Quest Guide (please forgive it's crudeness, I stayed up late writing it)

Dark Signs
-The quest will begin and you talk to Raminus
-Head to Bruma Mage Guild and defeat the thralls. After you beat them talk to Brenan downstairs
-Talk to Raminus again and exit Arcane University
-An Anchorite awaits you outside, he will speak to you and the quest will update. Do your best to defeat him. Be wary of his enthrall ability which will send you tumbling to the ground.
-Head to Wendlebek and make your way through to the last chamber. Mannimarco will talk to you and you will have to make a decision which affects the remainder of the events.

-If you reject Mannimarco he will vanish and call forth a zombified Hannibal Traven. He wasn't kidding when he said he turns Arch-Mages to thralls. If you ever wondered how tough Traven was..here is your chance to see. After you beat Traven head back to Raminus in order to warn the guild.

-If you join Mannimarco this arc ends and congratulations...you are now working for the King of Worms. You will immediately notice most of the undead and necromancers no longer attack to you. You can speak to them like normal NPC's. There may be some NPC's who now dislike you somewhat, especially the legion but there are no immediate changes...until you begin to do your work. continue here>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Reckoning
-Return to Arcane University and depending on who's walking around you may be ambushed by Mannimarco's henchmen. Don't let them roam freely too long..they may kill non-essential PC's that you don't want dead. They will come directly after you for the most part.
-Raminus will give you instructions to find a mage called Albion in the Jerell Mountains so head towards that direction.
-You will notice your target location is a cave entrance. Be careful around the area given that there are bandits and creatures roaming near the area. Enter the cave and make your way to the underground fort inside.
-You will meet Ra'Jall inside who is Albion’s guard and current apprentice. Talk to him so he will unlock the door and head to Albion's quarters.
-Speak to Albion and he will agree to help you. You will have to wait 3 days for him to prepare so find something to do in the meantime.
-Once he is ready have him follow you to Dark Fissure. You will encounter resistance immediately. You will discover the entrance is sealed and you will need Albion to unseal it.
-Fight your way through the cave and take the right side path in the first area. It is populated by various levels of thralls guarding sections of the cave. Harbingers and Vindicators are the strongest versions. You will need a way to deal with their magic and don't let them sit back and strike you. They are adept at conjuring creatures...ignore them and defeat the thralls quickly or you may be overwhelmed. Vindicators are the strongest form and it is best to hit them with your best enchanted weapons. Albion can hold his own against them all but don't let him become surrounded by too many thralls since they are capable of heavy damage. This applies to you as well.
-You will reach the last area before Mannimarco's chambers. The door here is sealed as well and you will repeat the steps to unseal it.
-Take the left side path in order to reach Mannimarco on his throne. The right side path leads to a host of creatures, Necromancers, and thralls so you don't want to get yourself or Albion involved with fighting them all.

-Mannimarco and one of his servants are in the chamber and will charge at either you or Albion...whoever is closer to them. Albion will focus on Mannimarco...don't get between them since Albion's magic is pretty potent. Kill the servant quickly and be wary of Mannimarco, he will deal heavy damage if you aren't prepared. Use invisibility to escape him and let Albion do the heavy attacking. At one point Mannimarco may summon more thralls..so defeat them quickly because they can easily surround you and Albion. Mannimarco will also occasionally hit you with his enthrall power wherever you are. He has high spell reflection so without enough spell reflection/absorption for yourself it is difficult using destructive spells/weapons against him. One weapon I found effective was Ebony Blade since a reflection won't damage you. If you are in critical condition Albion's elixir can save you. Lastly, If Albion and Mannimarco fall into the chamber below you will have to help Albion or he may get killed. There are ALOT of enemies below so don't rush in too fast and take each one on one if you can.

-Once Mannimarco is defeated Albion will speak to you and exit the cave. Return to Raminus to deliver the good news.
If Albion dies you still return to AC and you can notify Ra'Jall of Albion's death.

The New Dawn
-The second arc is done and depending on your choice the quests continue. Head back to speak with Albion and you now have a chance to offer him your position of Arch-Mage. He will accept and immediately head to Arcane University, handing the care of his dwelling over to you. If you do not offer him the position he will give you more of his potions as a parting gift.

