Oblivion NPCs say the darndest things. When they’re not asking for a retake for their lines, they’re probably hating on you for stealing a tomato after shutting 50-odd Oblivion gates. Let’s face it, these awkward interactions are among the most charming features of the game, so much so that they made it into Oblivion Remastered.

However, there’s one NPC who has been saying weird stuff all the way from Morrowind to the little-known 2024 Elder Scrolls mobile card game. Series fans will know that I’m talking about M’aiq the Lair. This random Khajiit has appeared in almost every game in the series and absolutely confused players with what he has to say.

Is That The Skooma Talking?

If you ever come across this mysterious character, he’ll say something weird and promptly run off, leaving you more confused than that guy whose house an Oblivion gate spawned inside of. Newbies won’t have a clue about what just happened, but series veterans will know that M’aiq is sort of an inside joke for the devs at Bethesda.

The things he says are actually quite meta, referencing things related to the series, but not in-game. For instance, one of his quotes is, “I do not wish to fight on horseback. It is a good way to ruin a perfectly good horse… which is, to say, a perfectly good dinner.” This is in reference to the horse combat shown in the original trailer for Oblivion, but never made it into the final game, to the ire of fans.

A lot of the references are related to events during the buildup of the original game’s launch, so they might sound absolutely deranged to those who’ve only played Oblivion Remastered. At the time, there was a rumour about Oblivion featuring children, to which M’aiq’s two cents were, “M’aiq believes the children are our future. But he doesn’t want them ruining all of our fun.”

But how has he survived all these years? M’aiq also references himself in Skyrim, saying “M’aiq’s father was also called M’aiq. As was M’aiq’s father’s father. At least, that is what his father said. But then again, you can never trust a liar.”

So, either he’s an unknown Daedric Prince, or simply an entire bloodline whose future generations are duty-bound to mess with the protagonist. He’s surely going to mention the multiple releases of Skyrim or the huge gap between games when he appears in The Elder Scrolls 6.