These guides were created a couple years back by this forum's regular posters. They were in Zaam's index, but were sadly deleted due to inactivity.

Well, I had found out that by using the WaybackMachine I could still access a few of those guides. They had to be reformatted, but here they are plus a couple new ones:

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Walkthroughs:

1. Main Questline - sSync

2. Shivering Isles Questline - Pharen

3. Knights of the Nine - Everlast ES

4. The Dark Brotherhood - sSync

5. The Fighters Guild - sSync

6. The Mages Guild - sSync

7. The Thieves Guild - sSync

 

Guides/FAQs:

8. The Vile Lair: Comprehensive - sSync

9. Oblivion Leveling Guide - Pharen

10. Vampirism FAQ - Backdraft123

11. Soul Gems and Enchanting - Sepp the Bunny

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

1. Main Questline Walkthrough

The tale of the Elder Scrolls IV follows the events after the assassination of the Emperor of Tamriel. The gateways to the realm of Oblivion are opening over the land; you must find the Emperor’s lost son and heir before the evil of Oblivion takes over the land. The fate of the empire is in your hands.

Section One: Tutorial

Well, you’re in a jail cell. After creating your character, this is where you’ll find yourself, as with all the Elder Scrolls games. The pathway from here, through the sewers and out into Tamriel is completely linear, and introduces you to your character and forming what you want him to be like.

First you’ll create the physical features (appearance) and race of you character. After this, wander around your jail cell for a while, get used to the controls, look around, admire. Welcome to Tamriel. You can sit down, throw the cups around if you so desire, or just run in circles. After you’ve satisfied yourself and that, yes, you are in fact stuck in this cell, go to the cell gates and the prisoner across the hallway will start talking.

Then the emperor will appear, and he’ll speak to you. When they make their exit through your cell wall (one must wonder why they put a secret exit in a prisoner’s cell), follow them through. Eventually, you’ll be told by one of the guards not to follow them any further. Welcome to the real game now. A few rats will appear through a wall behind you; once they’re dead, this is the way you want to go.

From the Imperial Prison, follow the rather linear (but dark) path through the substructure. It’s not hard to find your way through, but be sure to explore and take a look around. Eventually you’ll meet up with the Emperor and his guards again, and you’ll witness the Emperor being assassinated. There’s nothing you can do to stop it, okay? It’s not worth panicking over.

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I witnessed Emperor Uriel Septim's assassination. Before he died, the emperor gave me the Amulet of Kings. He told me to take it to someone named Jauffre, and that Jauffre would know how to find his last surviving son. He warned that the assassins were in the service of the Lord of Destruction.

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Now you have your first task; to take the amulet to Jauffre, at Weynon Priory. It’s near the town of Chorrol, FYI. But first, you must get through the sewers. You’ll get to know these sewers very well over the course of the game. The path is pretty linear and it’s very hard to get lost. I mean, if you purposefully close your eyes and run around, you’ll have a problem, but otherwise, you should be fine. Just before you leave, you’ll be asked if you want to change your character in any way. Do you? If not, exit the sewers and begin your game.

Section Two: Delivering The Amulet

Now you’re on your own. Head up and around the hill to the Imperial City (trust me, you can’t miss it), and from here you can continue any quest line you want. Let’s just get on with the Main Quest for now, though.

Head out of the West Gate, and follow the road past the Wawett Inn. If you carry on through the forest, you’ll find yourself at Fort Ash. Beware, there’s a bandit who’ll ask you for 100gold. If you have it, you can pay him off. However, it is possible to skirt around this area and avoid the entire confrontation, but you won’t be forewarned as to where exactly the bandit will appear.

Eventually you’ll arrive at Weynon Priory, close to Chorrol.

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I found Jauffre and gave him the Amulet of Kings. The Emperor's words to me filled him with foreboding. Mehrunes Dagon, the Lord of Destruction, is one of the prices of Oblivion, the demonic world. Jauffre fears that with no Emperor on the throne, the daedra from Oblivion may be able to invade our world.

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Jauffre told me that the Emperor has an illegitimate son named Martin who is currently serving as a priest in the Chapel of Akatosh in the city of Kvatch. I must proceed to Kvatch at once and bring Martin safely back to Weynon Priory. 

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Section Three: Find The Heir

You can fast travel to Kavatch, if you want, or travel on foot. Whatever, when you arrive a NPC will run up and start a conversation with you. Kavatch has been overrun by the Daedra from Oblivion. A few people have escaped and there is a camp up ahead where the former residents are residing. However, there are a few more survivors still inside Kavatch, barricaded inside a church. And wouldn’t you know it, Martin is one of them.

Before you get into Kavatch, another NPC will talk to you. He’ll tell you where Martin is and present you with two options; you can either enter the Oblivion gate outside Kavatch and close it, or ignore it and go get Martin, and deal with the gate later.

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Savlin Matius told me that he believes Martin is with a group that barricaded themselves within the Chapel of Akatosh inside the city. I need to follow his instructions in order to break the siege of Kvatch and rescue the survivors. 

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I have found Martin among the survivors inside the Chapel of Akatosh. He was surprised to learn that Emperor Uriel Septim was his father, but he will not leave until the way is safe for everyone to escape.  

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If you haven’t closed the gate, now’s the time to do so…

Section Four: Breaking the Siege of Kavatch

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Savlin Matius asked me to help close the Oblivion Gate outside the ruins of Kvatch. He sent some of his men into it, but they never came back. I should let him know when I'm ready to help.

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I have agreed to help Savlian Matius of the Kvatch Town Guard and his men as they attempt to reach some survivors trapped in the Chapel of Akatosh inside the city. He is willing to lead his guardsmen back into the city to attempt a rescue, but the enemy have opened an Oblivion Gate across the entry to the city.

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Time to go and enter Oblivion for the first time! Take a good look around. You’ll be seeing this fiery scenery a lot during the game. To enter, just stand near the gate and you should be able to "Activate" it. This will make you enter the realm of Oblivion. Inside, you’ll find one surviving soldier, whom you can either ask to accompany you, or tell him to go back and defend the survivors. Either way, it doesn’t really matter.

You are now looking for some survivors in a tower. You can’t enter it directly, you must take a longer, round-about route via the west. You’ll come to the Tower Portal leading to the Blood Feast (cute names). Remember, save often. I can’t emphasise this enough. Save often. Save often. Save often. Do not think, I’m doing well, because trust me, it’s easier to die than you think. Save often.

You have to make your way up through the various levels on this tower, but your compass arrow will direct you. You should move like this. Blood Feast > Rending Halls > Blood Feast [Level Two] > Corridors of Dark Salvation > Plane of Oblivion > and into the Reaper‘s Sprawl. Here you’ll find the Sigil Keeper, whom you must kill. Take they key from his body and speak to the NPC in the cage.

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I found the prisoner in Oblivion. He told me I need to reach the top of the largest tower and look for the Sigil Stone. But I will need the Sigil Keeper's key to gain entry into the Sigil Keep.

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Basically, the Sigil Keep is at the top level of that tower you passed through earlier, above the Blood Feast. The large flame leads up to the Keep. If you continue up the edge of the Blood Feast, you’ll find a portal, which teleports you up to the Sigil Keep. Once you’re there, head up to the Sigil Stone and take it.

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I have closed the Gate by taking the Sigil Stone that anchors it within Oblivion. I should tell Savlian Matius that the way into Kvatch is now open. 

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Now you have to help the soldiers take back Kavatch. This is annoying and can be difficult, especially if your character is at a higher level. I did this at level 40. It was a bloodbath. Once this is all finished, enter the chapel and talk to the survivors. Yay, they’re now safe and free. Catch up with Martin and tell him to come with you to Weynon Priory.

Section Five: Weynon Priory

Well, you’ll arrive and the place will be under attack from some assassins. Head over to the chapel and help Jauffre defeat the assassins inside. He’ll tell you he believes the assassins may have taken the Amulet of Kings; follow him into the Priory and you’ll find he’s correct. It’s gone. In the next conversation you’ll discover that the next move is to hide Martin at Cloud Ruler Temple, near Bruma.

Section Six: The Path of Dawn

When you arrive at Cloud Ruler Temple, go up the steps and exist whilst Martin and Jauffre make their speeches. Touching, isn’t it. Alright, after this, speak to Martin. Then, speak to Jauffre, and get inducted into the Blades. Please don’t be clever and say "no", as this can potentially mess up your game.

You’ll be told to find Baurus in the Imperial City. It’s not hard, it’s on your compass. Once you get there and find him, you’ll be told to follow his lead and sit next to him. Do so. When he gets up and leaves, notice someone follows him. This is an assassin. Once he’s dead, speak to Baurus again and take the Mythic Dawn book from the assassin’s body.

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Baurus has learned that the enemy is a secret cult of Mehrunes Dagon worshippers known as the Mythic Dawn. He will continue to track down agents in the Imperial City. I should talk to Tar-Meena at the Arcane University, an expert in daedric cults. She may be able to tell me more about how to find the Mythic Dawn.

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Go speak to Tar-Meena in the Arcane University.

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Tar-Meena told me that Mankar Camoran is the leader of the Mythic Dawn. Tar-Meena believes that the location of their secret shrine is hidden within Mankar Camoran's books about the Mysterium Xarxes. If I want to locate the Mythic Dawn, I must find and decipher the clues in all four volumes.

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She’ll give you Volume One and Volume Two of the books. Wahey! Keep hold of these, alright, they’re important. She suggests you go see the owner of the bookstore in Imperial City about getting one of the next volumes.

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Phintias, the bookseller at First Edition, has told me that he has a copy of Volume 3 of Mankar Camoran's "Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes" locked away. He is holding it for a client named Gwinas who has already paid for it. I need to get that book, and find out why Gwinas wanted it.

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Wait in the corner of the bookstore. Sit down on a stool and hum tunes in your head. I counted the books in the store. Eventually, Gwinas will enter the store. Watch him receive the book, then speak to him. Tell him about the assassination of the emperor and the link, and he’ll gladly hand the book over to you. Now, for the final volume.

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Gwinas told me that Volume 4, the last book I need, can only be given to you by a member of the Mythic Dawn. He had set p a meeting with one, whom he called "The Sponsor". He was to go alone and sit at the table in the Sunken Sewer beneath the Imperial City. I will go and take that meeting instead, but should find Baurus first.

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Follow your compass to locate Baurus again. Enter the boarding house, then exit, and he’ll be standing on the street. Tell him what you’ve found out and he’ll decide you should both go to the meeting. Just follow Baurus now, he’ll take you all the way to the sewers and the meeting place.

You can sit at the table or stand guard, but whatever happens, the assassins will appear and kill the second person who’s guarding you guys. There’ll be a battle, obviously. Survive. Go to The Sponsor’s dead body (he’ll be dead) and take Volume 4. Take the Sewer Key’s from one of the assassin’s bodies. This’ll help you get out. You’ll need a lock pick, but you can exit through the basement. Now go find Tar-Meena again.

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Tar-Meena says that Mankar Camoran hid a message within his writings, so only the "enlightened ones" could join him and the Mythic Dawn. I should study these books some more.