The Worm Trail
-Albion is now arch-mage and the guild once again has a wise/powerful leader...and in nice robes! To receive your orders from Albion speak to him during his council times. He will assign you as the new battle mage captain. There are 4 battle mage squad members you can have follow you around, if they die don't worry, more will reappear in a few days.
-You will now be in charge of hunting down 3 specific Black Worm members. These portions are rather straight forward search and destroy missions. After each successful "kill" just return to Albion to get a target location update. The members are in various locations...some more dangerous than others, Nararodi possibly being the most risky given the large amount of enemies. You might want to bring along your battle mage squad.
-Once this arc is done you will begin the last group of quests.

A New Threat
-Being a battle mage isn't easy...there are more bad guys stirring up trouble. Speak to Albion in order to find out your target location. This plays out similar to the previous quest.
-The first location is Kraggle Craw cave and you will meet immediate resistance. Defeat the guard and enter the cave. These are Death Cult necromancers...who happen to vampires too. They are stronger than average necromancers and can deal heavy damage. Since they are vampires deal with them by using fire destruction spells and weapons...be careful of becoming diseased. There are often a significant number of them so be careful. Their leader (prelate) is wearing a different robe and a hood so find and kill him. Take the Lost Tomb Key from his body.

-The next location will be Lost Tombs Cave. Make your way inside and either fight or sneak your way through. The only way to really sneak is to use invisibility. Open the door on the right with the Lost Tomb Key to enter the dissecting chamber. There is a prelate inside so kill him and take his catacomb key.

-Go back and now go to the door that was on the left to enter the catacombs. As usual there are several cultists along this path. Make your way to the shrine chamber.

-In the shrine chamber there is a grand priest in front of the statue of Molag Bal. You will want to kill him and take his Varlesamel key. There are allot of enemies here so try to take each cultist one on one...otherwise everyone will rush to attack you. Or try to stay fighting in one area in order to not alert everyone at once since it is hard to avoid detection by multiple enemies.

-Once you have survived Lost Tombs head to Varlesamel for the final encounter. There are fewer enemies here but there is one last prelate to contend with. Make your way through to the locked gate and open it. Kill the prelate and the two cultists with her. Open up the secret passage to get to the Deep Chamber.

-In the Deep Chamber lies Obakose..the cause of all your troubles. He will approach you and speak to you...explaining his motivations. When the fight begins you are locked inside with him and the varla stones will fire spells at you. They will drain your fatigue so don't let them hit you too much or you can get trapped. Also the water can restrict your mobility...make sure you can water walk when necessary. You will also hear a pulse when Obakose is close enough to the center varla stone...try to draw him away from it since it is healing him. You may see Obakose enable a spark shield along with a crackling sound...a varla stone is about to fire a bolt at you. If you are close enough one of the stones will fire it, either jump in the water or dodge it. Obakose is not as tough as Mannimarco but the varla stones and his healing can make it a nuisance to defeat him. Just be aggressive, drawing him away from his healing stone...cold spells work...fire is useless.

-After Obakose is dead try to find his sword..it's a special edition. Return to Albion and deliver the news..and he has some of his own. A truce has been offered by the necromancers ending the guerrilla war waged by the Black Worm. If you accept, necromancers in the game will no longer attack on sight when you approach them...undead still will. If you reject, it will be business as usual.

Necromancer quests

Servant of Worms
-This is straight forward. Kill all the heads of the Mage Guild. Mannimarco will give you an assortment of items to deal death to them. You can just attack them directly and pay fines, but you may find it more fun to use the tools given you. Poison apples are effective when NPC decide to eat and by placing an apple near one of their usual eating areas they will grab it. Make sure to eat up all possible food in cupboards and crates to force them to eat the apple or watch their usual eating areas in their guilds. This is especially true for Deetsan. For others such as Teekeeus, Adrienne Berene, Kud-Ei, and Carahil..sneaking upstairs during sleeping times and swiftly killing them avoids detection. I have been able to kill guild heads without detection several times.

-Next Mannimarco will ask you to kill Raminus Polus. As you know this will mean you will now be permanently expelled from the Mage Guild. When you arrive at AC you will have resistance from the guards immediately. Just fight them off and kill Raminus. There may be some NPC guards you don't want dead so be mindful of the time of day you show up. Use the ring Mannimarco gave you to immediately warp back to Dark Fissure at anytime in order to avoid arrest or unwanted fights. You will most likely gain a bounty during this period so be prepared.

