Quests 435

Return to the Thieves Guild after your search at Riftweald Manor to show Brynjolf Mercer's plans for stealing the Eyes of the Falmer. Brynjolf will explain the significance of your findings; Mercer plans one more heist before disappearing for good. The only hope of catching him is to intercept him at the location. Brynjolf informs you that Karliah has requested to speak with both of you.

Upon entering Dawnstar you hear talk of the inhabitants suffering from terrible nightmares and lack of sleep. Even the Jarl himself is having trouble sleeping, and tension is high. Make your way to the Windpeak Inn, where you will find Erandur, a priest of Mara. He warns that the inhabitants of Dawnstar are in terrible danger, as the nightmares are a symptom of having their memories stolen by the Daedric Prince Vaermina. He explains that the nightmares are being caused by an event that happened in Nightcaller Temple, a ruin located on the clifftop overlooking Dawnstar. Erandur will prompt you to follow him to Nightcaller Temple to put an end to the nightmares.

After the Silence Has Been Broken quest, the first part of the Dark Brotherhood's biggest contract is set in motion. At Astrid's behest, travel to the courtyard of the Temple of the Divines in Solitude. Here you will find the small wedding reception you were directed to attend. Your target is the bride, Vittoria Vici. If you approach Vittoria before she addresses the reception, she will exclaim: "What an amazing day this has been. I hope you're enjoying the festivities. I'm... I'm just so overwhelmed. Such kindness... for me." You can choose one of three dialogue options in response:

When you return from your fateful visit to Vittoria Vici's wedding, you will find a gleeful Astrid ready to move onto the next phase of the plan. She instructs you to visit with Gabriella for the next mission. Gabriella informs you that with the Emperor traveling to Skyrim, the Penitus Oculatus will be securing the way. In order to disrupt the security surrounding the Emperor, you will need to cripple its head, Commander Maro. The Brotherhood's plan to accomplish this is to kill Gaius Maro, the commander's son, and plant a letter implicating him in a plot against the Emperor.

There should be several guards outside the sanctuary when you approach it, along with the horses and carriages that they arrived in. Deal with them and head inside the sanctuary. Festus Krex can be found dead outside, pinned against a tree by arrows. There are also several stacks of barrels holding oil, hinting at the way the Penitus Oculatus plans on destroying the sanctuary.

Complete Innocence Lost by killing Grelod the Kind. When you are kidnapped by the Brotherhood and brought to the Abandoned Shack, kill Astrid instead of a hostage and this quest will begin. Astrid has a rather lengthy animation when she jumps off the bookshelf, during which she is vulnerable and cannot retaliate.

Despite the devastation wrought on the Dark Brotherhood, the Night Mother wants you to finish your contract and kill the Emperor, Titus Mede II. The real Emperor's whereabouts are unknown, so travel to Whiterun and find Amaund Motierre in his room at The Bannered Mare. Amaund will reveal that the true Emperor is on board his ship, The Katariah, near Solitude's docks. Amaund will also inform you that Commander Maro is outside the East Empire Company Warehouse at the docks, should you wish to exact revenge. Go to the East Empire Company Warehouse, near Solitude. Commander Maro will be standing on the dock. If you approach him, he will be startled by your appearance and proceed to attack. This will allow you to kill him without incurring a bounty, and the nearby guards may even assist you if you allow Maro to make the first strike. Alternatively, kill Maro from a distance or sneak up to him and kill him stealthily. It's worth noting that Maro has his own faction, so any bounty you incur when attacking him will be lost on his death. You can, if you wish, ignore Maro completely and move on to the next objective.

This quest is received after attacking a member of the Dark Brotherhood, accidentally or not. Pay a fine to Nazir to get back in the good graces of the family, which completes this quest. You cannot accept or complete any contracts until you pay the fine and Dark Brotherhood members will refuse to talk to you while suspended from the guild.

It seems a strange boy named Aventus Aretino is all the talk in Windhelm. By asking around town you will likely hear that Aventus is attempting to perform the Black Sacrament, a ritual designed to summon a Dark Brotherhood assassin. Once this topic arises in a dialogue, the objective "Talk to Aventus Aretino" will appear in your journal as a miscellaneous quest. Speaking to the children at Honorhall Orphanage in Riften will also lead you to Aventus' door.

After speaking to Nazir, you are told to locate and assassinate a target known as Agnis. She can be found inside the keep of Fort Greymoor which is west of Whiterun. The fort is initially garrisoned by bandits, whom you can either sneak past or kill. However if you have advanced far enough in the civil war quest line (beyond the Battle for Whiterun), it is garrisoned by soldiers of whichever faction controls Whiterun - your faction, that is, making the assassination much easier. Either way, Agnis is easily found inside the keep and, having only a dagger and some modest clothing for protection, is equally easy to kill.

