The Ancient Scroll

The Ancient Scroll is a Mages Guild quest available during the events of. An Ancient Scroll has been uncovered in one of the Iliac Bay's dungeons, and the Agent is sent to retrieve it.

Background
After escaping from Privateer's Hold, the Agent may wish to enhance their reputation within one of the major organisations of the Iliac Bay: The Mages Guild. However, without any true standing within the guild, the Agent will have to complete a few menial tasks for the Guild to prove their worthiness, as well as enhance their skills to meet the Guild's standards.

Objectives

 * Speak with a Guildmagister from one of the Mages Guild's Guildhalls.
 * Journey to and enter the specified dungeons.
 * Search for and recover the Ancient Scroll.
 * (Optional) Read the Scroll.
 * Report back to the Guildmagister with the Scroll before the time limit expires.

Walkthrough
In their pursuit of a place among the Mages Guild, the Agent will be offered the chance to complete an "off the books" job for one of the Guildmagisters. The Guildmagister has found the location of an Ancient Scroll, but lacks the time to go and retrieve it for themselves. They will therefore off the Agent the task of obtaining said Scroll, in return for boosting their reputation in the Guild.

Secrets of a Scroll
Predictably, the Ancient Scroll is to be found inside one of the Iliac Bay's many dungeons, into which the Agent must delve. Inside, the Agent will face a random collection of creatures and enemies, while the Scroll itself can be found on the floor. Picking up the Scroll will add it to the Agent's inventory, meaning they can now leave the dungeon and return to the Guildmagister.

An Ice Surprise
However, the Agent also has the option of reading the scroll themselves, which will not affect the outcome of the quest. It will, however, spawn an Ice Atronach, which will instantly attack the Agent the moment they close the Scroll. Defeating the Atronach is required before the Agent can return to the Guildmagister, who will remark upon the Agent's return:

"Excellent. I remembered to warn you not to read this, didn't I? Could be quite dangerous if you pronounced "nagog" with the hard g, as laymen are apt. Well, thanks for your help, (player's name). Keep this up and we'll consider you for membership in the Mages Guild."

- A Guildmagister

Naturally, the Agent can only complete the quest successfully if they return to the Guildmagister before the time limit expires.

Rewards
The Agent will not receive any physical reward for completing the quest successfully, regardless of whether they read the Scroll or not, but will a boost to their reputation. The penalties for failing the quest are relatively high by comparison, but will also see gains among some anti-Mage Guild factions:

Trivia

 * Unlike other quests, NPCs will not make comments on the quest when asked for any news.