My Anesthesia

My Anesthesia is a Daedric Prince quest available in. The Agent is sent to destroy a mage at the behest of Nocturnal, but will be offered the chance to betray the Prince themselves.

Background
In their pursuit of more power to aid their quest, the Agent may seek the power of the Daedric Princes. On the 8th of Hearth Fire the Prince of Darkness Nocturnal may be summoned, if the Agent agrees to pay a summoner of either a Witch Coven, Mages Guild or a Temple.

Objectives

 * Successfully summon Nocturnal on the 8th of Hearth Fire.
 * Speak with Nocturnal and accept their quest.
 * Journey to and enter the dungeon specified by Nocturnal.
 * (Either) Find the mage, reject their offer and slay them.
 * Journey to the town mentioned by Nocturnal.
 * Speak with Nocturnal's apostle before the time limit expires.
 * (Or) Accept the mage's offer and betray Nocturnal.
 * Journey to the second dungeon mentioned by the mage.
 * Find the "artefact" before the time limit expires.

Walkthrough
On the 8th of Hearth Fire the Agent may attempt to summon Nocturnal, Prince of Darkness, from a summoner from either the Mages Guild, Witch Coven or a Temple. Successfully contacting the Prince will result in the Agent receiving a vision of Nocturnal, who asks that the Agent 'destroy one who brings me pain?'. Should the Agent accept Nocturnal's quest, they will be instructed to slay a mage in return for the famed Skeleton Key, held by one of her 'slaves'.

A Better Offer?
With that the Agent must head to the mage's lair, a dungeon identified by Nocturnal, and hunt them down. Upon striking the correct mage, for their may be multiple mages in the dungeon, the Agent will receive an offer to spare the mage's life:

"Wait! I know that Nocturnal has sent you, and that she has promised you the Skeleton's Key. But if it is truly power you seek, I can top her offer -- if you cease your attack, I will tell you where to find [Artefact]. Do you agree to my offer?"

- A desperate Mage

The Agent must now choose: reject the offer and slay the mage; or try and find the mage's prize.

The Key's Calling
Rejecting the mage's offer will result in the Agent having to slay the mage, before escaping the dungeon. They must then head to the town mentioned by Nocturnal and speak with the Prince's apostle, whom will hand the Agent the Skeleton Key should they arrive before the time limit expires.

This is the only way to successfully complete the quest.

A Mercenary Heart
Accepting the mage's offer will see the Agent given the general location of a famed artefact, either Auriel's Bow or the Warlock's Ring. With that, the mage disappears and the Agent must head to the dungeon the mage identified, searching through the dungeon to find the artefact. The artefact will be laying somewhere on the floor on the dungeon, disguised as a randomly generated piece of scrap.

However, within a few moments of taking the artefact off the floor, the Agent will receive the following notification:

"Mocking laughter echoes in your mind, "You should have known better than to trust me, [Agent's name]. Perhaps this shadow of power can satisfy your craving for a time, while you rage vainly against those who actually possess it. Me for example. I do hope sweet Nocturnal won't be too displeased with your treachery." (Artifact) crumbles to dust in your hand."

- In-game notification

Furthermore, until the time limit expires the Agent will have to defend themselves from Nocturnal's servants. These servants are frost daedra that spawn every few minutes from the moment the Agent accepts the mage's offer.

Rewards
Completing the quest successfully within the time limit will see the Agent rewarded with Nocturnal's signature tool, the Skeleton Key. Furthermore, the Agent will receive a boost in reputation with whatever faction they used to summon Nocturnal for ending the quest in triumph. Conversely, failing the quest will cost the Agent reputation with the summoner's faction, with further penalty in reputation applied for betraying Nocturnal.

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

Failing the quest by betraying Nocturnal will also see the Agent receive an additional penalty to their reputation:

Trivia

 * When asked for any news, NPCs have a variety of comments to make referencing the quest:
 * Acceptance: "[Mage's name] is a sneaky one -- [he/she] brings the whole Mages Guild under suspicion." or "I can't trust anyone at the Mages Guild, knowing [Mage's name] is a member."
 * Success: "Well, I can't say I'm surprised about [Mage's name]; [his/her] past caught up to [him/her]." or "I don't even think the Archmagister is sad to hear of the death of [Mage's name]."
 * Failure: "I knew [Mage's name] was in some kind of trouble, why else would [he/she] leave so quickly? or "The Mages Guild must have decided [Mage's name] was a liability to their image."
 * Nocturnal: "Nocturnal is the mysterious Lady of the Night, one of the Daedric Regents." or "Nocturnal is a Regent of Oblivion, whose sphere is darkness and mystery."
 * Nocturnal's apostle: "[Apostle's name] is one of the regulars at [building], just [direction] of here." or "[Apostle's name] is a [Apostle's description] who haunts [building]. That's to the [direction]."
 * Skeleton Key: "The Skeleton's Key can open any lock."

Bugs

 * The mage's offer may not work properly, making the quest impossible to complete.
 * Fixed with the DFQFIX plug-in.
 * Nocturnal's name may be replaced by a random name when speaking with NPCs.
 * This does not affect their response when asked about Nocturnal.