All Hail Sithis! Dark Brotherhood Quest Guide
I told you that any nonsense about Skyrim automatically becomes golden, or maybe even more later.
I want to warn you that this text is spoiler upon spoiler and drives more spoilers. If you haven't completed these quests and intend to do so yourself, I highly recommend you do it on your own.
Lost Innocence.
It all starts in Windhelm. While wandering the city, you can hear rumors about a strange house and an even stranger boy who has not left it for a long time and conducts some rituals. After you talk to the right people (for example, the innkeeper), you will have an entry in your journal and a pointer to the house.
A rather cute scene unfolds near the entrance; there is now no doubt, the boy, Aventus Aretino, is clearly not just a teenager, and the house is cursed. Inside you will hear his pleas for help to the Mother of Night…
It turns out that Aventus has escaped from an orphanage run by the kind-hearted Gerdur (the name is actually just a mockery; the old woman does not spare the children). In a circle made of burning candles lies a human skeleton, a piece of human flesh, and a heart. A book lying nearby tells of a mysterious ritual that can summon the Dark Brotherhood. Aventus will be glad to see you; his pleas have finally been heard. Before you can blink, you are already hired for murder.
Next, your path lies in Riften, to the orphanage orphanage. The children "really love" their mistress, and as soon as she falls dead (to avoid any trouble with the law, I recommend waiting until Gerdur goes to her office), they will rejoice and start discussing how well they will now live. Return to Windhelm; Aventus is satisfied, and you are 100 septims richer, plus you have acquired an expensive family jewel.
But you stole an order right from under the nose of the Dark Brotherhood…
With Friends Like These…
You might want to rest in a warm bed after committing murder. Or maybe you won’t want to. In two or three days, a courier will approach you and hand you a note. It features a black hand and the inscription: "We know."
You can go to sleep even before receiving the note; it makes no difference. In any case, after you fall asleep, you will awaken… in a strange, clearly abandoned hut. On a shelf will sit a mysterious lady in assassin robes. Behind you, on their knees, sit three victims with bags over their heads. Their hands are tied. Astrid, as the stranger is called, will propose a game. Guess which of the captives was ordered to the brotherhood. It seems you have no choice. The door is locked, and the only key is in the elf's pocket.
In fact, it doesn’t matter whom you kill; the main thing is that you have been ordered to kill, and you killed. The girl is pleased with the result and invites you to the Dark Brotherhood's sanctuary, concluding with the password: "Silence, my brother."
(Branch) Death to the Dark Brotherhood!
But let’s not forget, the key is in the elf’s pocket. While she is getting off the shelf (and she is doing it veeeery slowly), you can manage to finish her off and acquire a lovely light armor, a unique (very powerful) dagger, and a new quest. It seems you need to talk to the captain of the emperor’s personal guard.
He resides in a place called Dragon Bridge, near Solitude. Captain Maron will offer you 3,000 septims if you destroy the Dark Brotherhood to the roots, and he will also tell you the password and the location of their hideout. Intriguingly, how does he know it? Ah, yes, you must go there alone.
Just burst in and kill everyone you meet. Inside, you will find a lot of unique and very expensive armor, four soul stones, the magical two-handed sword of Astrid's husband, a new shout ("Murder"), and a few more little things, like potions. Return to Maron and collect your hard-earned reward.
Sanctuary
Once you enter the sanctuary, look around, talk to the new members of your family, and when you are ready, speak to Nazir about your first job.
Contracts: Kill Narfi, kill Beitlid, kill Annodius Papius.
Narfi is the easiest target. A homeless beggar resides at the charred remains of a house. No one will look for him. You can tell him that the dark brotherhood has come for him, or you can stay silent. Alternatively, you can shoot him from a hill. If you try to kill him in close combat, there is a chance you will get caught and attract the guards.
Beitlid is a mine worker. During the day, she wanders around the city among people, and at night she sleeps in her house. You can break into her house and wait for her there, or you can wait until she goes home to sleep and open the door then. Also, if you inform Beitlid that you come from the Dark Brotherhood, she will attack you herself, and if you kill her, the guards will consider it self-defense and will not intervene.
