Oblivion:Bruma Recommendation

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[edit] Quick Walkthrough

Speak with Jeanne Frasoric; she needs help in finding a mage that's been missing for days.
Either look for the missing J'skar by yourself or get help from Volanaro, a mischievous mage.
Tell Jeanne Frasoric that you have found the missing mage to obtain her recommendation.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] Bruma Mages Guild

Talk to Jeanne Frasoric in the Bruma Mages Guild; she will request that you find a missing mage, J'skar, who hasn't been seen in days. If you can find him, or make him reappear, you'll have your recommendation from her. There are two possible ways to accomplish this quest: work with Volanaro or search out J'skar on your own.

[edit] Working with Volanaro

Talk to Volanaro, also inside the guild hall. If his disposition towards you is at least 70, Volanaro will agree to help you find J'skar if you help him pull a prank on Jeanne. He wants you to steal Jeanne's Manual of Spellcraft from her desk upstairs. He'll even teach you the Minor Latch Crack spell (Open Easy Lock). (Note that this spell is quite useful, since it costs less magicka to cast than normal Open Easy Lock, and it is free.) Go upstairs to Jeanne's office/bedroom, unlock her desk with the spell given or pick the lock and steal the Manual of Spellcraft from it. Jeanne's copy of this book is unique; other versions of the book will not work for the quest. Be sure you are not caught stealing the book, or else you will be suspended for stealing from the guild. Return the book to Volanaro who will tell you to meet him in the living quarters after 10 PM.

Wait or return around 10 PM (You may have to wait until after 10 PM) to the living quarters downstairs in the guild. Find Volanaro in his room and speak to him. Once you're ready, ask him about J'skar. In a flash, he will appear before you. Apparently the two were just having some fun with Jeanne. Report to Jeanne that you've found J'skar in order to receive her recommendation.

If you want to get the Minor Latch Crack spell without pranking Jeanne, just agree to Volanaro's plan, don't steal anything, and then follow the walkthrough below to find J'skar yourself.

[edit] Searching for J'skar on your own

The easiest way to find J'skar is using a Detect Life spell and looking for the purple glow that is not associated with a visible person. J'skar is most likely to be in the basement. Once you have found J'skar, cast Dispel on him and he will reappear. The apprentice-level spell Dispel Other can be purchased from Alves Uvenim in Leyawiin; at journeyman level in Mysticism, Volanaro can sell you the Greater Dispel Other spell. If you are not able to cast a spell and you are at least level 6, you could instead use a Dispel Other scroll. This scroll is randomly available from some merchants, such as from the Mystic Emporium in the Imperial City Market District.

Once J'skar reappears, he will complain that you're "no fun at all" but agrees to tell Jeanne that you found him.

[edit] Notes

If you talk to J'skar while he is invisible, he will say "Shhh! Go away! You'll ruin everything!".

Until this quest is completed, Volanaro is scripted to cast a Chameleon spell on J'skar every evening. The spell (FormID 00083600) provides 100% Chameleon for 2880 seconds (as with all spells, the duration is real time; for standard game settings, the spell will last 24 in-game hours). It is possible to get in Volanaro's way when he is casting the spell, resulting in the long-duration Chameleon spell being cast on your character. For this to happen, you need to be standing in between Volanaro and J'skar (who is invisible) when they are both in the Mages Guild basement, shortly after 8pm.

[edit] Bugs

Sometimes Volanaro doesn't recognize that you have the Manual of Spellcraft. This is most often solved by waiting until noon the next day and then speaking to him again.
Sometimes Volanaro fails to cast Dispel on J'skar. This can be caused by talking to J'skar just before Volanaro casts Dispel on him. In this case, follow the second option and Dispel him yourself to complete the quest.
If you talk to Volanaro after receiving the spell from him but then choose the second option, he will still tell you how great the prank was and how Jeanne will be looking for the book for weeks.

[edit] Journal Entries

Bruma Recommendation (MG06Bruma)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		Jeanne Frasoric has tasked me with finding J'skar. I should speak with the guild mages in Bruma.
20		I need to unlock Jeanne's desk in her room upstairs in the Bruma Mages Guild, and find her Manual of Spellcraft. If I bring it to Volanaro, he's agreed to help me find J'skar.
30		I have Jeanne's Manual of Spellcraft. I need to deliver it to Volanaro.
40		I need to meet Volanaro in the living quarters of the Bruma Mages Guild hall after 10 PM.
50		I need to tell Jeanne Frasoric that J'skar is visible again.
100		Jeanne Frasoric has agreed to send a recommendation to Raminus Polus.

Notes

Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in random order.
If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage MG06Bruma stage. Where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages. See SetStage for more information.