The Irksome Official

The Irksome Official is a Daedric Prince quest available in. The Agent is sent to destroy an 'irksome official' at the behest of Mephala, who is willing to aid the Agent in transforming from 'a worm' to 'a wasp'.

Background
In their pursuit of more power to aid their quest, the Agent may seek the power of the Daedric Princes. On the 13th of Frostfall the Prince of Plots, Mephala, may be summoned, if the Agent agrees to pay a summoner of either a Witch Coven, Mages Guild or a Temple.

Objectives

 * Successfully summon Mephala, Prince of Plots, on the 13th of Frostfall.
 * Speak with and accept Mephala's quest.
 * Journey to the first town mentioned by Mephala and enter the palace.
 * Slay the noble named by Mephala.
 * Journey to the second town identified by the Prince.
 * Speak with Mephala'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 13th of Frostfall, the Agent may receive a vision of Mephala, whom immediately offers them a quest. Indeed, Mephala believes 'it is natural for a worm to want to evolve into a wasp', and will therefore give the Agent a means of doing so.

Paranoid in Power
Accepting the quest will reveal that a noble in another town has become a problem for Mephala, and must be destroyed. However, the 'irksome official' has locked themselves 'snug and secure in his palace', meaning the Agent must find a way to get inside and kill him. If the Agent does so successfully then they are told to meet with a servant of Mephala in a second town, whom will hand the Agent their reward: The Ebony Blade.

Guards upon Guards
With that the Agent must head to the town mentioned by Mephala and find their way into the Palace. However, while Mephala implies that it will be difficult to gain entry to the Palace, the fort will in fact be unlocked between 10:00 and 18:00. The Agent simply has to enter the Palace and track down their target, whom will have some warriors acting as body guards, which will attack the Agent on sight.

The noble themselves will appear as a knight, and will shout when struck:

"You sneaking assassins are all the same. That's why I decided to get myself some real protection. [Giant's name]! Wake up, you big oaf. Kill!"

- An irksome official

The Agent must now slay the noble, their pet giant and the remaining bodyguards, although only the noble requires killing. Upon their death the Agent will be notified thus:

"Mephala would be proud-- [Noble's name] is dead. Time to make your escape."

- In-game notification

With that, the Agent should escape the Palace and head to the second town identified by Mephala, and find the Prince's apostle. Speaking with the apostle before the time limit expires will see the Agent receive the Ebony Blade, successfully completing the quest.

Rewards
Completing the quest successfully within the time limit will see the Agent rewarded with the Ebony Blade 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: "[Noble's name] says [he/she] can find [his/her] way to the headquarters of the Dark Brotherhood." or "The Dark Brotherhood must be terrified with [Noble's name] working against them."
 * Success: "[Noble's name] must have been too close to finding the location of Nightside Asylum." or "I guess the Dark Brotherhood heard about [Noble's name] and [his/her] ambitions."
 * Failure: "The Dark Brotherhood sent someone to get [Noble's name], but they couldn't kill [him/her]!" or "After that failed assassination attempt, [Noble's name] has moved out of (first town)."
 * Mephala's apostle: "[Apostle's name] is that snobby [Apostle's description] slumming in [building], [direction] of here." or "[Apostle's name] is the name of that [Apostle's description] [direction] of here in [building]."
 * The Ebony Blade: "The Ebony Blade is an artifact of vampiric power, draining its victim of life, even as it feeds its owner."

Bugs

 * The noble may appear as either gender, although Mephala's speech will only refer to them as male.
 * Speaking with NPCs too many times about Mephala's apostle will cause the game to crash.
 * The text may also fail to appear.