Oblivion:Skingrad Recommendation

Find a missing mage to obtain a recommendation from Skingrad. Quest Giver: Adrienne Berene in the Skingrad Mages Guild Location(s): Skingrad Mages Guild, Bleak Flats Cave Reward: Skingrad Recommendation Fame/Infamy: Fame +1 ID: MG01Destruct

Erthor reunited with a relieved Adrienne Berene

Quick Walkthrough

1. Speak with Adrienne Berene. She asks you to obtain some notes from a mage that she forced to practice outside of the guild.
2. The other mages will fill you in on the details of where Erthor stays and why he stays there.
3. Head to Bleak Flats Cave and seek out Erthor.
4. Once Erthor is located, kill all the zombies and return to Adrienne with him for your recommendation.

Detailed Walkthrough

Skingrad Mages Guild

When you arrive in Skingrad, you may overhear citizens and guild members talking about a strange, but relieving disappearance: "I hear one of the guild mages has gone missing again.", "Have you seen Erthor around town lately?", "It seems quieter than usual at the Mages Guild.", "Is it me, or is it quieter around here with Erthor missing?" and "Any sign of Erthor lately?"

However, when you ask the distracted guild head Adrienne Berene for a recommendation she will say: "My research occupies nearly all of my time. Now that I think about it, I do have a small problem concerning Erthor. He's one of the guild mages here. Think you can do something about it?" If you accept, she will continue: "Excellent. I just don't have the time to search for him again, but I do need to consult him about some notes he borrowed. You might want to ask around, and see if anyone can be of some help. Let me know when he's back, and you'll have your recommendation." When asked about Erthor she will hesitantly admit: "He's... well, he's an interesting fellow. Sulinus Vassinus can tell you more about him, if you wish to know." She will send you on your way with: "Have Erthor see me when he gets back, Associate."

Speak to Adrienne Berene in the Skingrad Mages Guild for her recommendation. She asks you to help with finding some notes she lent to Erthor. She suggests speaking to the other mages in the guild, as they may have some idea where he is.

When you ask around in the guildhall, the other members will be willing to discuss the infamous Erthor. Sulinus Vassinus will provide the full story: "A nice enough guy, I suppose, but there was that awful scamp incident last year. That's when Adrienne told him he needed to practice somewhere else. "Somewhere else" meaning somewhere far away. So he settled down in Bleak Flats cave. Did all of his work there, and came back to town twice a week to check in. Hasn't been around lately, though." Vigge the Cautious will concur about Bleak Flats Cave: "He hasn't shown up here in a while. I assumed he was still out at Bleak Flats Cave, where he usually stays." Druja will also comment on Erthor: "I haven't seen him in quite some time. But then, this isn't the first time he's been away, so I wasn't really that concerned." After marking the cave on your map, Druja will finish with: "Good luck finding Erthor." The four residing members will then start to have private conversations about their missing guildmate:

"Where's Erthor? I haven't seen him lately."

"He's probably still out at the cave. Adrienne hasn't let him work here in a long time."

"I know, but he usually stops by once a week or so. I don't recall seeing him lately."

Speak to any of the other mages about Erthor. They haven't seen him in a while but he is usually out in Bleak Flats Cave, west of Skingrad. Druja in particular can give you a more detailed location - northwest of Skingrad - and mark the location on your map. Druja suggests you remind Adrienne of this location.

A Terrible Guild Master

Speak with Adrienne and remind her about Bleak Flats Cave. She will send you to the cave to fetch Erthor, giving you a Weak Fireball spell for assistance. The cave is relatively small; besides Erthor there are only seven Deranged Zombies present. These are leveled zombies that drop a unique form of bonemeal instead of mort flesh. You will have to clear out the cave in order to get Erthor to leave and follow you back to Skingrad. Return with Erthor to the Mages Guild and speak with Adrienne again to confirm your recommendation.