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You’ll need to come back the next day. Wait 24-hours, then a bit more, then go and visit her.

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Tar-Meena thinks using the first word of each paragraph in the books may reveal a message. I need to keep looking and see where this leads.

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She won’t hurry up. Wait another day.

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Tar-Meena has discovered the message in the books: "Green Emperor Way Where Tower Touches Midday Sun". I should go to Green Emperor Way by the Imperial Tower and see what can be found.

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Okay, about midday, check the tomb of Prince Camarill (located via your compass). A map of Cyrodil will appear, along with a maker. Curious. Activate it for a journal update. You’ll go to Lake Arrius, where you can find the entrance to the Mythic Dawn’s lair. The guard will let you into the shrine, now to find the Amulet… remember? An NPC will accept you as an initiate, and you must give him all your belongings. It’s annoying, and gives you two options.

Decide you don’t like the way he’s looking at you. Maybe you’re not keen on his sexuality. Maybe you don’t want him straight up jacking all your stuff in a civilized way. Kill him. Kill everyone. RAWR. You’ll have to kill absolutely everyone. This is called, "the cave-man method". I like it.

Or, you can give him everything. You’ll still end up with everyone attacking you, and you’ll only have a dagger to defend yourself with… and Camoran will still escape into the Realm of Paradise with the Amulet. You can free the slave you’re about to sacrifice, if you want.

If you gave your stuff away, it’s not hard to locate. But seriously, I prefer just killing everyone. Call me bloodthirsty, whatever, but it’s so much… simpler. And I really didn’t like the guy asking for my stuff.

Once you’ve collected the Mysterium Xarxes, escape the shrine and return to Cloud Ruler Temple. Jauffre will greet you and you must go and see Martin.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

Section Seven: Spies

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I delivered the Mysterium Xarxes to Martin, and told him that Mankar Camoran had escaped to Paradise with the Amulet of Kings. Martin believes the key to opening a portal to Camoran's Paradise lies within the pages of the Mysterium Xarxes, but he will need some time to study it, and ward himself against its evil power. 

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Martin will ask you to speak to Jauffre about the Mythic Dawn spying on the temple. They are probably hiding in Bruma, it appears. Speak to Steffan (a Blade) for some more information.

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Steffan told me that the suspicious strangers have been seen on the road to Cloud Ruler Temple, usually near the runestone at dusk.

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This will appear on your map now. Okay, head into Bruma and speak to Captain Burd in either the Barracks of the Castle Hall.

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Captain Burd told me that no strangers were in town, although he said that Jearl had recently returned from a trip, I should talk to Jearl. 

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Go to his house, you’ll have to lock pick your way in. There you’ll meet Jearl and his friend, who will immediately attack you, no questions asked. Kill them both and search the bodies, take the Basement Key. The basement is under your feet, kinda hidden by carpet. Get down there, and find the scroll about the Mythic Dawn plans. Take it to Jauffre.

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Jauffre was pleased that I eliminated the spies in Bruma, but is worried that the Mythic Dawn have already learned that Martin is at Cloud Ruler Temple. He promised to warn the Countess that Bruma is in grave danger.
Speak to Martin, too.

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Section Eight: Blood of the Daedra

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Martin has found a section of the Mysterium Xarxes which describes a ritual which will allow him to open a portal to Camoran's Paradise, where Manker Camoran has taken the Amulet of Kings. He has learned that four items are required for this ritual, but has only identified one so far: 'the blood of a Daedra Lord', which he says refers to a Daedra Artifact. 

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Basically, you need to get a Daedric Artifact to give to Martin. If you read one of the books on Martin’s desk, you learn about the Shrine of Azura, and the quest to get Azura’s star. But you do not need to give this to him if you don’t want to, it can be any Daedric Artifact.

If you want some help doing a Daedric quest, I have also produced a "Daedric Shrines" Walkthrough. This’ll help you, and also describes what you get when you complete each Daedric Quest, so you can decide what you want to do and what to give away.

Once you have the Daedric Artifact, give it to Martin.

Section Nine: Bruma Gate

Martin will direct you to Jauffre, who’ll tell you about an Oblivion gate opening by Bruma. You must go close it. Remember Kavatch, and how you closed the gate there? Good. This tower is called the Fury Spike, and follow this layout. Fury Spike > Rending Halls > Corridors of Dark Salvation > Sigil Stone Chamber. Remove the stone.

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Captain Burd thanked me for my help, and said that he and his guardsmen will do their best to close any new Oblivion Gate that open near Bruma. I should report my success to Jauffre. 

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Section Ten: Blood of the Divines

Speak to Martin, and he’ll tell you the next thing you need to get to the Paradise realm is the blood of the gods. Not as hard as it sounds, kinda. You must retrieve Tiber Septim’s armour from beneath Sancre Tor. Jauffre will give you the key to the place.

When you’re in there, you must locate the skeletons of the four ex-blade guards. Kill them and their ghosts will be free. They will help you and remove the barrier surrounding Septim’s grave, so you can approach and take his armour. Just follow your compass to locate each skeleton, and when you free the fourth ghost, follow it to the shrine.

Once you have the armor, return to Martin at Cloud Ruler Temple.

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I gave Martin the Armor of Tiber Septim. He was able to recover Tiber Septim's blood from it, which he needed for the Mysterium Xarxes ritual.

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Section Eleven: Miscarcand

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Martin has deciphered the third item needed for the ritual: a rare Ayleid artifact known as the Great Welkynd Stone. He knows of only one place that still might contain one, the Ayleid ruins of Miscarcand. I must find the Great Welkynd Stone of Miscarcand and bring it to Martin at Cloud Ruler Temple.

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This is not fun. Miscarcand is between Kavatch and Skingrad, but is shown on your compass. Get there. Enter. There are a few confusing aspects to this dungeon/place, but luckily you have me. Ignore the false wall at the beginning, this will be explained later. Continue to the first section.

In the western most room, there’s a glowing button. Press it once, as it opens a gate in a later section and it’s not immediately evident. This often tricks people into thinking they haven’t pressed it right or something, but press it once and leave it. 

Head into Sel Vanua. There are two buttons. First, there’s one in the northeast corner of the large room you’ll find. Press it to uncover a stone which will replenish your magical armour and such. The next button is in a hallway to the south, and it opens a gate in the next section.

Enter Morimath, and stick to the higher ground. Eventually, you’ll reach the Great Welkynd Stone. Suddenly, some walls will lower and the Great Miscarcand King will be released. Kill him, and take the Miscarcand Key from his body. Go through the hidden doorway he came through, and use the key to unlock a door which leads you… right to the entrance, through that false wall I was telling you about.

Section Twelve: Allies for Bruma

This will have been mentioned earlier, but if you’re going to do it, now is the time. You do not have to complete the quest, but I did, just for the fun of it. It is also very, very useful to have the extra soldiers helping you out, especially if you don’t think you’ll be able to survive the tons of enemies that will be thrown at you. Can you take on six or more enemies at the same time? If you can, alright, but if not, get some help.

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Jauffre is worried that the Bruma Guard will not be able to defend Bruma from a full-scale attack by the Mythic Dawn and their daedric allies. He suggested that I try to obtain support from the other cities of Cyrodiil. Perhaps I can persuade the Elder Council in the Imperial City or the guilds to help as well.

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Alrighty, time to go visit some cities asking for help. In each case, you’ll need to close an Oblivion Gate. Here’s a suggested route.
- Chorrol,
- Cheydinhal,
- Leyawiin,
- Bravil,
- Skingrad,
- Kvatch,
- Anvil.
- I don’t believe you will get any reinforcements from the Imperial City.

Section Thirteen: The Defence of Bruma

Alright, take the Welkynd Stone to Martin. He’s speaking to Jauffre, things are not so good. You now need to get a great Sigil Stone… which means allowing a Great Oblivion Gate to open. This means allowing the attack on Bruma to take place.

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Speak to the countess and take her to the chapel in Bruma, where she’ll speak to Martin. She’s not pleased, but accepts it must be allowed to happen. When you’re ready for battle, let her know. Potions, repaired armor; whatever you need, get it, before starting this.

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You can still go get some reinforcements. But if you’re really ready, tell her so, and start this quest for real. Follow Martin down to the battlefield.

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I arrived at the battlefield to find one open Oblivion Gate. Once all three are open, the Mythic Dawn will open a Great Gate, which I must enter and retrieve its Great Sigil Stone.

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While you’re battling, ensure Martin doesn’t get killed. Soon two more gates will open and the Great Oblivion Gate will appear. Enter it and… WTF IS THAT??? It’s the Daedric Siege Engine. Notice it slowly trundling towards the gate. You have until it reaches the gate to get to the stone and take it. You have thirteen minutes.
You’ll notice the four towers with bridges connecting them. Looks confusing? It is. The main tower is called "World Breaker" and the other towers are the "World Breaker Guards". You’ll only have to enter two of the three "guard" towers. 

Go to the closest tower. Get to the top. At the top of the tower is a lever which you must activate. You can use the ascending platforms to reach it.

Between the second and third tower is a broken bridge. Awesomeness. You need to jump across. That’s right, jump. Get a good run up… some decent Acrobatics Skills would help out here a lot. Enter the Main World Breaker Room. Go to the Vaults of the End of Times, > World Breaker (again) > and through a locked door to the Sigilum Sanguis. [The lock is "Average" difficulty]. Take the stone, and you’re done.

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I reached the Great Sigil Stone and closed the Gate. The Battle of Bruma is won! Now to give the sigil stone to Martin.

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Alright, give the stone to Martin. He’ll open the gateway to Paradise in Cloud Ruler Temple.

Section Fourteen: Paradise

When you enter the portal, you’re stuck in Paradise until the end. Make sure you have everything you need/want with you. Lots of health potions, trust me. There’s a battle with Camoran at the end, so be prepared for that, too.

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Martin performed the ritual and opened the portal to Camoran's Paradise. He warned me that the portal would close behind me.

Martin believes that since Mankar Camoran bound himself to the Mysterium Xarxes in the creation of Paradise, I can only return to Tamriel by killing him. I must enter the portal, kill Mankar Camoran, and recover the Amulet of Kings

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Just follow the stone paths to reach Camoran. He has some tiring sections of monologue, but listen to him and get it over with. You’ll meet some "locals", who’ll tell you that they’re trapped here, in an eternal *** that appears beautiful. From the Savage Garden, enter the Flooded Grotto.

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I met a dremora named Kathutet who offered to help me get into the Forbidden Grottos if I helped him by freeing a Xivilai that the Mythic Dawn immortals have trapped in a cave. He claimed that the only way to leave the Savage Garden was by wearing the Bands of the Chosen, which he would give me if I help him. 

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Kathutet will tell you how to get to the Lair of Anaxes. Xivilai is trapped behind a boulder, just activate the logs to release him. Go back and speak to Kathutet, who’ll give you the Bands of the Chosen, and enter the Forbidden Grotto at the back of the Flooded Grotto.

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I have entered the Forbidden Grotto. Now to find my way through to the Terrace of the Dawn where I hope to find Mankar Camoran and the Amulet of Kings.

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En route, you’ll meet an Elf named Eldamil, and will get this journal update.