Annodius is a man living in a tent near Anga's mill. Just kill him; the guards will not hear the screams.
Interesting fact: daggers change position depending on your actions
Morning Never Comes
You will be informed about a girl, Muiri, who conducted the ritual of the black sacrament and calls upon the Dark Brotherhood. Astrid will ask you to find Muiri and complete her quest.
The girl resides in Markarth and often walks the streets. Just talk to her. She will tell the story of her former lover, the family that betrayed her, and give you a lotus extract, poison for coating your blade. You will need to kill Du font, her lover, who dwells in dwemer ruins with a band of robbers, and if possible, finish off Muiri's sister, Nilsin.
While in the ruins, be careful; traps are everywhere, but there are many locked doors, it’s the perfect time to raise your lockpicking skill. If you manage to pick a door with an "Expert" difficulty level, you won’t have trouble activating the dwemer crossbows with exploding arrows and killing the lover and his entourage with two shots.
This is interesting: If you pass further from the victim's dwelling, you will enter the main part of the dwemer dungeon. To lower the drawbridge in a room with falmers, press the button located near the lone falmer’s tent, just below the ceiling. In the end, you will find a large room; to supply power to the bridge, you need to pull human skeletal parts from the gears.
The temple. Don’t go there alone.
Now it’s left to deal with the sister. The girl lives in Windhelm. You can try to catch her at night in her family’s residence, but it would be much more practical to meet her at the temple, which Nilsin visits every day. She will be sitting with her back to the door. And she will be alone. How reckless. Return to Muiri, she will give you a few hundred coins (depending on your level) and an alchemy ring if you killed her sister.
Whispers in the Dark
After returning to the sanctuary, Astrid will express her concern about Cicero, the keeper of the Mother of Night's coffin, who recently arrived at the brotherhood's sanctuary. The madman in jester's clothes locks himself in the room with the coffin at night and talks quietly with someone. Astrid asks you to hide in the coffin of the Mother of Night and eavesdrop on the conversation.
It turns out that Cicero is angry because he is not the Listener and cannot hear the words of the Mother of Night. But you can. The lady asks you to find Amond Motieri in the tomb of Volunruud and talk to him. After the coffin opens, you will have to talk with Astrid and Cicero. The head of the sanctuary does not want to return to old traditions and says she needs to think it over. And for you, it’s time to go to Nazir for new contracts.
Contracts: kill Hern, kill Lubrik.
Lubrik is the worst bard in Skyrim; Astrid had to arrange a lottery since too many wanted him dead. You just need to go to the tavern, wait for the orc to go to his room to sleep, and then cut him down.
Hern is a vampire who lives peacefully at a sawmill with his girlfriend, also a vampire. They are always happy to have guests and look very hospitable. If you reveal your intentions, Hern will not resist fate, will not try to escape, but simply challenge you to a duel. His passion will interfere and try to kill you.
You should have heard his voice
Silence is Broken
Astrid has thought it over and decided that it is foolish to go against the will of the Mother of Night. She sends you to Volunruud to meet Amond Motieri. He, along with his assistant, lives near the entrance to the tomb of the ancient hero of the Nords. Amond will offer you, neither more nor less… to kill the emperor himself. And he will hand you an expensive amulet as an advance to "cover expenses."
This is interesting: To open the tomb, you must find a ritual dagger and ax. They are located in two different branches of the dungeon. After that, you will have to fight the ancient hero, armed with a steel sword that deals a lot of cold damage. But for true Nords, the cold is not a problem?
Return to Astrid, she is greatly surprised by such a contract and will send you to her old friend, a guild thief and appraiser. If you are already a member of the Thieves Guild, it will be easy to reach him through a secret passage. Otherwise, you will have to go through a dungeon with rats and bandits. In any case, Delvin (that’s the thief’s name) will give you a promissory note for 15,000 septims and tell you the story of the amulet. It turns out that this amulet is given to every member of the Council. It seems someone is planning a coup.
