the melee, I let one of the three got around behind me and he began trying to choke me to the ground. It was a desperate fight for all involved but soon I was able to drop my first Argonian, and then a second, until finally it was just a one on one competition. The last Argonian and I circled each other, both out of breath, but not taking our eyes off of one another for even a moment. When he finally sprang for me I rolled under his swipe and swung at his legs, slicing into his calf and sending him tumbling into the dirt. I leaped to my feet and drove my blade into his chest as he struggled to gather himself. Another glorious victory – I was starting to get addicted to this.

Soon my reputation for decisive wins was gaining me some considerable fandom. Owyn told me that the crowd had nicknamed me “The Crimson Blade” after the strange red metal of my Daedric longsword. Enjoying this, I adopted the name officially rather than trying to further advertise my true identity. After all, I was pretty vulnerable to assassination attempts while fighting in the Arena and I still didn’t know who could be after me at that point.

“Dude, I hate to tell you this but your mom was kind of a dick!”

I also began to befriend some of the other gladiators including the enigmatic “Gray Prince”, the current Grand Champion of the Arena. His real name was Agronak gro-Malog , a half-orc whose fighting ability was legendary and whose whole life seemed to be wrapped up in the honor and fame of gladiatorial combat. Still, there was one thing that seemed to distract him: upon hearing that I had spent a considerable time adventuring he told me about how his father was a Lord but due to him being born out of an affair he was never able to claim his birthright. He proposed to me that if I were still up to adventuring I should enter the ruins of an old fortress called Crowhaven to look for proof of his noble birth. He even had a key which he believed would get me into the inner chambers of the fortress. As I respected Agronak and his request seemed steeped in sincerity I took a brief break from my regular Arena fights to honor his request.

“Great, I haven’t even set foot in the place and I’m already facing hordes of enemies.”

Crowhaven had definitely fallen into ruin yet it wasn’t quite abandoned. I encountered a variety of undead creatures lurking therein with increasing frequency until at last I was ambushed by a vampire, and quite an aggressive one at that. Having survived the attack (though sustaining some minor injuries) I continued searching the fortress only to discover some disturbing knowledge: evidence of Agronak’s birth indeed, but apparently his father, Lord Lovidicus, was a vampire. In fact, he was the very vampire that I had just slain! I gathered up all of the pertinent information: a journal and some letters and quickly returned to the Imperial City to tell Agronak the news. He was thrilled about my return but refused to hear me out nor to read what I had brought back until he had finished his training regime. Talking to him the next day it was evident that he was devastated by the thought of being what he considered a spawn of evil. It was not my place, nor was I of the heart to console him on such matters.

“The Champion and I square off.”

I continued to rise up through the ranks and gain more and more popularity until, after surviving another rather outmatched battle, I finally gained the rank of Champion myself. I had risen to the top but to truly test myself I decided to do what few had done before me and challenge Grand Champion, The Gray Prince.

“Here goes nothing… no, literally. What a disappointing fight.”

Agronak rushed me and swung at me with a ferociousness and anger I had rarely faced in all of my battles – the rumors of his excellent swordsmanship hadn’t been exaggerated. No sooner than the thought having only just occurred to me that I might have finally met my match, I was shocked to see Agronak purposely lower his blade. “Do it!” he screamed. It took me a moment to realize what was happening but by then it was too late – my sword was already traveling with some speed swords his neck. I had done it, I had defeated the Gray Prince. The crowd was none the wiser about what transpired and I decided right there and then to keep it that way, to let Agronak’s memory live on in honor despite the self-loathing he held for himself after learning of his terrible origins.

I had bested all that the Imperial City Arena could throw at me, I had experienced the lifestyle of a famed gladiator, and I now held yet another position of prestige for whatever that was worth. Still, I was no closer to learning of my past. I hadn’t felt any twinge of familiarity whilst battling below the grandstands, I hadn’t run into any familiar characters from my past, nor had I appeared to have been noticed by anyone who was previously familiar with me me during the couple of months I spent as a dedicated gladiator. It was time for something else: more adventure, more work, but now it was time to look into my gift with the magics and pay a visit to the Arcane University.

Warning: potential side quest (Fighters Guild) spoilers ahead!

