An Innocent Lich

An Innocent Lich? is a Daedric Prince quest available in. The Agent is sent by the Daedric Prince of Nightmares Vaernima to destroy an 'innocent' lich that has betrayed them.

Background
In their pursuit of more power to aid their quest, the Agent may seek the power of the Daedric Princes. On the 10th of Sun's Height the Prince of Nightmares Vaernima may be summoned, if the Agent agrees to pay a summoner of either a Witch Coven, Mages Guild or a Temple.

Objectives

 * Successfully summon Vaernima, Prince of Nightmares, on the 10th of Sun's Height.
 * Speak with Vaernima and accept the Prince's quest.
 * Journey to and enter the dungeon mentioned by Vaernima.
 * Track down and destroy the lich identified by Vaernima.
 * Journey to the town mentioned by the Prince.
 * Speak with Vaernima's apostle before the time limit expires.

Walkthrough
The Agent may approach a summoner at either the Mages Guild, a Temple, or a Witch Coven to summon one of the Daedric Princes. If the summoning occurs on the 10th of Sun's Height, the Agent may receive a vision of Vaernima, Prince of Nightmares, whom immediately offers them a quest. Indeed, Vaernima is keen to spread the corruption of power, if the Agent can tolerate 'murdering an innocent'.

A Cadaverous Presence
Accepting Vaernima's task reveals that this 'innocent' is a lich, whom has taken the Prince of Nightmare's powers, only to subsequently betray them. As such, the Agent is required to destroy said lich in its lair in Vaernima's name, before speaking with an apostle of the Prince. This apostle, located in another town, will then hand the Agent their prize, the Skull of Corruption.

With that the Agent should head to and enter the 'innocent' lich's lair, a dungeon located in the same region in which Vaernima was summoned. Inside, the Agent may face a number of liches, and so will have to keep killing the undead creatures until they receive the following notification:

"You have slain the lich, fulfilling your part of the bargain with Lady Vaernima."

- In-game notification

Upon the lich's destruction, the Agent must escape the dungeon and meet with Vaernima's apostle, residing in a nearby town. Should the Agent arrive before the time limit expires the apostle will hand the agent their reward, and a promise to 'embellish' the Agent's tales of 'outrageous sins' to the Prince. This conversation will complete the quest.

Rewards
Completing the quest successfully within the time limit will see the Agent rewarded with the Skull of Corruption by the Prince's apostle. The Agent will also receive a boost in reputation with the faction whom summoned the Prince for them, as well as the faction's associates. Conversely, failing the quest will result in the Agent losing reputation with the summoner's faction.

The changes made to reputation, either by successfully completing or failing the quest are shown below:

Trivia

 * When asked for any news, NPCs have a variety of comments to make referencing the quest:
 * Acceptance: "There is a curse on this land while that lich remains in [dungeon]." or "If only some great hero would come to slay that ancient lich in [dungeon]."
 * Success: "I hear [random God] sent us an angel to rid [dungeon] of that accursed lich." or "We may never know who destroyed that lich in [dungeon], but he's in our prayers."
 * Failure: "That lich left [dungeon], but it's not dead. It'll be back when it's ready." or "I'm just happy that lich is gone, even if it isn't dead."
 * Vaernima's apostle: "[Apostle's name] is that creepy [Apostle's description] over at [building] to the [direction]." or "[Apostle's name] is the foul-smelling [Apostle's description] I saw at [Apostle's name] [sic]." or "[Apostle's name] is one of Vaernima's agents of corruption in [region]." or "[Apostle's name] is one of Vaernima's dirty little spreaders of corruption."
 * The Skull of Corruption: "The Skull of Corruptions creates dark and oppositional duplicates of a target." or "The Skull brings forth a target's dark half from Vaernima's plane of Oblivion."