I started the game at Weatherleah, and decided to head to Skingrad to progess the Nirnroot quest, as I had enough of the herb to do so, and it was just a quick cross-country job south from where I was. It didn’t take more than a few minutes, but I found both a wayshrine and an Oblivion Gate along the way. Erk.
After speaking to Nirnroot Man in Skingrad, and finding he now wanted another 20 of them, I thought I’d head to Anvil and get another Mage’s Guild recommendation (and also be near the place I need to go for the Grey Prince quest). Warped to Kvatch, and then set out West on foot. What’s this? Two more Oblivion Gates?! In 44 hours play, I found just three. And now I find three in less than half an hour? Evilness abound!
Ignored them, though, and continued to Anvil, summoning Scamps all the way to help kill some bandits and some wolves, as well as to boost my Conjuration skillz.
The first building I found upon entering Anvil was in fact the Mage’s Guild, and after buying loads of spells, I set out to do my task for a recommendation. I won’t go into detail for fear of spoiling it all, but it involves a rogue battle mage, and a fight against him/her into which some daedra from a nearby Oblivion Gate, two other mages, and an Imperial Guard all got dragged into. And me, and my scamp, and assorted other summoned beings. ACES!
Then it was back to Anvil, and decided to explore the place and summon loads more scamps, which got my Conjuration skill up to 50, allowing me to summon other stuff, like a Skeleton Guardian. Ph33r mi P0W4Z!!