Daggerfall:Malacath's Quest

Quick Walkthrough
# Summon Malacath on the 8  of Frostfall.
# Head to the dungeon named by Malacath.
# Find and kill the Daedra Seducer.
# (Optional) Find a letter on the Seducer's corpse.
#(Optional) Show the letter to a local ruling Noble.
# Travel to the town named by Malacath.
# Meet his worshipper in the palace within the time limit and receive The Volendrung.

Detailed Walkthrough
thumb|right|The Daedra Seducer who betrayed Malacath
thumb|right|A local ruler is investigating a murder
thumb|right|Malacath's worshipper waits patiently in the Palace
thumb|right|The Volendrung
 
The Prince of Lies
Malacath speaks to you:

:"Yes, I know someone else who was interested in power. A little panikosa in Oblivion who dreamed of power, who asked me to supply it with the beauty and grace it had always desired. And when I made it beautiful, it fought against me, resisting my will as if I had not made it. Perhaps you are the same. If I made you strong and beautiful, you would respect the gift I gave, would you not?"

Accept
Malacath goes on:

:''"I believe you, (player's name). In exchange for the death of the treacherous seducer I once trusted, I will give you the Volendrung, my most prized possession in your world. It will make you most powerful indeed. You will find the loathed creature in (dungeon). Slay her and meet my dear and trusted subject (worshipper's name) in (town). I will tell (him/her) to meet you at the palace there for convenience. I don't think the whole affair should take more than (time limit) days if done as efficiently as it should. Go then into the world and do my bidding, (player's name)."

Decline
Malacath answers furiously:

:"Witless (player's race), don't you even know enough to lie? Do not waste my time with your pathetic yearnings."

The Ungrateful Seducer
Travel to the dungeon named by Malacath and enter it. Find the offending Daedra Seducer within, and destroy her. There may be multiple Daedra within the dungeon, but when the target dies, a notification appears:

:(Daedra Seducer's name) is dead.

If you search her corpse, you will find a note containing the following message:

:(Daedra Seducer's name),
:      Malacath wishes (victim's name) dead.
: ( ) agents have uncovered one too many of
: our plots. ( ) must be stopped before all
: our plans for (region) are ruined. You will
: find (him/her) in the Palace of (town). Make
: sure (his/her) death cannot be traced back to us.
:     Once you have carried out the  ,
: wait for me in (dungeon). I will bring
: your reward and your next assignment from
: Malacath.
:::::::(Worshipper's name)''

To complete the quest and receive Volendrung, travel to the town where Malacath's worshipper waits. Enter the Palace and speak to the worshipper for your reward. However, you may also investigate the assassination mentioned in the letter for an additional reputation boost.

The Assassination
Should you wish to investigate the matter, travel to the town named in the letter. If you ask around for rumors, you will learn the name of the local ruler, and that he or she has been investigating the assassination. Locate and enter the Palace. Find and speak to the local ruler, and a prompt appears asking if you wish to hand over the letter you found. Say "yes", and the Noble exclaims:

:''"(Oath)! (Worshipper's name) was behind (victim's name)'s death?  And involved in a daedra plot as well?  We may never have solved this murder without your help, (player's name). Your loyalty to the (region ruler's title) will not be forgotten."''

Deliver the note and you will gain +15 reputation with the current region and +7 with its associated factions. Afterwards, you can still travel to Malacath's worshipper and collect your reward.

Reward
Malacath's worshipper speaks to you:

:''"So you're (player's name). Malacath described you perfectly. Good work with old (Daedra Seducer's name). She just didn't know how to keep her mouth shut, you know? Anyhow, here's the Volendrung. Not a halfbad smasher. And who knows? You might have to use it on Malacath himself one day. I'm joking ... of course."''

Reputation Gain/Loss
If you kill the Daedra Seducer and speak to Malacath's worshipper within the time limit, you will gain reputation as seen below.


If you fail to complete the quest within the time limit you will lose reputation as seen below.


Additional Reputation
If deliver the letter to the Noble, you will gain reputation as seen below.


Enemies
Random dungeon monsters
Quest Target: One Daedra Seducer
left
 

Notes
In smaller regions, Malacath's worshipper and the noble investigating the assassination may be assigned to the same palace, making it very easy to receive both rewards.
The quest ends about one in-game hour after you receive the Volendrung from Malacath's worshipper. If you have not done so, you can still deliver the note if you can reach the Noble during this time frame.
This quest is unavailable when ChildGuard is on.

Bugs
The reputation gains from delivering the letter may sometimes be credited to another region (and its allies), instead of the one where the quest takes place.

Additional Dialogue
If you ask an NPC about Malacath's worshipper, you may be told:
''"(Worshipper's name) is a noble, rumored to have had a secret romance with a dark lady."
"(Worshipper's name) is a noble with a lot of secret allegiances."
If you ask an NPC about the assassination victim, you may hear:
"(Victim's name)'s death is still a mystery. (Noble's name) is leading the investigation, but so far has no leads."
"I'm sure (victim's name) was killed because of (his//her) investigation of corruption in (region)."
"(Victim's name) was investigating a plot to overthrow (region ruler's title) (region ruler's name) when (he/she) was "mysteriously" killed. (Noble's name) is trying to find out who was responsible, but (he/she)'ll never get to the bottom of it."
"(Victim's name) was found dead in the Palace of (palace town), and all (his/her) notes on (his/her) investigation into high-level treason were stolen. (Noble's name) was sent to track down the killer, but (he/she) has nothing to go on."
If you ask an NPC about the Noble, they may tell you:
"(Noble's name) is leading the investigation into (victim's name)'s death, but so far has no leads."
"(Noble's name) is investigating (victim's name)'s death at the Palace of (palace town)."
"(Noble's name) is trying to find out who was responsible for (victim's name)'s death, but (he/she)'ll never get to the bottom of it."
"(Noble's name) was sent to track down (victim's name)'s killer, but has nothing to go on."
If you ask an NPC about the Volendrung, they may say:
"The Volendrung is a war hammer of great power, able to sap the strength of its victims."
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"(Victim's name) was found dead, right in (his/her) palace in (palace town)."
"Most daedra seducers have a mission. The one in (dungeon) is just waiting."
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"I'm still thinking about that woman's laughter I heard coming from the sky."
"Don't know where, but a lot of people saw her flying around some nights ago."
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"I hear that seducer was murdered by her master's agents for falling in love."
"Made me nervous -- that seducer just sitting in that hole, waiting for something."''

Quest Log