From Garn’s recollections:

Hist Heist

The Blackwood Company’s presence in Leyawiin was hard to ignore – they had a hall directly across from the Fighters Guild guildhall which, to add insult to injury, was larger and grander in every way. My hand on the pommel of my sword, I cautiously entered. The hall porter referred me to an Argonian named Jeetum-Ze who at first seemed to recognize me. I was worried for a moment but then the Argonian scoffed it off and said that he had a lot of Fighters Guild members defecting to the Blackwood Company for work so my association with them was of no concern. After interviewing me further he agreed to let me tag along to a new member evaluation and training mission and sent me to a basement room where some other prospective members had gathered for their assignment.

“Well, it was a good plan while it lasted.”

Jeetum-Ze joined us after only a few minutes to tell us about the job. Apparently the villagers at Water’s Edge just north of the city had reported a goblin infestation and we were to handle it. This sounded like a reasonable first task for a group of four new recruits – most goblins were easy fare for experienced fighters so even if it were swarming with them we should be up to the task. Before we set off Jeetum-Ze demanded that we all partake of a potion to aid us in battle as part of a Blackwood Company traditional ritual. When I inquired with him about what it was he told me that Hist tree sap. I expressed my surprise that they had been smuggling in Hist Sap from Black Marsh but he laughed at the notion, admitting instead that the Blackwood Company had brought a entire Hist tree back to Cyrodiil with them. Intriguing, but not much else at the time. The four of us toasted and downed the strange concoction then prepared to head out.

“Let the goblin slaughter commence!”

At Water’s Edge we found the village overrun with Goblins, as reported. They roamed the streets, they infested houses, they were positively everywhere. Thankfully these seemed to be a relatively weak variety of goblin and most fell without even putting up much of a fight. Soon enough we had cleared out the entire place. We were preparing to leave, sending one of the recruits to ride ahead in order let Jeetum-Ze know that it was safe for the villagers to return. That was the last thing I remember before waking up in Modryn Oreyn’s house in Chorrol. Modryn told me that I was found passed out in the streets of Leyawiin and some guild brothers brought me to him. When were began discussing the mission’s progress and I told him about the Hist Sap he was amazed. He explained how Argonians ritualistically used the powerful sap to communicate with the Hist trees but he had never heard of non-Argonians taking the stuff and suspected that it was the reason I lost consciousness. He was to investigate further and in the meantime wanted me to return to Water’s Edge to independently check on the status of the contract.

“Umm… oops?”

In Water’s Edge I returned to a grizzly sight – There were bodies piled high in the streets but much to my surprised they were not goblin bodies. Where we had slain goblins now lay villagers. Something had gone terribly wrong. Had the Hist Sap made us hallucinate, or maybe even controlled us to commit this crime? Even so, the orders came from the Blackwood Company beforehand and where quite explicit. To what end would they do this? I was sickened by my participation in this tragedy and returned back to Chorrol to relay the horrible news with hope that Modryn might have some insight.

Modryn assured me that the massacre at Water’s Edge was in no way my fault and asked me to instead focus on our next move. He theorized that the Hist Sap was the key to the Blackwood Company’s seemingly unnatural power and that it might also explain their insane behavior at times. The mission was obvious – head back to the Blackwood Company hall and attempt to locate and sabotage the Hist tree and their stores of sap. I’d have to go it alone as I was the only member of the guild who had infiltrated them and we agreed that a more direct assault could be disastrous given their growing size and power, never mind that we didn’t have any official backing from the Fighters Guild on the matter.

“Does this mean I finally get to kill all of you Blackwood motherfuckers? Yes!”

When I entered the Blackwood Company hall I was immediately halted by the porter and a retinue of guards. Soon other members gathered including Ja’Fazir, their second in command. Ja’Fazir drew his sword and proclaimed me to be a traitor, ordering the Blackwood Company to dispatch me. Surprised, I drew my sword, raised my shield, and began to back away while I prepared to summon help from the Daedra. Underestimating me, some of the lower ranked guards and probationary members were first to come at me. I dropped my shield and cleaved one, cleanly passing his armor, into the neck. I cast a powerful lightning arch at another. The Dremora I had summoned tied some of the others up as I rushed towards Ja’Fazir. Ja’Fazir seemed to be a capable mage as well as a swordsman and we locked into a fierce sword fight, stopping at times to hurl lightning and firebolts at each other. Soon the fight was over as I timed one of my spells perfectly and set him aflame. I looked around to find the skirmish completely over – I had just slain the core of the Blackwood Company.

“Ack! Cut that shit out!”