When you receive this contract from Nazir, he says Anoriath is a hunter who hunts on the plains outside Whiterun. However, prolonged stalking reveals that he does not in fact leave the city. During the day he works at his stall in the market, and at night he retires to The Drunken Huntsman, which is run by his brother, to sleep. Your best bet to take him out without a bounty is to either shoot him during the day from a remote spot such as Jorrvaskr, or to sneak into his bedroom at night and slit his throat. However, both are very difficult to do without incurring a bounty, so plan for this.

The assassination of Beitild is part of the first batch of contracts handed to you by Nazir. After giving you the contract, he will readily tell you a bit about her background: "She separated from her husband several months ago. Now the two run competing mining operations. Beitild's angry and desperate. A fighter."

Another simple assassination. Head to Hela's Folly, northeast of Dawnstar. Deekus is by himself, so he is easily picked off. Spread about his camp are some miscellaneous items such as gems and a Dibella Statue, presumably items he has looted from shipwrecks. There are two chests with Novice- and Apprentice-level locks that contain some minor loot; one is next to his tent and one is inside the shipwreck. The chest near the tent is protected by a bear trap, so opening it from behind is recommended. The chest in the shipwreck is located in the sunken half of the ship.

Simply travel to Anga's Mill and walk to the camp just up the road from the mill to the west. Kill Ennodius Papius, who is staying at the camp. He is far away enough to not attract any attention from patrolling guards or lumberjacks at the mill. During the day he is usually found around the water or his campfire; at night he'll be asleep in the tent. He will panic and flee on attack, but will not go far. Any incurred bounty while attacking him will revert on his death.

Once you have spoken to Nazir you will have found out that Helvard is the Housecarl to the Jarl of Falkreath. You may find Helvard in the Jarl's Longhouse in Falkreath.

Hern is a fairly easy kill, even if he is a vampire. He is usually with his wife in Half-Moon Mill's only home. They can both be killed with any weapons—as long as Hern dies, the mission completes. During the day, you'll find him outside, hanging out on a bridge. You can sneak into a shack next to the bridge and attack him safely with a ranged attack from an open window. His wife usually won't notice if it's a one-hit kill. You could also wait until morning for his wife to leave for the lumber. She always leaves before him, presenting a window where he can be found alone inside the house. If you have Hearthfire installed, and her disposition is high enough for her to give you free lumber, you can ask her for free lumber when they are together inside the house; she will go outside to supervise your cutting of logs, and you will be alone with Hern. Also when they are entering or leaving the house if you engage Hern in conversation and hold him behind you can then sneak attack and kill him after Hert leaves the area.

This is a very simple assassination. Lurbuk is not known to ever leave the Moorside Inn and can easily be picked off with an arrow when he isn't performing. The difficulty lies in the fact that whatever you tell him, he will never turn hostile and attack, which would potentially increase the chances of earning a bounty, no matter what you say to him.

When Nazir hands you the quest, he will not only reveal the target's location to be the ancient Dwarven ruin of Mzinchaleft, he will also provide a bit of fair warning of Maluril: "He's dangerous. Very dangerous. A rogue Dark Elf mage doing research into Dwarven artifacts should be both respected... and feared. Just not by you." Leave Nazir and travel to Mzinchaleft, in the tundra southwest of Dawnstar.

When Ma'randru-jo is not wandering the roads of Tamriel, he can be found in one of the caravan camps led by Ri'saad. The caravan travels the route between Markarth and Whiterun and spends two full days camped outside each city before alternating. Since he does not stay stationary, he can be hard to find. However, the map indicates his position. To find him simply travel to his known location, check the map, then travel to his new location. Continue this until he is found.

Right after your initiation into the Dark Brotherhood, guild leader Astrid will confess that no "real" jobs are available at the moment and that you should talk to Nazir for smaller contract work. Nazir will give three targets to you at the same time, so you are free to pick what order you do them in. On Narfi, he will comment that "He's a hapless beggar living in some ruins just outside the village of Ivarstead. Easy even for you."

Make your way to the East Empire Company Warehouse, just outside of Solitude, and then board the ship the Red Wave. Even though boarding the ship is considered trespassing, the "guards" (crew members) will not actually confront you if they see you. All they will do is say "you're not supposed to be here" and then leave you alone. Safia can be found in the middle deck of the ship, walking around switching chairs every few minutes or eating.