Notes

• If you want to steal Erthor's stuff but don't want to make a return trip to the cave, lead him around a corner and tell him to wait before taking it. If Erthor catches you in the act, you will be suspended from the guild.
• Don't be afraid to let Erthor return to Skingrad by himself. He is able to make it back safely. Be sure first, however, to follow him up the side tunnel that leads from his hiding place. He will need your help to open the rock wall at the end of this passage. Just pull on the lever to the left of the wall to open it.
• If you are at a low level, Erthor is a great ally because he is a relatively strong mage and essential. He can help you kill the zombies in the cave if you start by sneaking past them; you can also have him follow you to other locations.
• At one point during development, this quest apparently had an option where Sulinus Vassinus could be asked to complete the task for you. The Journal Entries, NPC actions and dialogue options are all still present in the Construction Set; the Prima Official Game Guide also claims that "Sulinus Vassinus will actually do the quest for you." However, it is impossible to trigger any of these options in game, perhaps because the developers intentionally disabled them.
• Before the quest, and starting after at stage 40, Druja, Vigge the Cautious and Sulinus Vassinus will make different rumors in conversation in chronological order on Erthor, respectively: "Where's Erthor? I haven't seen him lately." and "Any sign of Erthor lately?" After the quest, the following rumors can be heard in conversation: "I saw Erthor earlier. Guess someone rescued him again. Hide your scrolls while you can." and "He's probably still out at the cave. Adrienne hasn't let him work here in a long time." and "I know, but he usually stops by once a week or so. I don't recall seeing him lately."

Bugs

• Erthor may not follow you after the zombies are dead. If you leave the cave without killing all of the zombies and then return after three days, seven more will spawn, throwing off the counter that tracks when Erthor will agree to leave.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch fixes this bug.
  • If you can remember how many zombies you killed the first time, kill just enough zombies to count as seven. This may allow you to leave with Erthor.
  • You can use the console to advance the quest by typing setstage MG01Destruct 70. This makes Erthor follow you even if all the zombies are not dead yet.
• After arriving back at the Guild Hall, Erthor may not stop following you even after Adrienne has been spoken to.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch fixes this bug.
  • Reloading the last autosave should trigger the normal events.
  • You may enter CompleteQuest MG01Destruct into the Command Console to complete the quest and stop Erthor's pursuit.
• If you get to the guild hall at night while Adrienne is sleeping, she and Erthor may talk while she is still lying down.
• If you are expelled from the Mages Guild while Erthor is following you, he will be stuck following you until you get back in.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch fixes this bug.

Journal Entries

Skingrad Recommendation (MG01Destruct)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		In order to get a recommendation from Adrienne Berene, I need to find Erthor and return him to the Skingrad Mages Guild. I should speak with the other guild mages to learn his whereabouts.
15		I have been told Erthor was last seen at Bleak Flats Cave, west of Skingrad. I should remind Adrienne of this.
17		I need to go to Bleak Flats Cave and find Erthor.
20 †		Sulinus Vassinus has offered to complete my task at Bleak Flats Cave for me, at a price. If I'm going to take him up on the offer, I need to bring him 300 gold. Otherwise, I should speak with the other guild mages to find where Erthor is.
30 †		I've paid Sulinus Vassinus, and he has agreed to go to Bleak Flats Cave and perform the task I was given. Once he returns, I can take credit for it.
40 †		Sulinus Vassinus has returned, and says that Erthor is safe. I need to go to Adrienne Berene, and tell her I saved him.
70		I've found Erthor in Bleak Flats Cave, and have agreed to escort him back to Adrienne Berene in Skingrad.
80		I've found Erthor in Bleak Flats Cave, and have told him to return to his guild hall. I need to report back to Adrienne Berene in Skingrad once Erthor has returned to town.
100	Finishes quest	Adrienne Berene has agreed to send a recommendation to the Arcane University on my behalf.

† Quest stages 20, 30, and 40 involve a disabled quest option in which Sulinus Vassinus would help complete the quest, see Notes. These quest stages are not accessible.

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.
• It is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage MG01Destruct 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.

Next: There are seven Mages Guild recommendation quests that can be completed in any order:

• Anvil
• Bravil
• Bruma
• Cheydinhal
• Chorrol
• Leyawiin
• Skingrad

Once all seven are completed, your induction into the Mages Guild is completed by: A Mage's Staff