The Elder Scrolls Online's new year-long adventure begins in just a few days. The Gates of Oblivion will open, taking us to The Elder Scrolls IV's fiery hellscape, the Deadlands, not to mention a few other iconic locations from the main RPG game series' past. We'll also head into arcane, untrodden ground with its first DLC, Flames of Ambition.

There are two dungeons in the pack: Black Drake Villa and The Cauldron. The former is a foray into a dilapidated villa to find a powerful artifact, while the latter tasks you with disrupting a powerful cult of Daedra worshippers. Of the two, I opt to play through Black Drake Villa, with the MMORPG's lead encounter designer, Mike Finnigan; lead content designer, Jeremy Sera; and creative director Rich Lambert as my guides.

The titular villa is formerly of the Longhouse Emperors, a fallen dynasty of Cyrodiil-ruling Reachmen, and it's teeming with trouble. Finnigan promises a secret library nestled beneath the villa, a mysterious tome packed with ancient knowledge, and the appearance of a fan-favourite character in Eveli Sharp-Arrow. So, off to the villa we head.

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