Daggerfall:An Unexpected Journey

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to a Merchant or an Innkeeper.
# Head to the building the quest giver points you to.
# Talk to your employer's Master, who will then transform into a mage.
# Kill the mage immediately, or:
# (Optional) Get teleported to a random dungeon.
# Find the dungeon exit and escape.
# Head back to the quest giver, who will say the mage is still in town.
# Find the mage's residence.
# Enter and kill the mage for good.

Detailed Walkthrough
thumb|right|The quest begins as a visit to an ordinary house
thumb|right|The "Master" revealed as an evil sorceress
thumb|right|Not all teleports will take you to treasure-filled dungeon closets, but some do
thumb|right|Your employer will be surprised to see you alive again
 
The Master's Request
Speak to a Merchant or Innkeeper, who says:

:''"My name is (quest giver's name). My master has asked me to find a brave adventurer for a dangerous mission. I cannot tell you more, other than to say that it is worth (random gold) pieces to whoever succeeds. Are you interested?"

Accept
The merchant or innkeeper goes on:

:"Go to (building). There you will find my master."

Decline
The merchant or innkeeper answers:

:"I shall seek elsewhere for a hero to fulfill my master's quest."

Not What He Seems
Ask around until you know which building the Master is in. Enter it, and speak to him. He will say:

:"Know me for who I really am. I am your mortal enemy (mage's name)! I have a special fate in store for you."''

The Master is revealed as nothing but a clever disguise as he suddenly transforms into a mage and attacks you. If you don't kill the mage fast enough, you will be teleported to a random dungeon from which you must escape by finding the exit.

Interlude
If you were sent to the dungeon, head back to the town where the quest began. Talk to the quest giver, who will justify what happened by saying:

:''"I didn't know (mage's name) would betray you like that. I ain't got no beef with you, (player's name). (He/She) moved to (current town). Look for (him/her) there."''

The mage will still be in town, but not at the same location. Asking around about the mage will only point you to the previous location; none of the townsfolk will be able to tell you the mage's current whereabouts (see bugs). If you still want to find the mage, you will have to check inside every single building in town until you have found your target.

Reward
Locate and enter the residence in the town the quest giver pointed you to. The door will be locked, so you will have to use lockpicking, an Open spell or brute force to get in.

When struck, the mage will shout:

:''"I don't know how you escaped from (dungeon) (player's first name). It won't do you much good though. Prepare to die!"''

Kill the mage, and watch as their body disappears into nothingness. The quest ends at this point; even though the quest giver promised you a gold reward, you will not be able to collect it.

Reputation Gain/Loss
Regardless how this quest ends, you will always lose reputation according to the table below:
 

Enemies
Random dungeon monsters
Quest Target: One Mage

Notes
Even if you find the mage and kill him/her, you will lose 2 reputation with The Merchants. This cannot be avoided. 
The maximum time limit of this quest is five times the duration it takes from the current town to the dungeon. But in the end, it doesn't really matter since you will lose the 2 reputation in any case.
Since this quest is a total wash in any event, you might want to use a Recall spell before you encounter the mage for the first time and set an anchor. As soon as you are teleported to the dungeon, use your own teleportation spell to get out quickly. 
Alternatively, explore the dungeon and collect as much loot as you can carry before teleporting back, since there is no other reward to be had. Depending on the location and the enemy types that spawn within, this can potentially be a quite lucrative use of your time.

Bugs
Due an oversight in the questfile, you can not ask for the building where the mage is hiding, even after you have talked to the quest giver.
This issue is fixed by DFQFIX, which restores the functionality that should be there.
Once you kill the mage, his/her corpse vanishes and the quest immediately ends.
DFQFIX adds 10-30 in-game minutes before the mage's corpse disappears, giving you a chance to loot the corpse for anything of value.
If you hit the mage and then get teleported to the dungeon, the game may display dialogue as if you've found the mage for the second time. 
DFQFIX prevents this erroneous dialogue from appearing.

Quest Log