Daggerfall:Missing Book

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to the Guildmagister at a Mages Guild hall.
# Find the whereabouts of the book's thief.
# Kill the thief and retrieve the book.
# Return the book to the Guildmagister within the time limit and collect your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
Purloined Pages
Speak to the Guildmagister, who says:

:''"My name is (Guildmagister's name). You want work but you aren't a member of the Mages guild? I'm sure you can understand that we only provide quality work for our members. However, I do have a little errand that needs to be done. One of our books is missing. If you were to find and return it, I would consider it a personal favor, one that would reflect well on you with the entire guild."

Accept
The Guildmagister goes on:

:"We have no clues at the moment. The name of the book is (book title). You will have to snoop around and ask people if they have heard anything. Bring the book back to me if you find it."

Decline
The Guildmagister responds:

:"Obviously you are not interested in being on good terms with the Mages Guild."

Locating the Book
thumb|right|A local gossip, hanging out by the firesideAsk around in town about the book, the title of which now appears in your list of topics. Eventually, someone will point you to a local tavern. Head to this tavern and speak to the occupants until you find the local gossip, who says:

:"Hello, (player's name). Word is that you've been asking about me. I should know, all of (town)'s news comes through these ears.
:''Enough about me. I did hear something about (Guildmagister's name)'s misfortunes. You want to find (thief's name), (he/she) has been looking for a first printing of (book title) for some time. And she is also the type who takes things without asking, if you know what I mean."''

Ask around about the book's thief until someone hints at their possible whereabouts. The thief has a busy schedule:
From 00:00 to 08:00 they will be at home
From 08:01 to 16:01 they will be at a weapon smith in town
From 16:02 to 23:59 they will be at a tavern in town

Once you know the thief's schedule, you only need to get the names of the specific buildings; ask around further. Note that you may find this information first, at which point you can simply wait around and check the building at various times until the target appears. 

Catching a Thief
Go to one of the buildings at the correct time and confront the thief. If you visit them at home during the night it will be locked up tight, so be prepared for some lockpicking or have an open spell available. When you track down the thief at last, they will attack you, saying:
:''"I hear you've been looking for (thief's name). Well, you've found (him/her) Now get lost before you make me really want to hurt you."
Kill the thief and retrieve the book from their body.

Reward
Return the stolen book to the Guildmagister. He or she will be pleased and thank you by saying: 

:"Ah, (book title). Well done, (player's first name). The Guild is certainly more favorably inclined toward you."''

Reputation Gain/Loss
 

Enemies
Quest Target: One Thief

Notes
The time limit of this quest will always be ten days.
Given the thief's required schedule, the town where this quest takes place must have at least one weapons store and tavern. If either of these buildings is not present, you can't find the thief during these periods. Wait until the thief moves on with their schedule to find them.
This quest is almost identical to the Merchant/Innkeeper Quest The First Printing, but in this case you are assisting the Mages Guild.

Additional Dialogue
If you ask an NPC about the book, you may be told:
''"You may want to try (gossip's name). (He/She) seems to know everything that goes on around (town)."
"You should ask at the local inns. They are full of gossip."
"You should try the (tavern). There's always talk there."
"It was stolen from (Guildmagister's name)."
"(Guildmagister's name) has been asking around about it."
"I really enjoyed it when I read it."
"You should probably visit a library."''
If you ask an NPC about the thief's name, you may be told:
''"(Thief's name) lives at (thief's house) in (town)."
"(Thief's name) does live in (town)."
"(Thief's name) spends (his/her) nights at (thief's house)."
"You should try to find (thief's name) at home, (he/she) does live in (town)."
"(Thief's name) does a lot of trading at (weapon store)."
"You may want to start shopping at (weapon smith), (thief's name) does."
"(Weapon smith) is a popular place to trade stolen goods, which (thief's name) has a lot of."
"(Thief's name) has been seen at (weapon smith)."
"(Tavern) is a hang out for many thieves."
"(Thief's name) likes to drink at (tavern)."
"(Thief's name)'s favorite tavern is (tavern)."
"(Thief's name)'s favorite meals are served at (tavern)."
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"The Mages Guild has a very rare edition of (book title). Or at least, they had one."
"(Book title) is a rare book, but the edition the Mages Guild had was even more rare."
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"It's a great loss to the Mages Guild -- that special edition of (book title)."
"The Mages Guild library isn't what it used to be, now that (book title) is gone."
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"The Mages Guild's library is enriched now that (book title) is back on the shelves."
If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:
"Did you happen to read (book title) when you had it? It's quite fascinating."
If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:
"I gave you a chance, (player's first name). Remember? If you had found (book title), I'd be happy to talk to you. As it is now, well, you can go away now."''

Quest Log