The Former Student

Former Student Part I is a Mages Guild quest available during the events of. The Agent is sent to kill former Mages Guild student Baltham Greyman, a man who "lacked the loyalty" needed to remain with the Guild.

Background
After completing several mundane tasks for the Mages Guild, and improved their magical skills, the Agent will be accepted as a member of the Guild. Guildmagisters will therefore begin to offer the Agent more difficult tasks, rewarding them with random items or and a boost to their reputation, meaning they can climb further through the Guild's ranks.

Objectives

 * Speak with a Guildmagister from the Mages Guild.
 * Track down Baltham Greyman in the specified town.
 * (Either) Kill Greyman.
 * (Or) Accept his offer and spare him.
 * Report back to the Guildmagister before the time limit expires.

Walkthrough
When speaking with a Guildmagister from the Mages Guild, the Agent will be asked if they are a "loyal member of the Mages Guild". If the Agent believes that they are, the then Guildmagister will reveal that a not-so loyal member of the Guild, a former protege named Baltham Greyman, has been conducting some "unsanctioned" research in a nearby town. The Agent is duly sent to kill the traitorous Mage.

A Question of Loyalty
The Agent is sent to the town that Greyman has most recently been seen in, although they will have to ask around the locals to find where the ex-Guild mage is staying. Once found, Greyman will make a short speech, questioning why the Agent wishes to work for the Guild with "blind obedience". He offers the Agent a choice: Fight him; or join him.

Defeating Temptation
Refusing the offer will see Greyman replaced by a mage, who will attack the Agent relentlessly. If the Agent fails to kill Greyman quickly, the latter will teleport outside of the building, with the Agent needing to chase them outside. Another fight ensues, although this time Greyman will utter when first struck:

"Stop this pointless attack, and join me instead!"

- Baltham Greyman

Rejecting the second offer leads to another fight, where Greyman will teleport away if not killed in a small amount of time. Another pattern of offer-rejection-fight follows, before a fifth and final offer is made by the desperate mage:

"You are beginning to try my patience, but I will give you one last chance. Cease your attack, and I will let bygones be bygones."

- Baltham Greyman

Rejecting the final offer means that Greyman will fight to the death, making it ultimately possible to kill the mage. Once the rogue mage lies dead, the Agent must return to the Guildmagister before the time limit expires.

An Alternative Path
Accepting anyone of Greyman's five offers will end the fight prematurely, with the rogue mage immediately making clear that they have future plans for the Agent. Greyman will also hand them a letter to hand to the Guildmagister, which should convince the Guild that Greyman has disappeared. Greyman will then make his escape, leaving the Agent to return to the Guildmagister with the letter.

Rewards
The Agent will receive a random enchanted item from the Guildmagister for their efforts, alongside the boost to their reputation within the Guild, regardless of whether the Agent killed Greyman or not. The penalties for failing the quest are relatively high by comparison, but will also see gains among some anti-Mage Guild factions:

Trivia

 * This is the only Mages Guild quest that starts a questline.
 * NPCs have no comments to make about the quest if asked for any news.
 * This quest was only included in the CompUSA Special Edition version of.

Bugs

 * Balthan Greyman may spawn as a female Mage at any point during the duel.