Until Death Do Us Part
Amond has made a detailed plan, for you cannot simply approach the emperor. First, you will need to kill his sister, right at her wedding. You will receive an extra reward for killing her right in the middle of her speech to the guests (an ancient Nordic tradition). Upon arrival at your destination, I recommend climbing up a low tower; the door to it will be to the left of the temple door, if you are facing the same direction as the bride. There, you will find an elven bow called "Death of Firienel," several arrows, and an elixir of marksmanship.
Astrid took care of you and sent an Argonian named Vizar to distract the guards and let you escape after the murder. Just wait for the bride to come out on the balcony and shoot her with the bow. Vizar will start a fight and allow you to escape calmly.
Alternatively, you can climb up the city wall; to do this, enter the temple whose entrance is directly opposite the bride, go up the stairs, and open the door onto the wall. Then, wait until Vittoria starts her speech and drop a heavy statue on her head.
Your reward will be a spell to summon the spirit of the ancient assassin Lucien Lachance (a familiar name, right?), and if you killed Vittoria during the speech, about a thousand gold.
Sniper Position
Security Breach
To begin, talk to Gabriella in the Brotherhood's sanctuary. You need to kill the son of Captain Maron, Guy Maron, and then plant a compromising note on his body. Captain Maron is the head of the emperor’s security service; if you kill him, he will simply be replaced, so it’s better to break the spirit of the captain and strip the honor from his son.
Guy will travel through all the cities of Skyrim to personally ensure their safety. An additional condition will be to kill Guy in one of the cities, not on the road. To avoid attracting attention, he will travel without security.
You can try to steal the schedule of his route from the building in the village of "Dragon Bridge," but it’s enough to simply track his movements on the map. As soon as he stops in one of the cities, kill him.
For the task, you will receive about a thousand coins and Olava's amulet, which unlocks an additional quest to find the ancient assassin's corpse, lying in a cave and wearing improved Dark Brotherhood armor.
Cure for Madness
To think! Cicero has completely lost his mind; he began to wave a blade and injured Vizar. Babette managed to save him, but Astrid asks you to find the madman and kill him, especially since her husband has gone after him in a fit of rage. Search Cicero's room and take his diary. The jester is in the sanctuary under Dawnstar, and you have the password to the door. You will receive Astrid's personal shadow steed.
Injured Lizard
Near the entrance to the sanctuary lies the wounded Arnborn; he apparently managed to pierce Cicero's artery, so finding him should be easy, just follow the blood trail.
This is interesting: If you summon the spirit of Lucien Lachance, you will hear interesting comments along the way.
On the table at the entrance lies a set of light jester armor. The best solution is to take the hat and clothes, replacing your usual Brotherhood armor. Follow the blood trail and repeatedly kill the ghosts. After you cross the bridge and go down the stairs, search the table; there will be books that increase your archery and melee skills.
Continue following the trail, and you'll fight an ice troll. Soon you'll find Cicero; he's clearly not in shape and can't fight. The only thing he will ask is to spare his life. Your decision will have no effect thereafter, but he wears unique Cicero armor, which is much stronger than jester armor. He seems to have been faking his deathbed state. Hit him, and he will jump up, ready to fight. On his body, in addition to the armor, will be a few hundred coins and a dagger matching your level. Time to return to Astrid.
But if you spared Cicero, he may become your partner later.
The Jester’s Corpse
Deadly Recipe
The final part of the plan: you need to find the mysterious writer and famous cook hiding under the pseudonym Gourmet, then steal his document and poison the emperor. Talk to Festus Krex; he will give you a lead on the court cook of Yarl Markarth, Anton Viran. You will need to find out where the Gourmet is, get rid of Anton, and then deal with the Gourmet, preferably hiding the body.
In the conversation with Anton, threaten him; he will then give you the name and location of the Gourmet. Tell him you will leave Anton alive, and then kill him. Your path leads to a roadside tavern. Balag gro-Nolob, that’s the real name of the Gourmet, has been living there for a couple of months, in the basement. He enjoys long walks along the lake shore… Alternatively, you can catch him in the basement and hide the body behind two large barrels, right there. Or wait until he strolls by the lake, kill him, and drown his body. Don’t forget to take the document and return to the sanctuary.
Hide the body here
Death to the Empire!