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He served Mankar Camoran and the Mythic Dawn on Tamriel, but since coming to Gairar Alata and seeing the true nature of Mankar Camoran's 'paradise', he claims to have regretted his deeds. He warned me that it was impossible to leave these caves while wearing the Bands of the Chosen, and offered to help me by removing them.

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Accept his offer and pretend to be his prisoner. Get in the cage and let him lower you, don’t worry. When you’re let back up, escape from the cage. Head in a vague southerly direction and you’ll find Eldamil, who’ll remove the Bands. 

Now, follow the caves, it’s pretty linear. Eventually you’ll re-emerge in Paradise. Follow the path to Camaron’s Palace. Listen to his speech and then the battle will start. 

When Camaron is dead, quickly steal some leveled items from his body. You’ll have to be fast, as Paradise begins to disappear around you. You’ll still have the Amulet of Paradise no matter what, though. Give the Amulet of Kings to Martin. Travel to Imperial City and Martin will be made Emperor.
It’s not over yet, though.

Section Fifteen: Light the Dragonfires

The Final Act

You’ll be in the Elder Council Chambers. Just before you can present Martin as emperor, a guard will enter and tell you the city is under attack. You must get Martin to the Temple of the One. This is hectic. Enemies everywhere, and you’re just hacking your way through. Guards will help defend you and Martin, and you must battle your way to the temple. And then you’ll notice that Mehrunes Dagon is actually present and attacking people. Please don’t try and kill him. He’s a hundred times your height and really won’t be much affected by some midget attempting to clip his toenails with a little sword.

Get into the temple and stand where you’re supposed to stand. Watch Martin, who’ll give you his final speech. Now, just stand and watch the ending cinema scene. Nice one, you have saved humanity.

You‘re not quite finished, though.

Section Sixteen: Imperial Dragon Armor

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Chancellor Ocato has ordered a suit of Imperial Dragon armor forged for me in gratitude for the services I rendered to the Empire during the Oblivion Crisis. It will be waiting for me at the armory in the Imperial Legion Compound in two weeks.

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The armor is… okay. You can actually get better! However, it’s nice to have, and looks pretty cool.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

2. Shivering Isles Questline

Index:
1. Activating the Quest
2. A Door In Niben Bay
3. Through the Fringe of Madness
4. A Better Mousetrap
5. Baiting the Trap
6. Understanding Madness
6a. Addiction
6b. The Lady of Paranoia
7. The Cold Flame of Agnon
8. Ritual of Accession
8a. Ritual of Mania
8b. Ritual of Dementia
9. Retaking the Fringe
10. Rebuilding the Gatekeeper
11. The Helpless Army
12. Symbols of Office
13. The Roots of Madness
14. The End of Order
15. The Prince of Madness


1. Activating the Quest


To activate the Shivering Isles Questline you must either wait or sleep a total of 24 hours. If it doesn't come right away try a few of these:

- Wait/Sleep another 24 hours
- Talk to people around the imperial city(Couriers have been known to give the quest)
- Reset the game cache by holding down the "A" button when the game first begins to load, and keep holding it until you reach the main title.
- Redownload the expansion.

If all else fails:

- Clear your entire system cache. To do so:

    - Go to the system blade and then select memory.
    - Press Y on the HD symbol
    - Press X,X,Left Bumper, Right Bumper, X,X.
    - A message will appear saying: Do you want to perform maintenance on your         Xbox 360 storage devices
    - Hit "yes"


2. A Door In Niben Bay

You have just received the quest pop-up informing you that there is a strange doorway. You can find the door east of Bravil on an Island. If you have any trouble locating it here is a map for you.

Now once you are at the door a man should appear from the gate. The guard will kill him, and then speak to you about the door. At the end of the conversation he will ask you if you are going inside. Say yes and you will be able to enter.

But wait... when you try to enter it won't allow you to go inside. Well just keep trying to enter and continue to stand by the gate. Eventually the voice will tell you to come in.

Once inside the room sit down on the chair across from Haskill, and then speak to him. After the dialog has ended speak to him again, and tell him you'll do it(prove yourself worthy and become the "champion"). Get up and walk down the path to activate the next part of the quest.


3. Through the Fringe of Madness

You must now locate Sheogorath, but first you will have to get past the Gatekeeper. Continue to walk down the path

and once you reach a fork in the road take the right road to reach the city. The gatekeeper is just beyond the city, and in order to reach him just continue to head straight along the path.

Once you see the Gatekeeper he will begin to attack a group of soldiers. After a short while they will all be dead, and you can now go talk to the two men watching. Sheldon will refer you to Jayred when asked about the gatekeeper.

You can also talk to Relmyna Verenim(the "mother" of the Gatekeeper). She will tell you to speak to Speak to Nanette about her creation.

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You now have a choice. You can either talk to Nanette or Jayred if you would like to have help killing the Gatekeeper, or you can just fight him now.

Speak to Nanette:

You will generally find Nanette inside of her house. I'm assuming you won't require a map for this considering the fact that there are only three houses in the city, but if you require one I will gladly post it.

Speak to her about the Gatekeeper and the Gardens of Flesh and Bone. Then in order to get more information about the Gatekeeper you must raise her deposition. Once raised she will tell of how Relmyna's tears hurt the Gatekeeper, and that she visits it every night at midnight. Wait until then and then spy on the two of them.

Stay by the steps in sneak-mode to ensure the Gatekeeper doesn't see you, and eventually Relmyna will drop a handkerchief. Pick it up and it will be turned into 3 bottles of poison. You can apply those to your weapon, and now taking down the beast will be much easier.

Speak to Jayred:

Jayred's house is located just south of town past the ruins. Jayred wants to make arrows from the bones of the previous Gatekeeper. Follow him to the Gardens of Flesh and Bone. You will need to pick the lock there, but it's a very simple one. After killing off the nearby skeletons he will go to the body and retrieve his bones. You must now wait a few hours and then talk to him again(He should be back inside of his house).

He will give you some arrows, and will accompany you on your fight. Tell him to follow you when you are ready to fight the beast.


Kill him now!:

He is actually fairly easy to kill, but he will knock you down fairly often. Just keep attacking him, because his health will regenerate.


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So you killed the Gatekeeper... You can now loot one of the two keys from his body.


The key to Dementia: This will open the door to the right, and it will also give you the power "Blessing of Dementia"(a demoralize spell). Your surroundings will be quite gloomy with a not so great variety of colors.

The key to Mania: This will open the door to the left, and it will also give you the power "Blessing of Mania"(a frenzy spell). Your surroundings will be extremely colorful.


If you don't like your surrounding you can follow the fork in the road toward the other door, but if you do like it, just follow it all the way to Sheogorath's city(Map). You may have to look at your map occasionally to see which direction the path continues.

Once you have entered either Bliss or Crucible: make your way to New Sheoth Place(located toward the center of the castle).

Once you enter the main building talk to Sheogorath. He will tell you of Xedilian and give you various items including an enchanted necklace, and a new quest.

4. A Better Mousetrap

Time to make you way to Xedilian(Map), but first it would be best to read the manual. After reading Fast travel to the Gates of Madness, or another location close to Xedilian.

After you enter you must locate all 3 focus crystals and put them in their Nexuses. Each crystal will be attached to a staff carried by a Grummite Shaman. You must kill each shaman to retrieve the crystal.

After you have placed all three crystals inside their Nexuses you must activate the resonator of judgment. This will open up a teleport back to Xedilian.

Here's a couple maps I created to help you through this quest:
Xedilian
Xedilian, Halls of Judgment

5. Baiting the Trap

You exit the teleport to find Kiliban Nyrandil facing you. Before you continue you must play his game and decide the fate of three incoming guests in three chambers.

Chamber 1:
You can choose between activating the Giant Gnarl(right), or Swarm of Gnarls(left). The Giant Gnarl will drive Lewin crazy, while the swarm will kill him.

You must now wait a few seconds for the gate to open up to a portal which will bring you to the next chamber.

Chamber 2:
You can choose between activating Drop Keys(right), or Fire Trap(left). Dropping the keys will drive Syndelius crazy, while the fire trap will kill him.

Wait a few more seconds and the last chamber's teleport will open.

Chamber 3:
You can choose between activating Ghost Illusion(right), or Raise the Dead(left). The ghost illusion will drive Grommok crazy, while raising the dead will kill him.

Go back and talk to Kiliban. He will open up the final teleport for you.

Walk up to him to claim your reward. He'll hand you Dawnfang/Duskfang and various other items. You will also be able to open up the chest behind him.

Walk toward the exit, and you'll be attacked by 3 Knights of the Order. kill them and report to Kiliban once more. After speaking to him go straight to Sheogorath(Remember: you can fast travel to his palace now).

6. Understanding Madness

Speak to Sheogorath and he'll give you the "Summon Haskill" spell. Use it and talk to Sheogorath again.

Looks like he wants you to try it once more. Summon Haskill and then speak to him again.

Now you are to speak to both the Duke of Mania and the Duchess of Dementia.




Duke of Mania(Thadon):
To find him enter the Northern wing of the castle, and then make your way to the conservatory. He will be in the courtyard.

6a. Addiction

He will ask you to find his Chalice of Reversal. Walk back to his dining area and speak to the Argonian(Wide-Eye) sitting at his dining table about the Chalice. She will provide you information about it.

Now make your way over to Dunroot Burrow(Map). When you arrive there kill the Elytra Hatchling just outside. It will be carrying Felldew. Ingest this item, and you can enter the burrow.

You will start to suffer withdrawals after a short while, so you should try to time your Felldew ingesting.

There are 5 areas to this Burrow. Here are the maps I made to go with each one:

- Dunroot Burrow
- Dunroot Burrow, Kelp Fen
- Dunroot Burrow, Drone Tunnels
- Dunroot Burrow, Bramble Halls
- Dunroot Burrow, Sanctum of Decadence

Once you retrieve the chalice from the Sanctum of Decadence you must make your way back to New Sheoth to report to Thadon.

Thadon will reward you for your deeds after speaking to him.




Duchess of Dementia(Syl):

Syl is in the Southern wing. of the castle, and is right next to her throne.

6b. The Lady of Paranoia

She will ask you to help her find the people conspiring against her. You must now go to the wing's torture chamber(south of the throne room) and speak to Herdir.

Tell Herdir to follow you. Now make your way back to the throne room and speak to Anya Herrick. Torture her and she'll spill the beans about Ma'zaddha.

Go to Crucible and speak to Ma'zaddha. He is usually inside of his house(Map), but can also be found in the chapel, or in the streets.

Once you speak/torture him you'll find out that he isn't going to budge. Go out into the city and speak to pretty much anyone(Bhisha will generally be the closest). Once you get the information out of someone:

- Wait until 1:00 am(If they aren't there try waiting another couple of hours) and then go to this location. (Go in sneak mode when nearby)
- Save now, and try to find a hiding spot where you can still hear the two. If they discover you just reload your save.
- Wait for Ma'zaddha and Nelrene to open and finish dialog.

Now go talk to Ma'zaddha and he'll want you to meet him at his house at midnight. Wait until then and then enter his house.