-After you talk to Mannimarco again you will now have to defeat Albion. Go to his cave and you will encounter Ra'Jall and you'll need to get the key from him in order to enter Albion's chamber. Once you do you will now enter and face Albion. Albion's magic is potent and he has high reflection and absorption abilities. You will want to do the same for yourself in order to fight him. Also be mindful of his summons and you will want to do the same in order to provide a distraction. It is also important to get outside of the fort and fight in the open area in the cave so you will have room to maneuver. Once Albion is dead head back to Dark Fissure and Mannimarco will promote you as his Anchorite. Any bounty you may have gained will be cleared by this time.

Those Who Serve the Worm

-Mannimarco will direct you to kill some troublesome battle mages. The group of battle mages will be drinking it up along with their captain (Garthis). Make sure you do not have a bounty since an Imperial Guard is at the bar as well. Speak to Garthis and you can intimidate him or ask him to follow you. By following you, you can draw him away from his men and the guard...safely killing him. Or you can draw him into Garlas Agea and let the necromancers finish him off. Once he is dead, head back to Mannimarco, but be wary....the remaining Battle Mages will now hunt you down and can show up whenever you stay at a location for several days....especially jails..and even into dungeons.

-Mannimarco has a new task and you must assemble his own council. The first is Silvernia. This may be the first time you encounter large groups of necromancers but they will not attack since you are one of them now. Find Silvernia and take her to Nararodi. Once you are inside the quest will update and she will remain there.

-Next is Orinthal in Imperial City. When you find him, he will tell you how he lost his staff to Rindir. You will have to steal it back. Since he gave you a strong unlock scroll half of the work is already done. Just head to Rindir's bedroom upstairs and take the staff by Rindir's bed. It's like taking candy from a baby since shopkeepers don't follow you into basements and other rooms. Return to Orinthal, give him the staff back, and take him to Nararodi. Once inside the ruin, you are done and talk to Orinthal one more time.

-Orinthal will tell you Dotheil is locked in prison, so you will have to spring him out. Go to the Imperial City Jail and ask to see a prisoner. You will see Dothiel already dressed in his robes since he has no reason to hide his affiliation anymore. Either unlock the lock or take the key from the jailer. Either way he won't let you leave with a prisoner so it's best to kill him. You must now take Dotheil out through your old jail cell you saw at the beginning of the game. It is the cell block on the left side of the jailer's desk. This path will be familiar since you escaped this way at the beginning of the game and guards are occupying some of the areas. They will try to kill Dothiel but they are quite weak and he can pretty much take care of them himself. You will have to continue through the sewers and until you reach outside at a familiar dock. There may be other ways out of the sewer, but I haven't found any..it's always the same path. Now you can directly go to Nararodi, it's wise to fast travel since Dothiel has a bounty on his head.

-You will now have to speak to Mannimarco and he will direct you to the last council member Alberic. He is currently at Cadlew Chapel and when you get there, you will encounter Battle Mages. They most likely won't attack you immediately but once you exit with Alberic they will. Make sure they do not kill Alberic, and then escort him to Nararodi like before. Once done you will be instructed by Mannimarco to now receive further tasks from Alberic.

The Worm Turns
-Speak to Alberic and he is concerned about a possible traitor among them. You have to head back to Arcane University to find the needed information. The information is in possession of the battle mage Captain at AU. He has a daily schedule and you will want to confront him when is reading in the barracks. When he is there...you can speak to him, but that is not advised. Kill him and find a note that will implicate the traitor. Depending on what happened you may have to fight your way out of AU..but if you were discrete with the kill you shouldn't have any problem.

-You will discover the traitor is Garthis and Alberic will tell you to quiz the residents of Nararodi for information. The one who knows is Silma and she will tell you he is most likely in Fort Naso. You will have to head there and kill him. Garthis is residing in the tunnels under the fort and once he is dead take his heart as evidence of his death.

-Alberic will be pleased of your success and he will share some of knowledge with you.

God of Worms
-Alberic now wants you to bring him four varla stones to power the portal device in the council chambers. Find them and bring them back to Alberic. Once they are placed you can activate the portal and once gain speak to Mannimarco...now residing on his throne. Just hover your cursor over the stone until you see a fist to activate it. A portal door will appear when you do. You can close the portal by focusing your cursor and activating the stone again while it's open. The cursor may initially have a door icon, but just keep it there and it will show a fist icon again. Mannimarco will give you watch over Dark Fissure and his Sword of Skulls. You will also gain a degree of command over regular necromancers in addition to thralls, giving you access to a variety of henchmen.

A New Threat
-Mannimarco will now tell you of a new threat from a gang of necromancers lead by a sorcerer named Obakose. He instructs you to speak to the council...the first who will be Alberic.