Upon successful completion of the Dark Brotherhood quest Breaching Security, Gabriella will hand you Olava's Token as a special bonus, if you managed to slay Gaius Maro in any hold capital. According to Gabriella, this is an opportunity not to be missed, so travel to Whiterun and locate the elderly seer Olava the Feeble. She can usually be found relaxing on her porch behind Breezehome. Show her the token and a surprised Olava will immediately realize why you are there and will then reluctantly provide a reading of your future. Along with some predictions about the Brotherhood, Olava will suddenly see a potential for adventure and wealth, a place hidden behind Deepwood Redoubt, namely Hag's End. The last resting place for an assassin of old, his fortunes are yours to take. A map marker will be added and an exhausted Olava will send you away.

After completing at least one of Nazir's contracts, returning to the Sanctuary will trigger a scene where a seemingly annoyed Astrid reluctantly welcomes Cicero to the hideout. As Nazir will deny you any rewards before you speak to Astrid, let the conversation finish and then wait for her to approach you. She will hand you the first real job for the Brotherhood: Markarth resident Muiri wants an ex-lover killed. Astrid asks you to show professionalism and explains that you can keep the entire reward, as this is your first contract.

After dealing with Cicero, Astrid is anxious to get back on task. She mentions something about a famous, elusive chef and a crazy scheme to impersonate him while cooking for the Emperor. She then points you to Festus Krex, who will be directing this phase of the Emperor's assassination. Festus explains that your new objective is to kill the Gourmet and while assuming his identity, poison the meal being prepared for the Emperor. What complicates this matter is that the Gourmet's identity is known by only a select few. Luckily, Festus has obtained an autographed copy of the Gourmet's book Uncommon Taste owned by Anton Virane. This suggests that Virane may know the true identity of the Gourmet.

After speaking to Astrid, turn back and search the shelves for a copy of the Alteration skill book Sithis, and a set of shrouded robes. Enter the room behind the map table and pick up the unusual gem, sitting on the dresser to the left, for the quest No Stone Unturned.

After purchasing the torture room upgrade for the Dawnstar Sanctuary from Delvin Mallory, you will find four very unlucky prisoners who all have quite a bit of gold hidden away in the wilderness for one reason or another. Talk to any of the four abductees repeatedly and they will reveal the location of their hidden treasure. Your journal will be updated with a new quest which points to the treasure's location. Now all you have to do is find the hidden treasure and claim it for yourself. You can interrogate all four victims at the same time to prevent multiple trips back to the sanctuary. You may only claim the treasure once, as it does not respawn.

When you return from completing the Breaching Security contract, Gabriella will inform you that there was an incident with Cicero and directs you to discuss it with Astrid. Astrid reveals that Cicero attempted to murder her and the other members of the Dark Brotherhood, grievously wounding Veezara in the process. Arnbjorn pursued Cicero as he fled from the sanctuary. She asks you to search Cicero's room for clues as to his whereabouts. Inside the room you find five journals, with the final journal indicating that Cicero might be headed for the long-abandoned sanctuary outside Dawnstar. Astrid will grant you use of her horse, Shadowmere. Immediately outside the sanctuary he will rise from the black, bubbling liquid. Mount him if you wish, and head to Dawnstar's abandoned Brotherhood sanctuary.

After the events of Hail Sithis!, the Dark Brotherhood has new headquarters to improve and maintain. As the Listener, your responsibility is to heed the Night Mother and continue to fulfill contracts. For this recurring quest, approaching the Night Mother will initiate a dialogue: another child has prayed to their mother and performed the Black Sacrament, securing another contract for the Brotherhood. Travel to the specified location and speak to the client who will give you a name and location of a generic NPC that he wants eliminated. The client will pay you the money up front. Travel to the location and complete the contract. Return to the Night Mother for another contract as needed or desired.

When you last left the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary, Astrid was still in turmoil regarding your sudden promotion to Listener, and the ensuing duties the role required. Once you have fulfilled any of the contracts Nazir gave you after completing Whispers in the Dark (Narfi, Beitild, Ennodius Papius, Hern, Lurbuk), go back to the sanctuary. Astrid will approach you and tell you that she has finished thinking. She agrees that it would be madness to just ignore the Night Mother's demands and tells you to travel to Volunruud to meet with Amaund Motierre.

After securing the writ of passage into the Emperor's service, the rest of the plan is ready to fall into place. Following Astrid's instructions, travel to Solitude with the poisonous herb she gave you and report to head of security, Commander Maro. Show him the writ you stole from the Gourmet to gain entrance to the castle. Maro will allow you to pass with no trouble (commenting on your clothing depending on whether or not you are wearing the chef's hat or clothes), telling you to report to the castle's chef, Gianna. When Gianna greets you, she is both nervous and excited at the prospect of working with the great Gourmet. If you have yet to don your chef's hat, she will direct you to one on the shelf; you cannot begin "cooking" until you are appropriately attired. Once you are ready, say, Enough! The Gourmet is here to cook, not talk! Let us begin.