Well... look at that. He's dead. Loot his body and take the two keys. Now go to his bedroom upstairs and open the locked cupboard. Inside will be a sword and a note. Take these and now you must go speak to Nelrene. (She is in Syl's throne room)

Bah, now we have to go find Muurine. Is everyone involved? haha... Ok, Muurine is usually walking outside or is inside of the chapel. Speak to her and she'll confess(no torture necessary).

Go back and report to Syl. After speaking to her she will lead you to the torture chamber. There she will kill Muurine, and reward you for your deeds.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

7. The Cold Flame of Agnon

Sheogorath wants you to go to the ruins of Cylarne(Map). Head over there when you are prepared. When you arrive there you will notice two guards on either side of you. You can pick which course you would like to take here.

After telling a guard you are on Sheogorath's orders: she gave you the key. Now go inside and find Kaneh the Golden Saint Commander, or Ulfri the Dark Seducer Commander. They will light the flame for you, but first you must help either the Gold Saints with the attack, or the Dark Seducers defend.

After you decide who you would like to work for: select the "battle plans" prompt when talking to the commander. You will fight the opposing side, and when they're all dead: go to the the commander and she will sacrifice herself for you and Sheogorath.

Now head back outside to retrieve the flame(walk into the fire). Fast Travel back to either Crucible or Bliss, and then make your way to the altar of Arden-Sul(Sacellum). The chapel is inside the wall that separates Bliss from Crucible.

You have to decide whether you want to light the fire for Dementia, or for Mania. When you have made your decision: Tell the priest from that side you will light the torch for them(Light by walking into the pit).

8. Ritual of Accession

Go back to Sheogorath and let him know that you have lighted the torch. He is sitting on a bench in the chapel. Sheogorath wants you to replace the Duke/Duchess from one of the courts. The priests will tell you how to replace the Duke/Duchess from their court. Report back to Sheogorath when you've made up your mind.

8a. Ritual of Mania

You must now find out where you can obtain some Greenmote, and plant it without Thadon's knowledge. Go to his throne/dining room and speak to Wide-Eye. To get her to talk about his daily routine you must bribe or raise her deposition.

Wait in the throne room until 12:00, and you will notice her just leaving. Follow her and eventually you will watch her activate a bust in the main courtyard of the palace. Enter when you're ready, but remember not to get caught. Now would be a good time to save your game.

There are guards patrolling so stay out of sight and in sneak mode as much as possible. Once you reach the vault(Map) go to pile in the middle and activate it twice to get your poison. Just make sure Wide-Eye doesn't see you(Now would be a good time to make a new save).

Once you exit make your way back to his throne room. You'll be wanting to go through the door directly behind his throne. Now after you do you'll be in his courtyard. The door directly across the courtyard is his kitchen.

You'll have to enter before 8:00 pm, but not before 12:00 pm. Once you do you'll want to save because odds are you'll get caught here your first few tries. Stay in sneak mode and head to the northern room. Inside is a plate of meat and a bottle of wine which you must poison. Poison the food and get out(May want to save again first).

Head back to the throne room and wait a few hours, by then the Duke should be ready to eat his meal. Collect his blood and head back over to the chapel(Sacellum) of Arden-Sul to place the blood on the altar. It will burst into flames, and then Syl will enter. Syl will speak to Sheogorath and tell him she is going to Jyggalag. Speak to Sheogorath after she leaves.

8b. Ritual of Dementia

You must learn about Syl's routine, and figure out the best time to kill her. Go to Syl's throne room and talk to Anya. She will tell you some, but in order to get her to help you must raise her desposition. Once you get her to talk go and talk to Kithlan. He should be near in the throne room, but if not just wait a few hours(should be there at 10:00 am).

Bribe or raise Kithlan's depostition and he'll lighten up to the idea of replacing Syl. He'll give you the Dementia house key. Use this on the door directly behind the throne. You will now be in a courtyard and there is a door directly across from you. Enter it, but first you'll have to take on a couple bodyguards.

After you hve entered the room make your way towards the back. Inspect the body and Kithlan will inform you that's not Syl. Go back outside of the door in which you just entered. Right when you get outside turn left and look along the wall. There will be a bust of Sheogorath, and activate it to enter the hidden chambers.

- The first room is somewhat of a maze. You'll have to both navigate through it, and dodge the spells being thrown at you.(Map of the room)

- The second room has three guards which you have to fight. One on your level, and two higher up using bows.

- The third room is fairly open, and a few guards will run out the hole in the right side of the back wall and attack you. Head through that opening.

From here it's pretty much just following the path, but eventually you will reach a circular hall that may appear like a dead end. There is a switch on the side of a statue(Map). This switch will open up a secret passage to the next area.

Walk down the long hallway, and then in the next room instead of continuing straight make a right and go up the stairs to find Syl(Map).

After you have slain Syl be sure to take her heart from her body(Surprisingly it's not black). After doing so head back to where you came from. The Subterrane is just a dead end.

When you reach the exit head back over to the chapel(Sacellum) of Arden-Sul to place the heart on the altar. It will burst into flames, and then Thadon will enter. Thadon will speak to Sheogorath and tell him he is going to Jyggalag.

Speak to Sheogorath after he leaves.

9. Retaking the Fringe

Fast travel to the Gates of Madness(Area where you fought the Gatekeeper). Walk towards Paswall and kill off as many Knights of the Order as you see. Once they're all dead either Aurig or Grakendo will approach you.

You can now pick whether you want to control your troops, or just leave them in her hands. If you would like to control them you will be able to pick the weapons for each of your four soldiers by speaking to them.

Ready to fight? Let the commander know and the Order knights will begin to appear. After you've killed them all speak to the commander and she'll direct you to Xeddefen(Map).

Once you enter you must search for the ruin's power source. The first two areas are pretty basic. Here's their maps:

- Section 1
- Section 2

The third you will run in and see Sheldon. You can choose if you want him to follow you or not. After you decide continue to the obelisk and on the front side of it you can place Hearts from the Order(Can be obtained from dead order members). Place three and it will deactivate causing the whole structure to start collapsing. Now it's time to run out of there.

- Section 3

The fourth area is basic, but there is one switch you must activate to open a door to access the next room.

- Section 4

The fifth you must be very careful and take your time. Large amounts of rocks will fall very often.

- Section 5


Once you exit head back and speak to the commander to see how the battle went above ground. After speaking to her return to Sheogorath with your news.

10. Rebuilding the Gatekeeper

Sheogorath wants you to rebuild the Gatekeeper. You must now travel to Xaselm(Map) and find Relyna Verenim.

When you enter just follow the path and you'll find Relmyna. It's a very simple section, and doesn't have many maze-like qualities. The second is a tad more difficult, so here's a map.

Relmyna is in the next room. Speak to her, and she'll hand you the key to the Gardens of Flesh and Bone(located inside the Fringe). You must return from there with all the ingredients necessary to create a new Gatekeeper.
You can now exit through the back door of this ruin instead of going through all the sections.

Once you arrive at the Gardens and enter, here are the locations of each item you must find:

Blood Liqueur - Natatorium of Wound Bled Tears
Osseous Marrow - Conservatorium Corpusculum
Dermis Membrane - Conservatorium Corpusculum
Essence of Breath - Caverns of Susurration (This one can be more difficult to find, but all you have to do is follow the breath)

Once you have found each ingredient report back to Relmyna(Xaselm) for the next part of your quest. Speak to her, and she'll tell you you need to select one of each body part to continue(They're in the room directly behind you).



These are the parts you get to choose from:

Left arm:
- Arm of Fire Shielding
- Arm of Shock Shielding
- Arm of Frost shielding

Right arm:
- Arm of Chopping
- Arm of Bashing
- Arm of Slashing

Torso:
- Breast of Magic
- Breast of Life

Heart:
- Heart of Spell Turning
- Heart of Wound Sharing

Head:
- Angry Mind
- Helm of Power

Legs:
- Legs of Nimbleness
- Legs of Fortitude

Once you have gathered all the parts you want, return to Relmyna. She's heading to the Fringe to create the new Gatekeeper. Go there and wait in the area in which you fought the last one(You can follow Relmyna if you like).

When you arrive, speak to her and tell her you're ready. She'll open up a portal of some type, and place the parts when she asks for them(Just tap A on the portal). After the ceremony is over return to Sheogorath.

Remember you can tap "A" on the Gate Keeper to receive a greater power. You can only have one at a time, so continue pressing "A" on him until you get the power you want.

11. The Helpless Army

While speaking to Sheogorath a messenger will approach you. This messenger will be from the opposite city in which you are a Duke/Duchess of. Speak to him and he'll inform you that they need help on Pinnacle Rock/Brellach(Pinnacle Rock if you are of Mania, or Brellach if you are of Dementia).

Travel to the location(Map), and meet up with the guards there. You'll speak to the second in command(either Adeo or Issmi). They'll inform you that their commander is locked away in the fort. Enter when you are ready, and the guards will provide backup.

The sections inside this fort are very straight forward. There aren't many twists, turns, or maze-like elements. In one of these sections you will come upon a wall of ice on a wall. Find the giant chime in the room and activate it. This will break the ice, and free the commander.

Speak to her, and continue to the next section. When you enter with the commander and guards your backup will turn into gold statues. You'll continue on alone from here.

Now there is another ice wall in front of you similar to the one you had just broken, find the chime in this room(along the wall) and break this wall as well.

Continue through the next sections, and you'll come into a room with a giant pyramid-like crystal on the floor in the center of the room. this is the wellspring. Run around and activate the 4 chimes(one in each corner). Once you do so, the wellspring will revert to normal, and the commander/guards will be healed.

Talk to the commander and she'll give you a matching set of armor and a summon spell. Now make your way back to Sheogorath to report the news.

12. Symbols of Office

While speaking to Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince vanished. Speak to Haskill and see what you can do.

Haskill wants to to become the Daedric Prince, and to do so you must remake the staff of Sheogorath. Travel to Knifepoint Hollow(Map) to get started.

Once inside make your way down the halls, and take a left the first time you get the chance. Directly ahead is a man named Dyus. He requires 2 items to make the staff.

The Eye of Cirta:

The Eye of Cirta is located inside the Howling Halls(Map). You must seek it out, so travel to theses halls when you're ready.

Enter the halls and you'll come to a fork in the road. Take a right and follow this path to the next section. Just make sure to take at least one Chamber key from a dead Apostle. In the next section you'll run into an apostle named Ra'kheran. He'll give you robes to blend in and ask for three daggers so he and a couple others can lead a revolt. You can accept, decline, or kill him. Either way continue on to the next section, and find Cirta.

Cirta is behind a chamber door, and it would be best to have the key(obtained from a dead Apostle). Once you enter, kill her and her friend, take her eye.

Branch of the Tree of Shades:

The Tree of Shades is located inside of Milchar(Map). You must seek it out, so travel to theses halls when you're ready.

Enter and walk into the pod in the center of the room. It will take you to the next section. When you get there you'll have to fall through the whole in the floor to get to the tree. Before you can grab the branch though, you must activate the stone.