-Speak to the councilmen in the order the marker displays. Each will give you pieces of information about the new enemies, eventually leading you to your target location. I will tell you beforehand the Sword of Skulls will make the new campaign allot easier because of it's unique enchantments. Also find Harbingers and Vindicators to bring along with you, they are very effective and resilient...more so than regular necromancers. Fast travel short distances when they follow you in order to not lose them. A travel from Nararodi to Kraggle Craw is usually adequate for thralls and you will not lose them.

-The first location is Kraggle Craw cave and you will meet immediate resistance. Defeat the guard and enter the cave. These are Death Cult necromancers...who happen to vampires too. They are stronger than average necromancers and can deal heavy damage. Since they are vampires deal with them by using fire destruction spells and weapons...be careful of becoming diseased. A significant tip you should be aware of..as an Anchorite you can resurrect dead NPC's. As you defeat them, turn them into your personal army, and turn them against their comrades. You will find there will be great numbers of Death Cult members to use as militia. The Sword of Skulls is extra effective against their vampire nature, and can repel their undead summons immediately. Head to the bonfire and their leader (prelate) is wearing a different robe and a hood so find and kill him. Take the Lost Tomb Key from his body.

-The next location will be Lost Tombs Cave. Make your way inside and either fight or sneak your way through. The only way to really sneak is to use invisibility. Open the door on the right with the Lost Tomb Key to enter the dissecting chamber. There is a prelate inside so kill him and take his catacomb key.

-Go back and now go to the door that was on the left to enter the catacombs. As usual there are several cultists along this path. Make your way to the shrine chamber.

-In the shrine chamber there is a grand priest in front of the statue of Molag Bal. You will want to kill him and take his Varlesamel key. There are allot of enemies here so try to take each cultist one on one...otherwise everyone will rush to attack you. Or try to stay fighting in one area in order to not alert everyone at once since it is hard to avoid detection by multiple enemies.

-Once you have survived Lost Tombs, head to Varlesamel for the final encounter. There are fewer enemies here but there is one last prelate to contend with. Make your way through to the locked gate and open it. Kill the prelate and the two cultists with her. Open up the secret passage to get to the Deep Chamber.

-In the Deep Chamber lies Obakose..the cause of all your troubles. He will approach you and speak to you...explaining his motivations. When the fight begins you are locked inside with him and the varla stones will fire spells at you. They will drain your fatigue so don't let them hit you too much or you can get trapped. You will also hear a pulse when Obakose is close enough to the center varla stone...try to draw him away from it since it is healing him. You may see Obakose enable a spark shield along with a crackling sound...a varla stone is about to fire a bolt at you. If you are close enough one of the stones will fire it, either jump in the water or dodge it. Use your ethereal powers to walk on the water and aid in resisting any spells and disease Obakose may inflict you with. Just be aggressive, drawing him away from his healing stone...cold spells work...fire is useless so the Sword of Skull may have limited use here.

-After Obakose is dead try to find his sword..it's a special edition. Head back to Nararodi and talk to Alberic to confirm your victory. Dothiel has comments for you as well if you speak to him.

The Ruins of Darodan

-Alberic has another assignment for you so speak to him during the council meeting times. He will basically send you to check out a cave near Anvil so go there and check it out.

-Darodan has a series of caves and ruins which lead further underground and elven spirits called Revenants wander inside. They are difficult to defeat in groups so it's wise to draw them to you one or two at a time. Watch out for their curse spell as well. While inside Darodan don't get too far ahead because there is a person inside that you should meet. Lisette is basically hiding in one of the ruins waiting for an escort and you happen to come along. Have her follow you throughout but don't expect her to help you combat the Revenants effectively.

-Find your way to the last two ruins, The Hall of Rites and the Throne Chamber. You will have to go through the Hall of Rites first and it's best to leave Lissette near the entrance inside because she is useless here. Simply work your way past the traps until you reach the Second Chamber. Getting through the Second Chamber requires a certain amount of speed because the gate switches must be depressed in a certain order and there is some distance between them. If you are too slow..perhaps a spell or potion can aid but otherwise you have some leveling up to do. Don't get trapped between the gates because it will lead to certain death.

-Next is the Ritual Chamber which is another puzzle of sorts. You must basically find all the switches in the area to gain access to the final switch that opens the exit gate. They aren't hard to find, be patient and avoid as many spirits as you can. The very first switch should be some distance on the wall to your left.

