Guild Guarding

Guild Guarding is a Mages Guild quest available during the events of. The Agent is told to stay inside one of the Guild's Guildhalls overnight to defend a powerful item from thieves.

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 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.
 * Enter the Guildhall before midnight.
 * Wait around until 03:00.
 * Kill any thieves that appear between those times.
 * Report back to the Guildmagister after 03:00.

Walkthrough
When looking for work after joining the Mages Guild, the Agent will be offered the chance to guard a valuable magical item. According to the Guildhall's Guildmagister, the item has attracted a lot of attention, and it is likely that a group of thieves will attempt to steal it. The Agent is therefore tasked with defending the item between midnight and 3:00 am, a time thieves like to strike.

The Guild Guardian
The Guildhall will remain open beyond its usual 23:00 closing time, and the Agent must be inside before midnight. Once inside, the Agent can loiter around, as their wait will be interrupted by the appearance of thieves, likely in two groups. The thieves themselves will respond to being hit, with the first thief stating:

"Lookee here boys. A guard. Gee, I'm all scared and shaking. Lets leave the tongue on the door as a warning not to mess with the thieves guild. Get him!"

- A Magical Thief

The Agent must kill at least two of the thieves to complete the quest, although they will have to wait until the 03:00 deadline passes. After 3:00 the Agent may speak to the Guildmagister to complete the quest and receive their reward.

A Temptation Too Far
It is possible for the Agent to steal the item themselves, for it can be seen lying on the floor somewhere within the Guildhall. Picking up the item, and either leaving the Guildhall or keeping it in their inventory beyond the 3:00am deadline constitutes a theft, and will effectively fail the quest. Furthermore, the Guild will send a group of knights to take the item from the player, who will shout when hit:

"I claim bounty on the thief and traitor to the Mages Guild."

- A Hired Knight

After three days the Agent will be deemed to be the owner of the item, meaning they can use it as they please. However, they will have taken a severe penalty to their reputation with the Mages Guild.

Rewards
The Agent will receive a random gem from the Guildmagister for preventing the item from being stolen, alongside the boost to their reputation within the Guild. The penalties for failing the quest are relatively high by comparison, but will also see gains among some anti-Mage Guild factions:

Furthermore, taking the magical item, either intentionally or accidentally, will result in an additional penalty:

Trivia

 * When asked for any news NPCs have a variety of comments to make referencing the quest:
 * Acceptance:
 * "The thieves must think that [magical item] in the Mages Guild is very valuable."
 * "The thieves have been threatening to steal the Mages Guild's [magical item]."
 * Success:
 * "Those thieves aren't going to try to get that [magical item] again, I bet."
 * "The thieves who tried to get that [magical item] didn't expect a real guard, I bet"
 * Failure:
 * "The thieves finally got that [magical item] after all."
 * "The Mages Guild should've got real guards. That's why they lost the [magical item]."

Bugs

 * The questfile states that the Agent should receive a potion rather than a Gem for completing the quest.