After activating, a solid black reproduction of yourself will start to attack you. Once you kill it you can't search it's body, but you can take it's sword "Shadowrend". Now go grab the branch and exit these tunnels. There will be a switch and a teleport in the room behind you to the left.

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Once you have both items head back and speak to Dyus(Knifepoint Hollow). He'll turn both items into a staff, but it still isn't activated. Head back to Sheogorath's throne room and activate the fountain behind the throne.

The fountain has done nothing for you, so go ask Haskill what to do next.

13. The Roots of Madness

Enter the tree behind the throne, and once inside do not kill the Gnarls unless they are glowing white. They are here to help you.

Now there are also glowing doors scattered throughout this place. In order to continue on you must generate another Gnarl from a nearby Gnarl Chrysalis. The spawned Gnarl will open the door for you.

Ok, so you'll have to cleanse the pools in order to activate your staff. There are 4 pools in total: two are minor, and then there are two for each side of SI(Mania/Dementia). The Minor pools will be cleansed by killing the priest(just one). The Major ones will have three priests, and generally some tainted Gnarls. Also, if Thadon is alive he will be in the Dementia pool. If Syl is, she'll be in Mania's.

Cleanse all the pools, kill the traitor, and then go back to the fountain and activate your staff.

14. The End of Order

After activating your staff a guard will run to you. She says it is an urgent matter, follow her and speak to the commander.

When you're ready to fight let her know, and then exit the building. Outside there are two obelisks which you must deactivate by placing 3 Hearts(of dead Order members) into each one. Once you have done so, Jyggalag will come down and attack you.

Beat Jyggalag and he will reappear in the sky as a ghost. He will inform you that he was sheogorath, and you are now the Daedric Prince(Sheogorath). Speak to Haskill to find out what you must do next.

15. The Prince of Madness

Haskill will inform you of both the benefits and duties of being Sheogorath.

Benefits(Most only work in this realm):
- You can have any Golden Saint or Dark Seducer to accompany you.
- You can request entertainment(speak to Haskill)
- You can change the weather with a spell.
- You have been granted a spell that will return you to the throne room at any time.
- You can now wear Sheogorath's robes(Located on the throne)

Duties:

- Must attend to the needs of your subjects. You can deal with the matters yourself, or send a group of guards out instead.


Well, you completed the main quest. Now would be a great time to go and do some side quests.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

3. Knights of the Nine

Pilgrimage:

After the download, ask any NPC about "Rumors" and you may learn about the attack on the Chapel of Dibella in Anvil, at which point this quest will be added to your journal. Or you can just travel to Anvil directly. Talking to any townsperson in Anvil will yield more information about the attack, you will be told about The Prophet.

The Prophet is standing across the road from the Chapel of Anvil, in the garden next to Benirus Manor. During the day, he is loudly ranting about the attack on the chapel. At night, he sleeps in a bedroll in the garden; you can wake him up to talk with him.

Speak to him about the Anvil chapel attack and he vaguely explains that Umaril the Unfeathered is behind it, and that the Relics of the Divine Crusader, Pelinal Whitestrake, are the only way to stop him. He then asks if you are a worthy knight. You are given many options, some of which are stating your completed faction accomplishments. If you choose any "yes" answer, he says that you obviously do not need his help. Choose any "no" answer, and then "How can I find the relics?" The prophet explains that you must complete the pilgrimage of the Wayshrines of the Nine Divines to repent for your past deeds, and gives you a "Wayshrines Map".

To get the whole story, enter the Chapel. It is best to wait until after you have talked with the Prophet to explore the Chapel, because talking with him will enable you to legally explore the entire chapel, and legally take any items you find.

You will find the Chapel destroyed, with bodies and blood everywhere, and runes written in blood on the floor. Go downstairs to the Chapel Hall. On the table to the left is "The Song of Pelinal, v 2" On the table to the right is "Shezarr and the Divines." Go in the first door on the right and on the dinner table is "The Song of Pelinal, v 1," and on a shelf on the east side of the room are "The Song of Pelinal", volumes 3 to 8. Exit back out to the Chapel Hall. The next door on the right goes to a bedroom, and on top of the chest next to the bed is "The Adabal-a." (All of these books also appear in the Mystic Archives of the Arcane University.)

The Wayshrines The Pilgrimage consists of visiting and praying at (activating) one wayshrine for each of the Nine Divines. All characters, even those without any Infamy points must go on the pilgrimage. The Wayshrines page provides a complete list of all the wayshrines that can be found in Tamriel. The Knights of the Nine mod does not add any new wayshrines.

The "Wayshrines Map" provided to you by the Prophet shows the location of just one wayshrine for each of the Nine Divines. However, there is nothing special about those nine particular wayshrines; you can choose to visit any of the wayshrines for each of the Nine Divines.

When you visit the last wayshrine, you should meet Sir Roderic and Lathon, also on Pilgrimage. However, if the last wayshrine you visit is not on the map given to you by the Prophet, they may not appear. If your character has never gained any infamy and has previously visited any of the wayshrines, those wayshrines do not need to be revisited.

If you are uncertain which wayshrines you have already visited, enter the chapel in any city. Around the perimeter of the chapel you will find small altars dedicated to each of the Nine Divines.

Activate each one: if it provides you with a blessing, then you have already visited a wayshrine for that deity; otherwise, you will receive a message suggesting that you should visit a wayshrine.

If you have already completed the Pilgrimage of the Nine Divines (and received the Greater Power Pilgrim's Grace), you will need to visit a single wayshrine. When you activate it, you will immediately receive the vision from Pelinal that starts the next quest.

When you have prayed at each of the nine altars, your Infamy points will be reduced to zero, you will achieve pilgrim rank in the Nine Divines faction, and you will receive a quest update stating that you have completed the pilgrimage and should pray and wait for a vision.

 

The Shrine of the Crusader:

The lost shrine is accessed through the Ayleid Ruin of Vanua. A map marker points to Vanua's location, in the water where the Upper Niben meets Lake Rumare.

Swim underwater and you will find the entrance to the ruin. In the second zone of the ruin Shrine of the Crusader, you will find the body of Sir Amiel. Search the body for his journal and his ring.

Read his journal to find out that he was the leader of the Knights of the Nine, how the group was disbanded, and that he kept the Cuirass of the Crusader in the basement of their headquarters, the Priory of the Nine in the West Weald (his ring opens a secret area of the priory).

Continue through the Shrine of the Crusader to reach the upper half of the room containing Sir Amiel's body (or with good acrobatics skill you can just jump over the railing). There you will find the Helm of the Crusader on an altar. Take it to finish the quest.

 

Priory of The Nine

The Priory of the Nine is located in the West Weald; a marker is added to your map when you read Sir Amiel's journal.

Within the main building of the priory you will find a large symbol on the floor. Activate it; as long as Sir Amiel's ring is in your inventory, the floor will drop down to reveal a door to the Priory Basement. Enter and make your way through to the door to the Priory Undercroft.

In the Priory Undercroft you will find the ghost of Sir Amiel. He informs you that he and the ghosts of the seven other present Knights of the Nine will test your worth in honorable combat before you will be allowed to take the Cuirass of the Crusader. One by one, you will combat each of the ghostly Knights, Sir Amiel last.

The exit from the Undercroft is sealed once this challenge starts, so you should make sure you are well prepared for the challenge before entering the Undercroft. There is a brief pause between each knight's challenge, which provides a quick opportunity to heal and repair armor. But you are not provided with a chance to truly rest and recover.

When you have defeated them all, you will be allowed to take the Cuirass of the Crusader. Talk to all of the ghosts to learn what they know about the various artifacts and to find out more about the history of the Knights of the Nine.

Four knights in particular have specific information about the location of an artifact. Talking to each of them will allow you to start a quest to retrieve that item:

- Sir Casimir tells you about the Gauntlets of the Crusader. In Chorrol's Chapel of Stendarr, because of his deeds, he was cursed and the gauntlets fell from his hands, too heavy for anyone to lift. This starts the quest Stendarr's Mercy.

- Sir Ralvas tells you about the Mace of Zenithar. He failed to complete the challenge of Zenithar, retrieving the Mace of Zenithar from the Leyawiin's Chapel of Zenithar, because he did not have complete faith. This starts the quest The Path of the Righteous.

- Sir Henrik tells you about the Shield of the Crusader. If you are faithful to the teachings of Julianos you may recover the Shield of the Crusader from Fort Bulwark, which was fortified to keep it secure. This starts the quest Wisdom of the Ages.

- Sir Juncan tells you about the Boots of the Crusader. The boots are guarded by Kynareth and the priestesses at the shrine to Kynareth west of the Imperial City on the edge of the Great Forest. This starts the quest Nature's Fury.

This quest is not complete until you have collected all four of these artifacts. You will receive quest updates as you collect each artifact.

 

Natures Fury

If you make the "Nature's Fury" quest active, you will get a map marker for the shrine of Kynareth, west of the Imperial City, just on the other side of the Red Ring Road.

Go to the Shrine of Kynareth and speak with Avita Vesnia about Boots of the Crusader, and she will tell you that to be granted the boots, you must pass Kynareth's test of worthiness in the Grove of Trials. You will not get the choice to talk to Avita about the boots if the Knights of the Nine mod isn't the last to load.

Your map marker will be moved to the Grove of Trials. Proceed to the grove and after a couple minutes an oversized bear named Forest Guardian approaches and attacks you. Do not fight back; rather stand, block, and take the blows. After a few hits, the bear will stop and a stone will move to reveal a door to Kynareth's Grotto.

Enter Kynareth's Grotto to find an altar holding the boots, with a Spriggan standing to each side. Ignore them (they do nothing) and take the Boots of the Crusader. If you choose to kill either of the Spriggans, you will acquire one point of Infamy.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

Wisdom of The Ages

At the Priory of the Nine, Sir Henrik told you that if you are faithful to the teachings of Julianos, you may be able to recover the Shield of the Crusader, which he stored at Fort Bulwark for safekeeping.

Fort Bulwark is on the border of Blackwood and Black Marsh, south of Fort Teleman and north-northeast of Onyx Caverns. A marker has been added to your map, located at the top of the "d" in Blackwood.

Enter the door to Fort Bulwark; be cautious as it is booby-trapped. Be prepared to encounter a lot of conjurers, who apparently also know that the Shield of the Crusader is hidden here and have torn the place apart trying to find it.

You will discover gates and drawbridges that (at first) cannot be opened. Keep exploring, and keep your eyes open for clues.

In the northwest section of the fort you will find two important items:

First, on the table there is a Conjurer's Note confirming that they are unsuccessfully searching for the shield. The note contains one important hint: "The gate to the lower levels no longer halts our progress. Make note of the candles along the walls if you would pass through".

Second, there is a handle on the floor nearby; turn it to make the two drawbridges in front of you be lowered. On the other side of the drawbridges you will discover a room with tiles on the floor in a 3x4 pattern, with a locked door on the other side. The clue in the note tells you how to solve this puzzle: for each row, notice which side the candle(s) are located on, and how many candles there are.

Start from the side with candles, and count across the same number of tiles as there are candles. Step on that tile, and proceed to the next row. Or in other words, walk over the tiles in the following order to open the door: Left, Middle, Right, Left.