-Last is the Inner Chamber which contains the carving you seek. Just work your way to the platform and grab it(I suggest getting as far on the ledge as u can behind the carving), don't be too hasty although or you may find an unpleasant surprise. The room has spirits inside but none should notice if you are careful.

-With the carving in hand navigate your way back out of the Hall of Rites and don't forget Lisette. Inside the Throne Chamber there is a wall where either you or Lisette can place the carving. It doesn't matter who does it..but you do have the option to give the carving to Lisette if you speak to her while you have it. This way you can watch her perform a ritual. At this point Lisette is useless so you she doesn't need to follow you(or she may stop on her own). Once inside you will face another spirit..a very powerful litch. Once you defeat it, the secret wall to the throne room will reveal itself. At this point all you simply have to do is grab the amulet from the elven statue and watch the events unfold.

Banished

-It's pretty obvious now that you were tricked. You are alone in a plane of Oblivion with no apparent way back. But there is a way. You will have to make your way to Nebekaar's palace at the top of the island. The land is littered with Daedra so unless you have a way to avoid them, you are likely to engage in several fights along the way. Just take note to take on one or two at a time..giving yourself time to recover.

-Once you are at the palace go inside and speak to Nebekaar and he will request a series of errands before he allows you to leave his domain. The first is to collect 5 Daedra hearts. If you were mindful you may have collected that many while in combat, but if not, you will have to search for Daedra from which to collect them.

There is a tower with 3 churls at the opposite end of the island whose hearts you can collect. The other 2 will most likely have to be collected from roaming Xivali.

-After you show Nebekaar your collection you are sent to recover his mace in a fallen tower. He also fits you with boots he claims will help...but does more to restrict you. The tower is a bit out in the water beyond the tower that contained the churls. Make your way inside and on the first level, which you can swim to, you will find his mace underwater.

-Nebekaar's final task is to battle one of his minions, Cinderak. Cinderak is in the tower(where the churls were) at the top level. Make your way up there and carefully engage him. Unless you are prepared, defeating him will be difficult due to his Daedric Crescent. Using evasive maneuvers and magic..and possibly making him fall inside the tower are all tricks you can use to defeat him. My personal favorites are damage reflection. Also if you can use a Paralyze or Tendon Sever to stop him in his tracks it can buy you time. But if you are somewhat low level, defeating him can come down to dumb luck.

-When Cinderak is defeated return to Nebekaar and you discover that it has all been a game to him. Too bad you spoiled his plans, but you have gained you freedom. He will promptly send you back to Darodan.

Dark Hand of Influence
-With your return you will head back to Nararodi and speak to your ol' pal Alberic. The council doesn't offer much solace for your ordeal...just another mission. This time you will be sent to take assignments from Mortimus Sarbane.

-When you find Sarbane you will notice he doesn't assign you anything unless he is at the Mausoleum at night so make sure you are there at 9pm to meet him nightly during this period. He will first have you gather ingredients so finish his errands. The second task is finding him some Surille Brother's Vintage 415 wine(he's a cheap bastard). You may find a bottle at the Oak and Crosier(Chorral) or Bridge Inn(Cheydinhal) but otherwise just raid cellars and castles to find one. Afterwards he will give you several poisoned foods to assist you in assassinating his rival Thaddeus Talibut.

-You don't have to specifically poison Talibut..as long as he dies. The problem is Talibut's escort, Wendel. If he see's you too close while in the hotel or knows you killed his boss your crime gold will increase..and skyrocket incase of a physical murder. It is best to clear the room of "safe" food and place your poisoned items for Talibut to pick up before he arrives in the morning...and sit back and watch. If you are intent on direct murder..notice the times between Wendel and Talibut meeting up in the morning. By this point even the Dark Brotherhood would be envious.

-After Talibut is dead, Mortimus is satisfied and hands you a few hand crafted spells as an award. You will not need to speak to him for the time being so head back to Nararodi to inform Alberic of your progress.

-Once back at Nararodi Alberic and Dothiel will tell you of the new Anchorite Adjunct recruits and what their purpose
is. You will also have the option of speaking to Mannimarco. He will endow you with new spells and have you test them against a familiar foe...the first Anchorite you encountered. He will have nearly all the same powers you do (even the paralyzing ones), and he is tougher this time around so don't get careless. If you find yourself nearly dead (like I did once)..have Mannimarco heal you (unfortunately it ends up healing your opponent too).