Advice: Take all your personal belongings from the Brotherhood's sanctuary NOW, otherwise they will be lost later.
Talk to Astrid, take the deadly poison root from her, and head out on the mission to Solitude. Show the captain the Gourmet's document and go inside. Take the chef's hat from the shelf and put it on. Chef Gian is in charge of everything in this kitchen and will be very happy to see you. Add whatever ingredients you like to the famous broth, and don’t forget the most important one, the fire root. It's time to serve the dish.
Maybe it wasn’t worth adding a giant’s finger?
The emperor behaves strangely, but after tasting the broth, he begins to praise it. Then he will feel bad and fall dead. You can leave before that moment; RUN! Out the door, run to the bridge…
!!!WARNING!!! Below reveals all the intrigue of this quest line. I strongly recommend experiencing the game yourself before reading the following.
Captain Maron was waiting for you. He. And about a dozen soldiers. A rat has infiltrated the Brotherhood, someone betrayed you in exchange for the captain’s promise to leave the order of assassins alone forever. But Maron lied. The death of his son did not go unpunished, and at that moment another squad of soldiers stormed the sanctuary. You can engage in battle, but there are too many enemies. Just run as far away as you can.
IT'S A TRAP!
This is interesting: the random event system greatly enhances the game. While fleeing the city, I heard a strange loud sound. On the road, right in front of me, landed… a dragon. The battle began; the guards behind me were burned by the dragon's flames, and I received another soul at my disposal.
As soon as you reach the sanctuary, the quest will be completed.
Embodied Death
After defeating several soldiers at the entrance, go inside. Inside, a fire is raging; the Empire’s warriors are finishing off the wounded. Right near the entrance lies the corpse of Vizar. Fight your way further, Arnborn has turned into a werewolf and is killing the soldiers, but there are too many of them. You cannot save him. Upstairs, Nazir is fighting another Imperial; help him. It turns out, Nazir suspects you of being the traitor, but others need to be found. Go upstairs, and you will hear the voice of the Mother of Night in your head. Hide in her coffin.
Mom.
Time passes. The sound of breaking glass and splashing water is heard. Somehow, the Mother of Night saved you from the fire. Nazir, urged on by Babette, is trying to pull the sarcophagus from the water. There is one last task; the Mother of Night asks you to find Astrid; she is somewhere in the sanctuary.
And she is indeed there. The wounded elf lies with terrible burns in a circle of candles. Next to her is a dagger. It was she who betrayed the Brotherhood; she was the one who turned you in, hoping that the Brotherhood would survive. Now she has one request; Astrid asks for death. At your hands.
The most dramatic moment in the whole game
Once the deed is done, Nazir and Babette will head to the sanctuary near Dawnstar, and it’s time for you to deal with the real emperor, Titus Mede II.
Glory to Sithis!
You need to find someone who knows the emperor’s whereabouts, like Amond Motieri. He lives at the tavern in Whiterun. As it turns out, Titus is on his personal ship and is almost ready to set sail. Captain Maron, if he survived your last confrontation, is at the dock with his guard.
It’s time. Head to the dock. You can talk to Maron; he will get angry and attack. Just kill him; the guards will consider it self-defense. Jump into the water and swim to the ship, then climb up the rope.
You are in the hold; a lonely sailor stands with his back to you. A mistake. Walk through the ship; the soldiers there are not too strong, but it’s better not to stick your neck out. Find the captain of the ship and kill him; in his pocket, you will find the master key to all the locks on the ship. Just walk into the emperor’s quarters, eliminating guards along the way.
Isn't this a double?
Here you are alone. Titus Mede II awaited you. "With emperors and assassins, it’s always like that." Everything is predetermined by fate. The only thing he asked before dying was to kill the one who ordered him. Once the deed is done, head to the deck and return to Whiterun. Talk to Amond; he left a generous reward in the urn, in that room in Volunruud. If you want, you can kill him too.
Take the money and return to Nazir and Babette. The money earned from the contract (20,000 septims) is enough to furnish a new sanctuary. From now on, there will only be minor contracts and tasks from the Mother of Night. And that means you killed the emperor; congratulations.