The Unquiet Dead [Quest]

Text of the Quest:

Explorers from the Mages Guild awoke an ancient threat at . Undead creatures have slain or captured many within their expedition. Some Mages Guild acolytes were captured by hostile shades. I should free them and see if they know what caused all of this.

Tasks

Rescue Acolytes

Guild Acolyte: This man is wearing the uniform of a Mages Guild acolyte. His face is contorted in fear and pain. However he died, it was sudden and unpleasant.
Hero: Examine the corpses
Guild Acolyte: You find a rough map of the ruins. Next to a label marked "Base Camp" is a small note reading, "Report to Andewen by sundown."
Hero: Take the map.

Andewen: This was supposed to be a simple assignment. I should never have allowed Lieutenant Urien to push us around!
Hero: What's wrong?
Andewen: The Ossuary of Telacar was thought to be the resting place of Mannimarco's most powerful disciple. We were searching the site—carefully, mind you—when the shades awoke.
Hero: What happened?
Andewen: I don't know! They poured out of the ground. The soldiers rushed me back to camp, and now I'm the only one remaining. Lieutenant Urien won't let me venture from the camp, but you have no such restriction. Please, find my acolytes! Some must still live!
Hero: I'll find the acolytes.

Kelumend: Research. All I want to do is research! Why do I always end up in life-or-death situations? Either Andewen's cursed, or I am. Shades, boiling up from the ground? What next, trolls in heat?
Hero: Tell me what happened.
Kelumend: We were excavating for artifacts when Dominion soldiers showed up, demanding we turn over anything we'd found. Andewen showed them what we had, but Lieutenant Urien insisted we work faster. No protocols, no safeguards!
Hero: Why?
Kelumend: I have no idea. The Mages Guild has procedures for a reason! Not that the soldiers listened. We found an ancient scepter made from bone. But before we could properly contain the artifact, one of those idiots grabbed it.
Hero: Is that when the shades appeared?
Kelumend: That's right. And if it weren't for you, I'd have joined them. I'm heading back to our base camp. You should speak with Andewen if you think you can help sort out this mess. You can't be any worse than Lieutenant Urien!
Hero: I'll keep that in mind.

Andewen: That bone scepter is the only thing of note we've found. There's no end of trouble since we pulled it from the ruin. It's not dangerous, not directly. What I mean to say is that holding it won't rot your hand off. At least, not immediately.
Hero: What does it do?
Andewen: It summons all the shades, I suspect. It certainly doesn't control them. Not that I've found, anyway. Although ... hmmm. The markings carved into the scepter are old Ayleidfor "Pale Sentinel." Could that mean the creature at the heart of the ruin?
Hero: What creature?
Andewen: It's the only shade we've heard speak, though it mostly just wails. It is rather pale, come to think of it. And the scepter works obsidian into bone, which is an old form of necromantic control.... Say, would you care to help prove a theory?
Hero: What exactly do you have in mind?
Andewen: If that shade is in fact the Pale Sentinel, that bone scepter may have some control over it. And if it's directing the rest of the shades, perhaps you could force it to stop. Besides, we can't allow Telacar's ancient traps to remain active. Not this close to Elden Root.
Hero: Before I go—who is Telacar?
Andewen: He was a necromancer, one of Mannimarco's most talented apprentices. But he and his wife Vastarie eventually left Mannimarco's tutelage.
Hero: Why did they leave?
Andewen: It isn't entirely clear. There are many theories, but they all boil down to a difference of opinion. Seems to be the way of things with necromancers.

Pale Sentinel: Stop! Don't make me go back. I was so close to escaping him forever!
Hero: Escaping from who?
Pale Sentinel: Telacar. A bad man, who sleeps inside these ruins. When he wakes, I'll be trapped here forever. I'll do everything I can to get away!
Hero: Is that why you attacked the Mages Guild acolytes?
Pale Sentinel: I did not! Telacar's servants hurt those people. They don't like you if you aren't from here. When he wakes, he'll control them completely. Just like me.
Hero: Why should I trust you?
Pale Sentinel: The bone scepter holds power over Telacar's monsters. Over me. I can't lie to you. Besides, lying is wrong.
Hero: Who are you?
Pale Sentinel: One of Telacar's victims. But I don't have to be. If you can free me before he wakes, I'll leave. Then he'll go back to sleep, forever!
Hero: Then I'll do what I can to set you free.
Pale Sentinel: Hooray! Follow me inside the ruin. We don't want the shades to hear us. They're his spies, you know.
Hero: All right. I'll follow you inside.