Largely free of the restriction of being overseen by guards and other members, I then searched the Blackwood Company hall for signs of the tree. I located a locked door that seemed to be worth investigating but it was too secure to bash open or even my strongest spells and I had no luck picking the lock. I set off into the upper rooms and offices to try to find a key or some other way of opening the door. Instead what I found was Ri’Zakar, the leader of the Blackwood Company, apparently waiting for me. The battle that unfolded was fierce, I had to summon another Dremora just to even the odds a bit. Ri’Zakar must have confused the Dremora with me because of my Daedric armor and foolishly focused on it, giving me opportunity to focus on attacking from afar with spells. Just as he finished off the Dremora I blasted him with a fireball that blew him off his feet, sending him smashing into a bookself, dead. I found a ring of keys on his belt and returned to the suspicious door on the ground level.

“Burning the hist tree: Now where are my marshmallows at?”

On the other side of the door was a staircase leading down to a small courtyard on the basement level of the hall, a huge Hist tree sat in the middle, with all kinds of odd machinery surrounding it. The machinery, which Jeetum-Ze had made a passing reference to when first talking about the Hist tree, was evidently crucial in helping the tree survive in the foreign client so I figured destroying it would help ensure the destruction of the tree. After dispatching two of the attending Blackwood Company mages, I bashed the machine to pieces, break pipes, jamming levers, and causing whatever damage I could. I also set the tree ablaze for good measure. Modryn said that the Argonias believe the Hist trees are living, intelligent beings. If this is true I hope I’ll be forgiven for dispatching this one in such a cruel manner.

“Oh, how I’ve been looking forward to cleaving your stubby little Elvish head in half, Maglir!”

Exiting the Blackwood Company hall I was greeted by Maglir, shortsword in hand. Surprised to see that it was me who had caused the destruction surrounding us, he cursed the day I joined the Fighters Guild and charged haphazardly towards me. Maglir, evidently overcome with anger over losing his new and more fruitful job after deserting the Fighters Guild, fell swiftly as in two quick motions I parried his attack and returned my own, slicing deep below his shoulder, through the meager protection of his armor and into the soft flesh of his armpit. It occurred to me that Maglir’s death might earn me an initial denouncement from the Fighters Guild but I was sure my actions would be quickly proven justified once everything was revealed. Attempting to appear as inconspicuous as possible, I left the scene and rode back to Chorrol.

“Free hard work and responsibilities I didn’t ask for? Sign me up!”

In Chorrol I updated Modryn on the situation. He was quite pleased with the results – vengeance was served, though justice had not been completely done yet. I decided to return to the guildhall to see if I could talk Vilena into restoring Modryn’s place in the guild. Vilena was quite shocked to learn of all that had transpired. While Modryn had intentionally kept her in the dark about many of the details surrounding the guild’s conflict with the Blackwood Company, Vilena seemed to have the wool over her eyes even further than I had ever suspected. She seemed to realize this fact though, and after further questioning, thanked me for my part and decided that she would step down as Guildmaster and hand the title to me. I was surprised to say the least. My first order of business was to name Modryn as my second in command and place him in charge of handling the day to day operation of the guild so that I could continue concentrating on my original goals. One thing was for sure, there was no avoiding notoriety now…

Stupidly enough, when Maglir attacked me during the last part of the quest it somehow flagged me as killing a Fighters Guild member despite Maglir attacking me first and not even technically being a member of the guild at that point in the story. This meant when returning to Modryn and Vilena to finish the quest line they pretty much told me I was an asshole and to fuck right off. Needless to say I was quite confused as that was far from the reaction I was expecting… 😉

In general, I’m not a big fan of the Fighters Guild quest line in Oblivion. Most of the missions are of the very simple “go to this cave and kill something/everything and/or find this item” variety and I never quite understood the Blackwood Company’s motives in the latter parts of the story arc. We learned that their strength and boldness in challenging the Fighters Guild may have been because of the effects of the Hist Sap that they’re all slurping down constantly, but other than the Water’s Edge incident we don’t really see them doing anything all that “evil”. Was having a Hist tree and drinking its sap evil? The conflict with the Fighters Guild mostly seemed like businesses squabbling over territory. The Water’s Edge incident is a bit more confusing – I suppose it could be explained as an unintentional side effect of the fact that the new recruits had yet to become used to the effects of the Hist Sap but then why did we receive a mission from higher up to go kill goblins at all if there weren’t actually any there? Was Jeetum-Ze and/or the rest of the Company actually trying to get us to mass murder villagers and, if so, why? Perhaps there really were some goblins reported in the area and the job was legitimate? Hmph! I suppose what I’m getting at is that they never seemed all that evil to me, and the one truly evil thing they did never made much logical sense to me… but we murdered them all regardless. Theories?