Daggerfall:Deadly Knowledge

Quick Walkthrough
# Receive a letter from a vampire of your bloodline.
# (Optional) Possibly receive a second letter from the Mages Guild.
# Meet and speak with the vampire.
# (Optional) Meet with the Guild mage who sent the second letter.
# Head to the dungeon named by the vampire or the mage.
# Find the sorcerer within, and retrieve the research notes one way or another.
# Return the notes to either the vampire or the mage within the time limit.
# (Optional) Collect your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
Notes on a Bloodline
When your vampire bloodline needs you again, you receive a letter:

:A pale young boy hands you a letter and scampers away like a rat.

Check the letter in your inventory. It reads:
 
The Scatterbrained Sorcerer
There are two paths this quest can take; if your reputation with the Mages Guild is at least 15, an optional path will present itself. 

Meet the Vampire
thumb|right|The vampires want the sorcerer's notes
To follow the main path, head to the location named in the letter and meet its sender, a vampire, who says:

:''"Good evening, kin. The fools at the Mages Guild have blindly stumbled on a few bare facts in their aimless dissections. It is unlikely that they will get anywhere, but the mage who is leading the research is at least wise enough to hide. That, in itself, is enough for our concern. Of course, it is pointless to hide from (bloodline) anywhere in (region). (Sorcerer's name) is in (dungeon), a laboratory of sorts. I want you to get the notes for this research and bring it back to me. (Sorcerer's name), I understand, keeps the notes on (his/her) person under the laughable misconception that they are safe there. Go point out the error in (his/her) thinking, (player's first name)."

Head to the dungeon, find the sorcerer within, and attack. When hit, your opponent will scream:

:"(Oath)! My precious notes! Away, bloodsucker! Away!"

Once your quarry is dead, loot the corpse to find the notes you were sent for. They read:
 
Return the notes to your bloodline contact to finish the quest.

Help the Guild Mage
thumb|right|The Mages Guild also wants the sorcerer's notes, for their own ends
If your reputation with the Mages Guild is high enough, you will receive a second letter soon after the first:

:A courier dressed in deep blue robes hands you a letter and, with a bow, disappears.

The letter reads:
 
You may speak to the Guild mage instead of the vampire if you wish, either one can provide you with the relevant quest details. Travel to the mage's town, enter the building named in the letter and find the mage, who says:

:''"Oh, oh, (oath), (player's name), is it? I, ah, understand that you are the right one for this, being sufficiently mettlesome, thewy, in short, puissant to aid (sorcerer's name), a   who fears that (his/her) research has attracted the, ah, inquisitorial attention of a local tribe of vampires. Too much work had made the poor old  , well, oversensitive. If you would just pop on over to (his/her) lab, (dungeon), and get these precious notes, I would be very, very, ah, beholden. Just watch out for old (sorcerer's name) -- (he/she)'s a mite, ah, agitated, I understand."

Head to the dungeon and find the sorcerer the same as in the other scenario. You will still be attacked, but when you hit the spellcaster once, you will hear:

:"Wait a minute! Are you the (player's race) I was supposed to give the notes to?"

Answer "yes" and the sorcerer will not only end the fight but also give you the notes, saying:

:"My sincere apologies, (player's name). I've been very nervous lately. Here are the notes. Be careful, though. Trust no one. (Bloodline) vampires could be anyone."

If you answer "no" you must fight the sorcerer to the death. Search the corpse for the notes and return them to your Mages Guild contact for a reward.

Reward
No matter how you obtained the notes, you can return them to either contact to complete the quest. If you bring the research notes to the vampire, you are told:

:"Lovely. Did you read this? Of course you did. What rot. There was another mage who had similar views of the vampiric tribes, I cannot recall his name. You've done well, young one. Very well indeed."

If you bring the research notes to the Guild mage, you will hear:

:"Is this what (sorcerer's name) wanted to protect? The meandering drivel of a madman. Still, not your fault I suppose. Here's (random gold) gold pieces for your propitious conveyance."

Reputation Gain/Loss
 

Additional Reputation
If you deliver the research notes to the mage, you will gain/lose additional reputation as seen below.


Enemies
Random dungeon monsters
Quest Target: One Sorcerer

Notes
The research notes of the sorcerer provide a small hint to a cure for vampirism, they point to the book Vampires of the Iliac Bay.
Even if you have not yet received the second letter, you can find and speak to the Guild mage if you know where to look. The quest will proceed as if you had received the mage's letter.

Bugs
If you acquire the research notes before speaking to the Guild mage, the mage's initial dialogue will appear, followed by the sorcerer's - including the yes/no option - before cycling back to the mage's quest ending dialogue. Your gold reward goes missing if this happens, but it does complete the quest. 

Additional Dialogue
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
''"(Sorcerer's name) is involved in terrifically important work down in (dungeon)."
"(Dungeon) is a grim place, but good for (sorcerer's name) to get (his/her) work done in peace."
If you fail the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"(Sorcerer's description)'s work on vampires apparently has reached the Mages Guild's attention."
"The Archmagister of the Mages Guild himself is studying (sorcerer's name)'s work."
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"Tamriel may never know just what poor (sorcerer's name) had been working so hard on."
"(Sorcerer's name) was murdered, they say because (he/she) was working on a charm against daedra."''

Quest Log