okay so the lich cassandra wants you to kill ahru. is there any way around killing him? or do i absolutely have to? id really prefer not to kill him if i have the choice. not because i hear its a hell of a fight but because i like him. so if anyone knows a way around killing him. please say so here. i really dont want to kill him.

plus seems weird to me that the intended way to do the quest is to actually work for the evil lich by killing the good wizard. so im forced to assume there is another way.