You will now be in the second zone of the Fort Bulwark, which has been used by the conjurers as a prison and torture area.

Their victim is Sir Thedret, who is locked in one of the prison cells. Release him to find out that he was also searching for the Shield of the Crusader, but was captured by the conjurers. Despite being tortured, he has refused to tell them what he knows of the shield. Based on another Conjurer's Note that you will find, it was very lucky for Sir Thedret that you showed up: within the week, the conjurers were planning to "dispose" of him, "preferably in a manner most painful".

As thanks for being freed, Sir Thedret reveals the clue that he refused to tell the conjurers: "When the eyes of guardians are upon you, Julianos will show you his favor."

Continue exploring this section of the fort. Watch out for one particularly nasty set of drawbridges, which are guarded by a large number of dart traps on the ceiling. If you watch closely you will see that the darts fall in sequence - time your passage and you will pass unharmed. Be prepared to take a lot of damage if you just run through them.

In the end you will reach a large room to the west, featuring four statues: could these be the guardians from Sir Thedret's clue? In a nutshell, yes.

To solve the puzzle, you need to make it so that all four statues are facing you at the same time. At the base of each statue you will find a handle; activate the handle repeatedly until the statue is facing in towards the center. At that instant the magical flames in front of the statue of Julianos will be extinguished... and a passage is opened on the south side of the room.

The newly opened passage leads to the third zone of Fort Bulwark, which the conjurers have never been able to reach. The main room features another puzzle.

Your journal helpfully tells you "I've found some sort of puzzle or trap deep inside Fort Bulwark. I'll need to figure out what it means in order to acquire the Shield of the Crusader". In other words, no clues this time around.

Exploring the room reveals eight stone guardian statues around the perimeter of the room, each of which can be activated (does nothing); in front of each one is a large empty chest. In the middle of the room is a ninth chest, with a pressure plate in front of it.

When you stand on the pressure plate, you will notice one of the eight statues light up, and an item appears, hovering in mid-air in front of it. But if you run to try to grab the item, it disappears.

The final piece of the mystery is that in the ninth chest you will find a single item. If you take the item and randomly place it in another chest, it disappears... and a new item appears in the central chest. If you do this enough times, you will notice that each of the statues has a different item that appears in front of it. You will also notice that the same eight items appear in the central chest.

To solve the puzzle, you need to take the items from the central chest one by one and place them in the correct chest, i.e., the one where that item appears. When you place an item in the correct chest, the statue turns around so it is facing the center of the room.

The items that belong in each chest, starting from the door you entered, and going clockwise (or sometimes counterclockwise) around the room, are: Rodgar's Book, Rodgar's Hammer, Rodgar's Gem, Rodgar's Stone, Rodgar's Helm, Rodgar's Goblet, Rodgar's Sword.

Once all eight items have been placed in the correct chests, the magical flames will extinguish, and the door at the top of the stairs will open.

The next room contains the Shield of the Crusader, on an altar along with a few other items. Take the shield, and this quest is complete. The Priory of the Nine quest is updated with the information that you have found another artifact.

 

Path of The Righteous

At the Priory of the Nine, Sir Ralvas asked you to try what he failed, the challenge of Zenithar at Leyawiin's chapel to retrieve the Mace of Zenithar.

Enter the Chapel of Zenithar in Leyawiin. Carodus Oholin approaches and asks if you're the one restoring the Knights of the Nine. He tells you that he could not pass the test to retrieve the Mace of Zenithar, and that he has instead stayed to protect and guard it. Enter the Chapel Undercroft and pray to Zenithar at the tomb of Saint Kaladas.

Upon praying to Zenithar at Saint Kaladas' tomb, you will be transported to a dark dimension. Across a chasm from the cliff you are standing on is a platform with the Mace of Zenithar on it.

After a few unsuccessful crossing attempts, you will receive a quest update saying that maybe if you retrieve other relics, a solution will present itself. Equip the Boots of the Crusader, and a path will appear that will allow you to walk across to the Mace of Zenithar.

Take the Mace of Zenithar, and you will be transported back out to the Chapel Undercroft. Make your way back out to the Chapel to find new creatures, Aurorans, attacking the chapel. After the battle, Carodus Oholin approaches and asks to become a Knight of the Nine.

 

Stendarr's Mercy

At the Priory of the Nine, Sir Casimir told you that to retrieve the Gauntlets of the Crusader you should speak to the priests in Chorrol's Chapel of Stendarr.

In Chorrol's chapel, you will find the gauntlets on the floor surrounded by candles, too heavy to lift. Speak to Areldur, who should be standing nearby, and tell him you'd like to know the story of the gauntlets.

He tells you that the curse that makes the gauntlets too heavy to lift is also killing Kellen, a descendant of the Knight who was cursed here (Sir Casimir).

Kellen is staying at the chapel, and can be found in a bedroom in the Chapel Hall. If you talk to Kellen about the curse, he claims that Areldur acts like he's holding back information.

Return to Areldur, who will now admit that he knows that the only way for him to free Kellen of the curse would be to take it on himself, and he is too cowardly to do so. He asks if you know of someone who would pray to Stendarr and take on Kellen's curse.

Activate the Altar of the Nine in the chapel, and you will be asked whether you wish to take the curse. Accept and you will receive a quest update telling you that the curse has been transferred to you (your fatigue is affected), and that you can now "Lay Hands" on Kellen to free him of the curse.

Go to Kellen and use the spell "Lay Hands" on him, which will free him and the gauntlets of the curse. Kellen is ecstatic at feeling so healthy, and runs around the room a few times. Return to the chapel, and you can now pick up the Gauntlets of the Crusader.

This quest is complete and the Priory of the Nine quest is updated with the information that you have found another artifact.

 

Faithful Squire

Proceed to the Priory of the Nine to find it cleaned up and decorated. Lathon approaches you, informs you of Sir Roderic's death and Sir Berich's resurrection, and requests to become a Knight of the Nine.

Accept Lathon as a Knight, and he will give you the Greaves of the Crusader. He will also tell you that the Wraith of Lord Berich Vlindrel has the sword in Underpall Cave.

 

Sword of The Crusader

Make your way to the map marker and enter the door to the Underpall Reflecting Chamber. You may have Sir Lathon follow you.

Make your way through and you will find the body of Sir Roderic.

Enter the nearby wood door and you'll find yourself in a room with Lord Vlindrel's Wraith.

After the battle, take the Sword of the Crusader. You will receive a quest update stating that you should reconsecrate it at the Chapel of Arkay in Cheydinhal.

Equip the sword, and you will be afflicted with a curse that can be removed at the Chapel. Make your way to the chapel, and you'll find it being attacked by Aurorans.

After the battle, pray at the Altar, and the sword will be removed from your inventory then replaced, and you will be free of the curse.

When you return to the Priory of the Nine, you will find that Sir Berich has joined the circle of ghostly knights in the undercroft.

Speak to Sir Berich to learn that you redeemed his soul.

 

The Blessing of Talos

Head back to the Priory of the Nine, and Sir Thedret will approach and tell you that the Prophet has come to the Priory to see you.

Make your way into the chapel and speak with the Prophet. He says that you must defeat Umaril at Garlas Malatar and gives you the Blessing of Talos, explaining that it will allow you to follow Umaril after his earthly death to defeat him permanently.

 

Umaril the Unfeathered

Make your way to Garlas Malatar and meet with the other Knights. You may choose to have them wait or launch the attack. No matter what choice you made, they will all head into the ruin when you enter.

Enter and jump down to the open area. Activate the switch on one of the pedestals, and head up the staircase. Take either passage and then head left up the staircase and follow to the map marker.

Enter the door to Ceysei. Make your way through to three locked gates. Activate the switch between them to open them.

Go through the gate and you'll emerge in a large room with a glowing sphere in the center and many Aurorans surrounding. Until you destroy the Orb, the Aurorans will keep resurrecting (they show a white healing spell type flourish as they stand back up at full health.) Since your Knights are not similarly immortal, you will want to destroy the Orb as quickly as possible if you want the original named Knights to survive (and if you don't want to be overwhelmed by them once they've dealt with your followers).

Follow the path to the right, up the stairs, and you will find the Dark Orb. Activate the switch on the bottom of the right arch, which opens up the staircases. Activate the Dark Orb to destroy it. It will explode and freeze time.

Proceed north to the door and make your way through the passages to a large room with liquid in the center. As you enter, the room will light up and a staircase will rise. Umaril's physical form, an oversized Auroran, appears. After the battle, be sure to grab Umaril's sword before casting Blessing of Talos.

You can take as much time as you like exploring and collecting loot before finally casting the spell. When you do, turn to the center of the room to watch events unfold. You'll be transported to the sky above the Imperial City with Umaril attacking you.

After this battle, when you are falling to earth, Umaril's body and his sword will be falling with you. You can target it and take it for a second sword.

After the final battle with Umaril, you will be transported to the basement of the Priory of the Nine.

Speak with Sir Amiel to learn what will happen to them, and watch them all disappear.

P.S. Everlast, if you ever make another guide... please don't create walls of text.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

4. The Dark Brotherhood

In The Beginning, There Was Darkness

How to Join The Dark Brotherhood

Okay, let’s make one thing clear. If you’re particularly attached to the people of Cyrodiil then this quest line isn’t for you. If you are a good character and want to avoid getting infamy, this quest line isn’t for you. However, this is my favorite guild and I highly recommend people get it done!

The Dark Brotherhood doesn’t have a guild hall (as such), so joining is pretty annoying. If you ask around the cities and talk about rumors, etc, you may eventually uncover a message that reads- They say that when you murder someone, the dark brotherhood comes to you in your sleep. That's how they recruit new members. You do not need to find this rumor, but this is how I discovered the DB myself.

Now the fun part. You have to kill an innocent in cold blood, without getting caught (or getting a bounty). This is easiest to do at night, in someone’s house, or to kill a beggar very stealthily in one of the towns. I killed a woman I found travelling in the middle of nowhere, which was convenient. It’s totally up to you- as long as it’s a random NPC (make sure it’s not an important character, hence my recommendation of killing a beggar). If you’re in the thieves guild, you can’t kill beggars without getting kicked out, so don’t do it, kill someone else. Be imaginative.

After the killing, a message will pop up onto your screen telling you that dark forces have observed your killing. Now, get over to the nearest inn, buy a bed for the night, and go to sleep to trigger the initiation quest.


A Knife In The Dark

Time to Prove Your Killing Prowess

Go to sleep in the bed I’ve just told you to buy for the night. You will wake up, to find Lucien Lachance hovering over you. Don’t worry, he’s not a pervert, he’s the DB’s speaker and has come to give you a message. He tells you that if you want to join, you must kill a man named Rufio. Note, you don’t have to do this, you can choose to never kill this NPC, and never join. But if you kill him, you’re in. Oh, if you freak out at the hooded stranger in your room and kill Lucien, you won’t be able to join the Dark brotherhood… ever.

Lucien will instruct you to find Rufio, who has a room at the Inn of Ill Omen, nearby Bravil. He wants you to get over there, murder Rufio (quietly), and go back to sleep. Of course, he doesn’t add that bit at the end, but that’s what you’ve got to do. He’ll give you the blade of woe, and disappear. I used this to perform the killing… just in case. But I don’t think you have to.