Nazir will instruct you to go and speak to Delvin Mallory in The Ragged Flagon in Riften about restoring the newly reacquired Dawnstar Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. Travel to The Ragged Flagon and speak to Delvin. He is more than happy to restore anything you want for the prices listed below.

After returning from your assassination mission in Mourning Never Comes, Astrid will confide that she needs help with a matter of a somewhat more personal nature. She confesses that she is a little concerned about the Night Mother's Keeper, Cicero. The strange and erratic jester has been locking himself in the chamber with the Night Mother's coffin and frantically whispering to someone. Astrid fears a conspiracy and asks you to spy on Cicero to see what he is up to. However, in order to effectively eavesdrop and not be detected she asks you to hide in the coffin with the Night Mother's corpse. You can state your objections or remain silent at this strange directive, but in either case, make your way to the chamber to make yourself cozy with the Night Mother.

Some time after Aventus Aretino rewards you for killing Grelod the Kind and you've left Windhelm, a courier will approach you and deliver a Mysterious Note bearing the ominous words "We know." The next time you sleep for any duration, you will "awake after a full sleep" to find that you have been mysteriously transported to unfamiliar surroundings. The quest can also sometimes be started after completing Aventus's quest by sleeping in any bed, even before receiving the Mysterious Note from the courier.

After speaking with Isran, you will be sent to inform a random jarl of a vampire threat within their court. The jarl will note the seriousness of your allegation, and ask for evidence. This can be obtained by pickpocketing the Visiting Advisor, who can usually be found in the main court room of the jarl's hall, for his orders. Note that if your pickpocket attempt fails he will attack you, often leading to confrontation with nearby NPCs and likely death. This method is particularly effective when you are a Thane of the relevant hold, as you will then be able to tell the guards to disregard your crime.

Talk to Feran Sadri in Volkihar Keep and he will tell you of two amulets which will augment your powers as a Vampire Lord. He will direct you to two random locations, one containing the Amulet of Bats and the other containing the Amulet of The Gargoyle. The amulet may be in possession of a boss or in the chest at the end of a dungeon. Head to the two dungeons shown on your map, retrieve the amulets, and return to Feran, who will give you several potions of blood as a reward.

Speak to Feran Sadri and he will tell you his theory that adding the blood of an ancient vampire to the Bloodstone Chalice can lengthen the amount of time its effects last. He will send you to a random location, telling you to retrieve one of five petrified vampire parts from a boss level chest at the location, and infusing the remains' lingering magical essence into the Bloodstone Chalice.

Speak to Sorine Jurard in Fort Dawnguard and ask "What can I do to help?" to receive this quest. She will instruct you to travel to a random Dwarven ruin or bandit hideout (this includes locations added by Dragonborn) and retrieve the Dwemer schematic specifying a new crossbow design. The schematic will be located in the boss chest in the location. If it is a bandit area, the note Dwarven Haul will be found in the chest as well.

When you have declined Lord Harkon's offer at Castle Volkihar, you are told to return to Isran at Fort Dawnguard and provide information about Serana. Upon arriving in the courtyard, you will find Isran, Celann, Durak, and newcomer Vori doing their best to fight a group of attacking vampires. Help them defeat the vampires, then report back to Isran who will be waiting at the main gate, showing great anger that his hidden fortress was exposed so soon. When you tell him that the vampires were looking for a woman trapped inside Dimhollow Crypt, he will say: "A woman? Trapped in there? That doesn't make any sense. Who is she? More importantly, where is she?" However, he will forget about the woman once you tell him the vampires claimed an Elder Scroll: "By the Divines, this couldn't get much worse. This is more than you and I can handle." He will then realize it is time to bring in some powerful reinforcements to Fort Dawnguard: "If they're bold enough to attack us here, then this may be bigger than I thought. I have good men here, but... There are people I've met and worked with over the years. We need their skills, their talents, if we're going to survive this. If you can find them, we might have a chance." He will then tell you about the two persons, namely Sorine Jurard and Gunmar: "I think we'll want Sorine Jurard. Breton girl, whip-smart and good with tinkering. Fascination with the Dwemer. Weapons in particular. Last I knew, she was out in the Reach, convinced she was about to find the biggest dwarven ruins yet. You'll also want to find Gunmar. Big brute of a Nord, hates vampires almost as much as I do. Got it into his head years back that his experience with animals would help. Trolls in particular, from what I hear." He will then send you on your way, and you will have to convince Sorine and Gunmar to join the Dawnguard, and use their special skills to help out against the vampire menace.

