THE ART OF ILLUSION IN THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION REMASTERED

Jumping to illusions: the continued misadventures of Crispin the Preposterous

- By Matt Elliott

When last we saw our friend Crispin the Preposterous, he was experiencing a crisis of confidence. Can you really call yourself Tamriel's greatest illusionist with two naff spells, great hair, and a complete disregard for property rights? Almost certainly not. This entry, then, is an exercise in proving his worth. He's not just a spellcaster who can steal and cast Starlight. He has layers. A magical onion. And he'll prove his worth to the Mages Guild, if only to convince himself that his entire existence isn't an outrageous lie.

We left Crispin in Bravil, a festering swamp town to the south of Cyrodiil that's only marginally better than being in prison. It's probably the best place in the game to learn illusion spells, but, as ever, there's an issue: Crispin has the skills to cast some impressive stuff, but not the coin. Buying spells is expensive for a penniless mage straight out of the slammer. So it makes sense to stay here, grind some more quests, and fence some equipment on the sly when things get tight.

SLUMBER YARD

I've already done the quest needed to earn a Bravil recommendation. Getting these from all the Mages Guilds in Cyrodiil will allow me to access the Arcane University. Hopefully, the imposter syndrome will disappear the moment he gets the keys to the Council Chambers. That's a long way off, though. In the meantime, it makes sense to stay in Bravil and earn the cash needed to complete my quest. To that end, I decided to take on the excellently named Through A Nightmare, Darkly quest for an Argonian called Kud-Ei. Her friend, Henantier, has carelessly got himself trapped inside a dream, like the love interest in an '80s high-fantasy film. Kud-Ei needs my help getting him out. This will be easy; I'll sashay into Henantier's dream and demand he wakes the hell up using my coruscating personality. Simple.