Pale Sentinel: Shhh ... be quiet in here. Telacar's servants don't like things with blood inside them. And they really don't like noise.
Hero: How can we keep Telacarfrom waking?
Pale Sentinel: There's a big sparkly door inside the Constellation Room. It's this big lock Vastarie made, to keep him asleep inside. She doesn't come around anymore. I think that's why the door isn't so sparkly. W
Hero: ho is Vastarie?
Pale Sentinel: Telacar's wife. They fought and fought, because he was a bad man and she was a good woman. But she thought she could change him. When she realized he'd always been bad, she locked him in here. But the lock grew weak, and now he's waking.
Hero: How do we reinforce the lock?
Pale Sentinel: Vastarie left three of the things we need in special rooms around the ruins. The fourth is stuck inside some of Telacar's servants. If you smash them open, I won't tell. But about all the pieces ... I don't know howto make them work together. I'm sorry.
Hero: Where are these special rooms?
Pale Sentinel: That's easy.The Moaning Room, the Smelly Room, and ... the Forbidden Room! But don't worry, I can keep you safe. We should just go there. I'll point out what we need.
Hero: How can you keep me safe?
Pale Sentinel: I can distract Telacar's servants. Point the bone scepter at one of them and I'll blind it. Then you can smack it until it falls down. Don't worry, it's not like you're hurting it. They get back up again, eventually.
Hero: I want to know what I'm looking for.
Pale Sentinel: Oh, all right. The most important thing is the book Vastarie wrote in when she locked the door. We need to find that so we know what to do in the Constellation Room.
Hero: What else do we need?
Pale Sentinel: There's an old skull Telacar stole from Mannimarco. Then there's a glowy vial. I don't know what's inside, but if you listen real close you can hear whispers. Oh, and the milky rocks. You'll find those inside some of Telacar's servants.

The Lord: An inscription reads: 'The Lord's season is First Seed. He watches over Tamriel during the time of planting. Those born during this time grow stronger and healthier than most."

The Lord's Altar: This altar stands in front of the constellation known as the Lord.
Hero: Place one of the keys on this altar.
The Lord's Altar: Which key?
Hero: Place the old skull.

The Atronach: An inscription reads: 'The Atronach's season is Sun's Dusk. Those born under this sign have sorcery in their blood. They can channel deep reserves of magicka, but cannot create it on their own.

The Atronach's Altar: This altar stands in front of the constellation known as the Atronach. Place one of the keys on this altar.

The Atronach's Altar: Which key?
Hero: Place the milky rock.

The Apprentice: An inscription reads: 'The Apprentice's season is Sun's Height. Those born under this sign have a natural affinity for magicka. They are blessed with its gifts and cursed with a vulnerability to its power."

The Apprentice's Altar: This altar stands before the constellation known as the Apprentice.
Hero: Place one of the keys on this altar.
The Apprentice's Altar: Which key?
Hero: Place the glowy vial.

Telacar: Who are you? Why have you invaded my home?
Hero: Your undead servants attacked Mages Guild explorers.
Telacar: The shades defend my home from thieves. Neither I nor my servants bear any interest in the living. My work concerns one who died long ago. And now, I would know why this creature travels with you.
Hero: It wanted to seal you away.
Telacar: Simple-minded thing. Those wards haven't contained me for decades. I remain within by choice. Now, I'm at a critical juncture in my research and I need this creature to complete it. If you interfere, I'll drive you from my home. Now, begone!

Telacar: Again, you trouble me at a critical juncture? What must I do to hasten your departure?
Hero: Tell me what you're doing here.
Telacar: Attempting to restore my son, despite your interruptions! That creature is a piece of him, an imperfect piece. If I reunite flesh and spirit, I can revive my son.
Hero: Why are you doing this?
Telacar: He's my son. I'd do anything to restore him to a fraction of himself. With refinement, I can make him whole again. Vastarie thought this hubris. If she hadn't left this world, I'd try to make her understand.
Hero: What didn't she understand?
Telacar: That we could one day be a family again. I needed time to refine my methods, and time I have had. And now, I have his spirit. I don't wish to harm this creature. But without the bone scepter to control it, I must resort to cruder methods.
Hero: I have the bone scepter.
Telacar: You what? That scepter is crafted from my own bones. It can bind the creature to his immortal husk! Once Cation's wounds knit, I'll summon him here. You must bind the creature to his husk. Set things to how they should be!
Hero: Why should I do that for you?
Telacar: You fear I would raise an undead army to march through Grahtwood? My wife and I spurned Mannimarco for a reason. But in return for binding this creature to my son's husk, I pledge we will remain within our home, forever.
Hero: Why did you use your own bones to make the bone scepter?
Telacar: Calion is my son. I needed all his remains to craft the husk, so I had to use my own for the scepter. To command a spirit, use a focus made of its bones or those of its close relatives. Basic necromantic principle.
Hero: Why shouldn't I set your son's spirit free?
Telacar: He was young when he had his accident. Too young. The creature you've met can't fully comprehend the world around it. Unless properly supervised, it could harm itself or others without knowing what it did. No, to set it free would be a cruelty.
Hero: How do I know you won't leave this place?
Telacar: I broke through Vastarie's ward just under a century ago. I have remained here ever since, attempting to restore what remained of my family. I will never leave, as long as Calion remains at my side. This is my home.

Calion: No ... please, you can't make me be a monster again!
Hero: What do you want, Calion?
Calion: I don't want to be here anymore. It hurt when I was a monster, it hurt worse than these chains. I want my father to sleep so I can go away.
Hero: How can I make your father sleep?
Calion: I don't know. I wish you could use the bone scepter on him. Point it at his body, there on the throne, and tell him to go to sleep. Then I could finally leave.
Hero: Where would you go?
Calion: Far away from here, somewhere safe and warm. Somewhere where I'd have friends.

Calion: You did it. You did it! I'm free. I'm finally free! Thank you, thank you!
Hero: What will you do now?
Calion: I don't know. But whatever it is, I'll be far away from here. Telacar can't hurt me anymore. Here, 1 can open a portal so you can be with your friends. Tell them I'm sorry about the shades. As long as they stay away, they should be fine.
Hero: Complete Quest.