Head over to the inn, it’s marked on your map. It’s a little North of Bravil, and a tiny bit to the West as well. You should be able to locate it with ease, no problem. The innkeeper will tell you that Rufio seems to be hiding from something, and seems a bit jumpy. You know why… they don’t. You’ll be directed downstairs by the oblivious innkeeper, through a trap door. The door is unlocked, but for the record, always carry lock picks anyway. He walks around from midnight until 6a.m., but the rest of the time I visited he has always been asleep. Sneakily walk up to him (in stealth mode, duh), and stab him in the back, honourably. He should die if you’re competent, but if not, just start hacking away before the alarm can be raised.

You’ll now get a journal update instructing you to find somewhere secure to sleep, and to prepare for Lucien’s next appearance. Why he keeps appearing in your bedroom, Sithis only knows. You may pay for a bed at the same Inn, it works out fine, and he’ll appear after you’ve slept for a few hours.

Lucien will tell you about the house in the East of Cheydinhal, and give you the instructions to getting into the DB’s secret lair. Nice one, you’re a member now… almost. Get over to the house, down into the basement, and look around, there’s a hole in the basement wall. Walk through and follow the short passageway to the door at the end, and when asked for the password, reply “sanguine, my brother”. You’ll be let in.. head over to the NPC called Ocheeva and speak to her. She’s the female argonian standing ‘round near the entrance.

She says hi, tells you to report to Vincente Valtieri for assignments, and gifts you with some stealth armour. This is nice, especially helpful on missions, but for those of you who are addicted to heavy armour, can cause problems as it’s light. But you’ll need to get used to light armour for a while, as sneaking in heavy boots is damn near impossible. And you’ll be sneaking around a lot.

Congratulations… now you’re in.


Welcome to the Family, Brother

Time to Get Working

You’ll now get journal entries after each quest telling you to speak to Vincente. After receiving one, the journal will update again, telling you that you’ve accepted a contract. Well, duh. This isn’t a mission, but it’s in the quest page of your journal and pops up all the time, so it’s included.


A Watery Grave

Arr… Time to Introduce Some People to Davey Jones and his Locker

 

Hint- speak to your fellows in the DB sanctuary to get advice for this mission, and the others you’ll be given. It’s especially useful if you decide to improvise a bit rather than follow this word for word.

Go find Vincente in the sanctuary, there will be a map marker and he’s not hard to find. If you’re having trouble, try upgrading your IQ a few points =P once you’ve spoken to him, this will pop up as you’re updated journal entry.

I must go to the Waterfront District in the Imperial City and gain access to the pirate ship Marie Elena, so I can kill Captain Gaston Tussaud. I may be able to smuggle myself on board with the cargo, in one of the packing crates. [journal entry]

Get over to the Waterfront District. Those of you who’ve read my Thieves Guild walkthrough will know this area well. The pirate ship isn’t hard to spot, and to help you out, there’s a map marker too.

There are a few pirates hanging around by the ship. One of them will threaten you if he sees you messing with the boat. Okay, right… sneak past them, towards some crates on the East side of the dock. Go and activate one of the crates, and choose to hide inside. There are other, harder ways to do this quest, but I recommend this method. Do it.

Once inside the boat, you’ll have to sneak up to the middle deck. Sneak down the length of the ship ‘til you can hear some voices. Hide, but if you’re stealth is low, return to the trapdoor you came through and wait there. You’ll see a pirate leave and walk out. Hide from him, and let him pass, then head over to where you saw him come from. There is a trap door here that leads to the Captain’s Quarters.

Once you’re inside, you can kill the Captain however you like, you won’t be interrupted ‘til he’s dead. Then you’ll hear the crew mates knocking on the door, and will warn you they are about to come in. Here you have two options. One, is to loot the captain, take his chest key, unlock his chest and take out another key, which unlocks the door at the back of the room. You’ll find yourself on a balcony, from which you can escape without any extra conflict.

The other method is just not to do anything. The pirates will come in and you will have to kill them all. They are pretty rubbish, but can cause trouble if you’re low-level. After this is done and you’ve escaped using either method, return to Vincente to get your reward. He’ll give you a useful ring. Congratulations, you’ve completed your first official Dark Brotherhood quest. There are a lot more, don’t worry.


Accidents Happen

They Happen Altogether Too Often, When You’re Around

Speak to Vincente to receive this quest. He’ll tell you that you must travel to Bruma, and instruct you in the exact manner in which the target must be killed, so it looks like an accident. You may walk in and kill him outright, but you won’t get the bonus and a reduced reward. It’s not hard to do it the right way, so follow my instructions and you’ll be fine. Remember, avoid the manservant Gromm in the house of the target at all costs.

The instructions are: silently break into the house and make your way upstairs undetected to a secret door. This leads to a crawlspace which in turn leads to the supports holding a large animal head bust on the wall. If you release the bust and let it fall at the right time, it will kill your target whilst he’s sitting below and it’ll look like an accident. Then sneak your way back out again.

Your targets house is the second to the right when you enter Bruma via the East gate. You can enter through the front door, but Gromm may notice you if you’re unlucky. There is a basement at the back of the house I recommend entrance through. I would say wait ‘til about 10p.m. before attempting this quest.

The inhabitants will not leave the house, so you must remain in sneak mode all the time, and I mean, all the time. Wait until Gromm is busy doing something, or is just out of the way, before attempting to get upstairs. When you get up there, head to the bedroom immediately to your right. Next to the desk is a door with a peephole, activate it to gain entrance. Enter the crawlspace.

Wait until 9 - 10p.m. now, or this won’t work. Once it’s about this time, activate the hangings and let the huge, stuffed animal head drop. It will kill your target, who was sitting below in a chair, reading. Immediately duck down and get into sneak, as Gromm may start running around. Once things have calmed down and you know where the guy is, attempt to sneak your way back out of the house. To get the bonus, make sure Gromm doesn’t see you. And trust me, you’ll like the bonus.

Get back to Vincente and report. If you’ve followed my instructions exactly, not only will you get the gold, but also the bonus, a very useful dagger called the Sufferthorn. Nicely done. You’ll also gain an advancement here within the guild.

Scheduled For Execution

Isn’t Everyone?

Speak to Vincente about your next job. Your target is an Dark Elf named Valen Dreth. The catch is, he’s a prisoner in the Imperial prison. You’ll be directed to some sewer tunnels to gain entrance, and try not to kill any guards if you want the bonus for this quest.

I must break into the Imperial Prison and kill a Dark Elf prisoner named Valen Dreth. I will receive a special bonus if I manage not to kill any guards. I can enter the Imperial Prison through the connecting sewers, which can be accessed through a locked manhole just outside the prison walls. Vicente has provided me with a key. [ journal entry]

Return to that familiar gate (follow the map marker), and open it using the key. There are no guard around just yet. The path is linear, so don’t worry about getting lost.

Get through to the next section of the sewers. You do not have to open the mechanised gate unless you wish to explore the sewers.. Don’t bother, you can come back later in your own time. You’ll notice the iron gate across the sewer channel needs a switch to be opened, so get to it. You’ll find a door which leads you to the third section of the sewers. You’ll be in a round room with some slaughter fish in the water, so try not to fall in or you’ll get bitten. Use a lock pick on the manhole you’ll stumble across and you’ll find yourself in The Sanctum section. Save just before this, it’s useful.

There are guards around here, so make sure you’re in sneak mode. There are lots of shadows to hide in, so don’t worry too much about the guards seeing you when you first enter the room. Wait for them to finish their conversations, then follow the one out the door ahead of you (don’t bother going right). You can sneak into the room the emperor died, and you an pickpocket Montrose for the key to the Imperial Prison, just be stealthy about it and don’t get caught. Save before trying it, incase he catches you.

Make your way into the main room, avoiding guards, same as usual. Stick to the shadows and be quiet. It’s not too difficult, just remember to make saves. Sneak behind pillars and stick to dark areas until you’re by the door. I recommend a new save before entering.

There will be two guards here. They are obviously on high alert after the emperor’s death. Avoid them, sneak past, and head to the door past the guards table. You’ll find yourself in a familiar cell. Sneak around a bit before entering, and save first. Just incase you’re caught unexpectedly. You’ll see your target insulting a guard in the cell across from you. The guard will leave, and you can kill the annoying Dreth. Here’s how.

Be quick. You can stay in the cell and kill him with arrows show through the bars, which is possible and is what I did. If you’ve pick pocketed the keys like I told you to, you can unlock your cell door and get right over to him. Or you can lock pick the door, whatever. Open his cell and kill him, quickly. Now, if you have those keys you can break out of the prison the easy way- by walking out the prison door and out the main entrance. DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU HAVE A BOUNTY, THERE ARE GUARDS. But if you’ve stuck to the guide, no problem.

If you didn’t, or don’t have the keys, you can simply sneak back the way you came, past those troublesome guards again.

Get back to Vincente for your reward. If you didn’t murder any guards, then you’ll get the bonus, which is handy; the Scales of Pitiless Justice.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

The Assassinated Man

Aren’t They All…

Speak to Vincente and he’ll tell you about this contract. You need to stage a fake assassination of a guy in Chorrol, using a special blade. He’ll give you the poisoned knife, and the antidote. Do not use this knife before the quest, as it’s a single-use weapon.

Head over to Chorrol, and following the map marker, break into the house you need to be in. Lockpick your way in, don’t worry, but make sure no one sees you. You’ll meet Francoise, who’ll tell you about his situation, and explain what needs to be done. Hide just behind him in the dark-ish area, away from the door.

An Argonian will eventually enter and talk to Francoise. This is the assassin called Hides-His-Heart. You must not kill him. At the right moment, swiftly step out and slash Francoise with your poisoned blade. Make sure you do it before the argonian does or the quest fails! Make sure you hit Francoise good. He’ll collapse, apparently dead. Flee very quickly, you won’t get a bounty but Hides-His-Heart must not follow you. Run for a bit outside the city, and the first bit of this mission is complete.

Wait 24 hours now and head to the chapel undercroft in Chorrol. To get there, follow the stairs leading under the Chapel from inside the Chapel’s main building. Simple. Find the target’s body and activate it, which will cause you to administer the antidote and awaken Francoise, alive and well. Sweet… wait, what’s wrong? Of course, there’s a catch.

I have administered the Languorwine antidote, and Francois Motierre has awakened from his poison-induced sleep. I should now speak with him and make sure he's well enough to travel to the Grey Mare.

Speak to him, and he’ll tell you that he’s ready to go, but his ancestors, who’ve been buried around the undercroft, aren’t too happy about your violation of their privacy. They’ll rise from the dead as zombies, and attack you. Protect Francoise on your way out, and listen to his amusing exclamations as he encounters dead relatives. “Auntie, you look terrible!”

Motierre has been revived, but his ancestors have risen from the dead, angry at the desecration of their tomb! I must keep Motierre alive and escort him out of the Undercroft and to the Grey Mare, where he can arrange passage out of Cyrodiil.

