Oblivion:Taking Care of Lex

Quick Walkthrough
#After fencing at least 500 gold in stolen items, meet with S'Krivva to receive this mission.
#Travel to Anvil and steal the recommendation letter.
#Have a new recommendation letter forged.
#Sneak into the Imperial Legion Offices to seal the letter with the official seal.
#Deliver the letter to Countess Millona Umbranox.
#Take the "Transfer Orders" to Hieronymus Lex.
#Return to S'Krivva for your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
S'Krivva
Talk to S'Krivva in Bravil. She tells you that Hieronymus Lex is causing problems and that the Gray Fox would like him reassigned so that he can protect Countess Umbranox of Anvil instead of persecuting the Thieves Guild. She also explains that for some unknown reason the Gray Fox recently put the Countess under his personal protection. Anvil is in need of a new Captain of the Guard; your job is to replace the list of recommended candidates in Steward Dairihill's desk in Castle Anvil with a forged one that recommends Lex.

Recommendation Letter
Travel to Anvil and speak with a beggar to learn that Dairihill's desk is in the private quarters of the castle and to get some ideas on how to infiltrate it. The beggar will suggest talking to the blacksmith.

Orrin, the blacksmith at the castle's smithy who turns out to be a guild member, will show you a secret passage that will get you into the castle's private quarters. When you get to the end of the passageway, be cautious, as there is a guard that frequently patrols this area at all times of the day and night, and Dairihill is also often found walking about. Wait till after 1 am and Dairihill will be out of the room. To open the hidden door at the end of the passage, there is a white pillar to the left of the door.

Sneak to Dairihill's desk, which is in a locked room to the left and steal the letter, then return through the secret passage.

A Stranger
Ask a beggar again for directions to a forger known only as "A Stranger" who lives in an Abandoned House near the Anvil Mages Guild Hall. The Stranger tends to wander, so use the map compass, as it is less ambiguous.

Once you locate the Stranger he will agree to forge a new letter for you, but you'll need to wait a day. He spends part of his day in the Castle Anvil audience chamber, and he will not want to speak about forgery while he is there. It won't even be available as a topic. Instead, try to meet him later in the evening at his home.

When a day has passed go back to the Stranger and pay him 500 gold to get the new letter.

Seal
Next, head to the Imperial City and break into the Imperial Legion Offices located in the Prison District. There are several ways to get into the office you want (directly from outside, from the dining hall (the leftmost door labeled 'Imperial Legion Office'), or from the basement, accessible from the dining hall). The seal for the letter is on top of the desk (just activate it to proceed), although it can be knocked off and be somewhat tricky to find.

The chest next to the desk contains some high-quality random loot depending on your level (as much as one enchanted weapon, two unenchanted weapons, one enchanted armor, and two unenchanted armor). These items will be marked as stolen, and fencing them is likely to satisfy any further need to do Independent Thievery.

Countess Umbranox
Once the letter is sealed, deliver it to Countess Millona Umbranox in Anvil. She'll decide Hieronymus Lex is the man for the job and ask you to deliver the good news to him. She also mentions you can collect your courier's tip (20 gold) from Dairihill (who will not be very happy).

Hieronymus Lex
Deliver the "Transfer Orders" to Lex, who can be found stopping for lunch at the South Watch Tower in the Temple District around noon, or in the evening around 7pm at The Bloated Float in the Waterfront. After assuring you he knows who's behind this, he resigns himself to the position and makes his way to Anvil, where he puts on the town guard armor and starts his rounds.

Reward
Finally, return to S'Krivva for your 1000 gold reward (500 plus your cost for the forgery) and advancement to Shadowfoot rank. You'll also have Orrin the blacksmith available as a new fence. S'Krivva will have no more jobs for you but mentions the Gray Fox himself may contact you soon.

Blood Price
Killing any of the following NPCs while this quest is active will require you to pay a blood price to S'Krivva:

  These NPCs do not exist in-game. 
  This NPC is marked as essential until the quest ends.

Notes
If you speak to Dairihill after you get back with the sealed, forged letter, she'll almost blow up at you, but offer to handle the matter. If you turn the letter over to her, she pays you a 20 gold tip, then stashes the letter in her desk just like the original recommendation letter. You will have to steal the letter back from her to finish the quest.
If you really feel like adding insult to injury, speak to Dairihill again after the Countess has given you Lex's transfer orders. You'll get a 20 gold tip from Dairihill, at the Countess' insistence.
Make sure you grab the Nirnroot plant from the room behind Dairihill's office.
After you complete this quest, a special edition of the Black Horse Courier is published: New Watch Captain Named.
In the list of possible candidates, Audens Avidius will be mentioned whether you've completed the Imperial Corruption quest or not, which is unusual if the man is currently imprisoned or killed. Not so unusual is the noted reason why Countess Umbranox should disqualify him from selection: questionable morals.
The Legion Commander's desk in this quest is the same desk used in the Dark Brotherhood quest Permanent Retirement. If you have completed that quest (and got the bonus), Adamus Phillida's finger will still be in the desk. You can take the finger back if you wish, although doing so is not recommended: the finger is a quest item that can never be dropped, and picking it up will trigger an update for the Permanent Retirement quest.
After you show the transfer orders to Lex, he will behave like an Anvil guard (e.g. with Knights of the Nine installed he will talk about the "Anvil Chapel Attack") even if he is still wearing his Imperial City Armor. Lex will also lose his "essential" flag. Unlike an Anvil Guard however, Lex will still remain 15 levels above your own.
  An achievement will be unlocked upon being promoted to Shadowfoot.
If you are a full vampire, the Countess will not speak with you, even if you raise her disposition to 100. You will have to feed on someone and revert to a lesser vampire to advance the quest.

Bugs
 
 
You may speak to him at the same hour or later in the day than when you first spoke to him. If in doubt, wait until 11pm to speak to him.
 Another possibility is to enter   in the console.
 
 
 
 

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