After speaking to Isran, make your way across Skyrim to Dimhollow Crypt, which lies high in the mountains east of Morthal. To reach it, head directly east of Frostmere Crypt until you reach a southbound path up the mountain or alternatively start at the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon and follow the dirt path that skirts the cliff face east.

Upon your arrival in the Soul Cairn, follow the quest marker to the Boneyard and find Serana's mother Valerica standing near the entrance. She is initially surprised to find her daughter in the Cairn, before turning her focus on you and your motives for accompanying Serana. Once Serana has interceded for you, Valerica reveals she is still in possession of the Blood Elder Scroll. However, she is trapped in the Boneyard by an invisible barrier after fighting with the Ideal Masters and their minions when first arriving in the Cairn.

Once you've found Serana and opened her sarcophagus at the end of Awakening, she will stumble out; disorientated after being asleep for a very long time. She asks you to take her to her father at Castle Volkihar, but before this you can ask her some questions after she initiates a conversation. This exchange will be different depending on whether or not you're a vampire:

After recruiting Sorine Jurard and Gunmar into the Dawnguard during the quest A New Order, Isran will send you on a hunt for Dexion Evicus, a Moth priest traveling around Skyrim, starting the quest Prophet. During your search for the priest, you will find that vampires have taken Dexion hostage inside Forebears' Holdout. At that point in the quest (stage 60), Sorine and Gunmar will have settled down in Fort Dawnguard's western area, and while keeping up appearances, they have secretly discussed the vampire threat. Sorine will ask you directly: "Do you have a moment? Gunmar and I have been talking and, well, we're slightly worried. We both realized that if Isran's even allowed us in here, he must be really concerned. And if he's that concerned, the situation must be pretty bad. Make sense?"

Serana will speak to you after the Moth Priest reads the Elder Scroll, saying she may know where to find one of the scrolls. She thinks her mother, Valerica, may have information on it, and may even possess it. Serana believes Valerica may have left a clue in the courtyard at Castle Volkihar. Though you will not be able to enter through the Keep, Serana knows of a secret entrance you can use. If you have a follower at this point, you must dismiss them. Simply telling them to wait is not enough: Serana won't accompany you unless you send your follower home.

Gunmar will inform you that he has discovered a vampire lair and will task you with eliminating its head vampire. While you only need to kill the boss vampire in order to scatter its minions, he heartily recommends you thoroughly cleanse the lair of all vampires and thralls. He will then mark a random vampire lair on your map.

You can talk to Fura Bloodmouth or Garan Marethi to receive this quest. They will explain either:

This article is about the quest. For other uses, see Dawnguard (disambiguation).

When you speak to Feran Sadri, he will complain that the Dawnguard have been recruiting and give you an assignment to give them something else to worry about: "You are to make a public show of murdering someone. Do it in the streets for all to see. The higher the profile the better. Make it seem you are a member of the Dawnguard, thus sowing confusion among the herd. Wear this armor and plant this note on the victim." He will give you a set of Dawnguard armor so you can impersonate the Dawnguard more easily, as well as the note to plant on the victim's body.

After completing Kindred Judgment, Garan Marethi or Fura Bloodmouth in Volkihar Keep may offer this quest. You will be asked to kill the leaders of the Dawnguard to "avoid an all-out war". Upon nearing Fort Dawnguard in Dayspring Canyon, several Dawnguard members will turn hostile and attack you. Make your way into the fort. It is best to try and kill the leaders as stealthily as possible because in groups they can be difficult to defeat. Isran also uses a powerful spell called Stendarr's Aura that will drain your health if you come into melee range, but only if you are a vampire. Once you have defeated the leaders of the Dawnguard, return to Garan or Fura for your reward. He or she will congratulate you on killing the leaders of the Dawnguard, but comment that the Dawnguard will still remain active even with its leaders dead.

After defeating him in the Boneyard, Durnehviir will rematerialize outside, hailing you as his Qahnaarin. He will express his surprise and admiration of your fighting ability, stating that he has never been felled on the fields of the Soul Cairn before. He will then recount the tale of how he came to be bound into the service of the Ideal Masters, explaining that he was deceived after he sought their power to help establish his dominance among his fellow dovah on Nirn. He will then teach you how to summon him back into Tamriel, promising to reward you each time you set him free.

After finding an Ancient Falmer Tome, take it to Urag gro-Shub in The Arcanaeum at the College of Winterhold. He will purchase the book from you for 1000 gold, and give you a translated copy.