Once out, head over to the Grey Mare, which will be indicated with a map marker incase you’re feeling hopeless. Francoise will follow you, don’t worry, but make sure he’s got out of the undercroft alright. Once there, speak to him again and he’ll thank you. You can now return to the DB, and Vincente, for your reward.

He’ll give you an amulet, a key to a secret entrance to the DB’s sanctuary so you don’t have to keep going through the house, and an advancement. The key is to the well just outside the abandoned house, which is really another way in to the lair. Nice.


My Brother’s Keeper

Frankly, I Was Never Too Fond of My Brother Anyway

Speak to Vincente about a contract, and he’ll tell you he doesn’t have any. Go find Ocheeva instead, who’s hanging around the lair someplace. She has a contract for you, so talk to her and inquire. You’ll get a journal update, telling you that you’ve accepted the contract.


The Lonely Wanderer

I’m Lonely… I am so, Lonely… I have No-Body…..

Ocheeva wants you to kill a high elf in Imperial City. She warns you to kill him somewhere safe, with no witnesses. Speak to other members of the DB to gather some handy hints on how to carry out this contract stealthily. You’ll be told to speak to some other elves in the city, who probably know him. Off you go.

Travel to the city and talk to various eleven plebs. You’ll find that your target lives at the Tiber Septim Hotel, in the Talos Plaza area. Once there, you may go upstairs and speak to his lover, Atraena. Persuade her, bribe her, whatever, until she likes you. Speak with her about your target, and she’ll give you all the useful information you need to carry out your contract.

Get over to the guy called Lorkmir’s house. Your target will arrive around 8p.m., handily. Speak to him, and you can persuade him you’re a friend. But he’ll want proof… in the form of Skooma. He’ll tell you that you can get him some Skooma from a guy that sells it in Bruma at night.

I met Faelian, and he wants me to supply him with skooma. If I do that, he may consider me a friend, making his elimination that much easier. Faelian mentioned that a man named Nordinor in Bravil sells skooma, late at night...

Make sure you talk to him outside the hotel, as he won’t want to speak there.

The NPC you want to get your Skooma from is hanging ‘round in the alleyway in Bruma next to Silver Home on the Water. Speak to him, and buy some Skooma. Return to your target in Imperial City, and offer him the Skooma.

I have supplied Lorkmir with skooma, and gained some valuable information in return. Every day, from 11:00 in the morning until 5:00 at night, Faelian goes to Lorkmir's House, in the Elven Gardens District of the Imperial City. The house is deserted, so Faelian goes there to use his skooma. I could kill him there to avoid any witnesses. And, conveniently enough, he's even given me a key.

Go to Lorkmir’s house in the Elven Gardens district. Enter it using the key you’ve been given. Explore the house, and in the basement, you’ll find Lorkmir. You’ll notice he’s lying down, and not moving much. No, he’s not moving, he dead you fool. Did Faelian kill him? Who knows. Whatever, when the sad elf enters, you can speak to him and torment him a bit for your own amusement. Then end the conversation… and kill him, however you wish to. Leave and return to Ocheeva, who is please and rewards you with a special bow.


Bad Medicine

Remember, Always Get A Prescription

Go talk to Ocheeva to get this next quest. You must go to Fort Such (use the map marker), sneak in, and replace your targets medicine with your poison. He’ll drink it and die. Simple, right? Well, not entirely. You must not be seen by the guards, nor anyone else whilst in the Fort. If you are, you may kill him however you want… but you don’t get the bonus. Just follow the guide, you’ll be okay.

Ask around, and you’ll find out about the alternative route into the Fort. This is useful, so do it. Ask your “brothers and sisters” in the DB. Get to the Fort, it’s North of Anvil’s main gate. I advise you enter through the Abbey, which is easier, so do so. There’s a secret trapdoor in the southwest bit of the tower, and remember the Abbey is outside the Fort, so you don’t need to enter. This is the alternative route in I just told you about.

Unlock the trapdoor using a spell or a lock pick. You will get the journal entry, and continue along in sneak mode until you hear a couple of guards conversing. One the conversations over, hide in the darkness a bit behind you and wait for the guards to move on. They’ll leave the nearby gate unlocked behind them. Don’t try and sneak past them before this!

The woman will go and guard your targets bed, but don’t worry about her. If you’re sneaky and stick to the shadows, there’s no problem. The orc will patrol the area in front of his cabinet. Use the pillars and dark areas to slowly sneak forwards, and watch his routine until you get an idea of the pattern. Conceal yourself if you have low sneak and a handy spell, otherwise quietly sneak over to the cabinet and replace the medicine with the poison. Your journal will update when you remove his potion, and again when you’ve replaced it with Ocheeva’s poison.

Sneak your way out of the Fort without anyone seeing you. This isn’t too hard… be stealth, use the shadows. Get over to Ocheeva back in the lair and if you’ve been successful and remained unseen, you’ll get the bonus, an enchanted shirt. Congratulations… you’re not even halfway through the quest line. Intimidating, I know.


Whodunit

Just Like Cludo, But So Much More Fun

Talk to Ocheeva and she’ll give you the most fun quest so far. Seriously. Follow the guide, but it’s amusing and easy going. You need to kill 5 people at a party in Summitmist Manor, Skingrad. They think they are searching for a chest of gold hidden in the house somewhere… in fact, they have been set up so they can be locked in this manor with you whilst you kill them. You could just slaughter them, but the funner method, and the only way to get your bonus, is to kill them without any witnesses. This is challenging, and involves some handy manipulation of people’s emotions in conversation.

I must go to Summitmist Manor in Skingrad, meet with the other guests, and pretend I too have been invited by a mysterious, unknown host. I must then kill all the other guests. I should start my mission by speaking with the doorman, just outside the manor. [journal entry]

Go to Skingrad’s East Gate. The doorman is a DB member, don’t worry. He finds the situation as amusing as I do. You should locate him and the manor with ease, it’s near the gate and on the same street. He’s standing just outside. He’ll let you in, and you should go and say hi to everyone.

The first person you meet is Petit. She’s annoying. When she asks about who you are, I recommend telling her you’re an assassin come to kill them all. She’ll think you’re joking, and will like you a bit more. You’ll then get a journal update… let the games begin.

After speaking to them all, you’ll notice that they all have different feelings towards each other. Try to get everyone’s disposition to you above 70, by persuasion or bribe. This is useful, because they will trust you more than anyone else, and may be persuaded into killing each other later. You’ll notice Dran and Primo like each other… persuade Dran to go to Primo’s room. You may now kill her in peace.

Matilde is asleep often, so find her and kill her secretly then. Leave Nels ‘til the end, he’s the Nord permanently drinking. Primo will just wander around, but leave him until the end as well. Neville can be annoying and will equip armour for the fight. He does sleep occasionally, and if you’re quick and kill him after Dran and Matilde, you shouldn’t be disturbed. Stealth hit him, and then hack ‘til he falls.

Okay, you now have Nels the Nord and Primo left. Nels should like you at this point, if you’ve done as I said. Talk to him, and he’ll be sure Primo is the killer… because you’re his friend. Follow him, and he’ll hack Primo down. He’ll come over to you smiling like an idiot, declaring that you two are now safe. The poor fool. Take out your weapon and hack him into small, Nord-sized pieces. You’re done.

There are many ways to do this quest, and it’s pretty intricate, so you can be inventive and do it your own way… this method is my tried and tested way, but I’m sure there are a good few more. Make saves and have fun with this quest.

All of the guests are dead, and no one knew I was the killer. I must now return to the Sanctuary and speak with Ocheeva to receive my reward and bonus.

Leave the manor and get back to the sanctuary, and speak to Ocheeva. She’s pleased, and will give you the Night Mother’s Blessing, which gives you some permanent skill increases.

I have spoken with Ocheeva and received a special reward, the Night Mother's Blessing. I now have permanent increases to my Sneak, Blade, Security, Acrobatics and Marksman skills.


Permanent Retirement

You Know How Everyone Wants To Retire?…

Speak to Ocheeva about your next contract. She’ll tell you about Adamus Phillada, who has retired from the Legion. He made life hard for the DB, and now they want to reward him by making his life easier… namely, by removing his life. What’s easier than that?

Ocheeva tells you that Adamus is currently a honoured guest of the guard in Leyawiin, and will give you the Rose of Sithis arrow. You must kill him with this single-use arrow, it’s not hard as it’s a one-hit K.O. He must not be armoured when you shoot him, as the arrow won’t pierce armour. To get the bonus, you must then remove his finger (by activating his corpse), and placing it in the draw of Phillada’s successor in the Imperial City.

I must kill Adamus Phillida, a recently retired Imperial Legion officer, who has taken up residence in the City Watch barracks in Leyawiin. For this task, I have been given an enchanted arrow called the Rose of Sithis. If I can hit Phillida with the arrow when he is not wearing his armor, the strike will be fatal. I should head to Leyawiin, stalk Adamus Phillida, and attack when the moment is right. The contract will be complete when Phillida lies dead, whether I use the Rose of Sithis or not.

Get to Leyawiin’s castle, use fast travel. Speak with Adamus’ bodyguard to learn of his daily schedule. You’ll learn he takes a daily swim at 3p.m. over at the East side of Leyawiin. Perfect. You can’t swim in armour, right? Right.

Follow Adamus until he takes off his armour and starts swimming. Get to one side of the pool and shoot him with the arrow. Save first, in case you miss, but you shouldn’t. You’ll get a journal update now. Go over and Loot his body for the required finger, and your journal will update again. Fast Travel to the Imperial City and get over to the Prison District. Follow the map marker to the desk of his successor, in the Legion Offices. Use Adamus’ key to open the door (make sure you’ve looted it). Place the finger in the desk, and get the journal update. Now return to Ocheeva.

She gives you an extra 500gold if you’ve done the bonus bit, with the finger and the desk.

Of Secret and Shadow

How Appropriate.

Speak to Ocheeva. She will give you a parcel from Lucien Lachance, who I’ll from hereon in refer to as LL. The parcel contains a note for you, which is from LL himself. He wants you to meet him at Fort Farragut.

 I have read the sealed orders from Lucien Lachance. I am to meet him at Fort Farragut, which is in the wilderness northeast of the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. Apparently, he has a special assignment for me. Fort Farragut is located a very short walk due north of Cheydinhal's East Gate. Just as Lachance warned, his stronghold his guarded by 6 Dark Guardians, as well as several other traps.

You can enter through the Fort’s main entrance and fight the baddies waiting for you, or enter quietly through a secret door, in a hollow tree just NorthEast of the Fort’s entrance. It will take you directly to LL’s headquarters, avoiding and confrontation at all. Go speak to him.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

The Purification

Time to Purify the DB’s Lair by Covering It In Lovely, Pure, Blood. Hmm…

LL has bad news. There is a traitor somewhere in the sanctuary.. You may have picked up on this from rumours within the DB. The traitor is supposed to be in the Cheydinhal sanctuary…. Your home. Don’t worry, he thinks you’re innocent, but he wants you to prove yourself by returning and “purifying” the sanctuary. This means killing everyone.

LL will give you the ability to summon Rufio’s ghost to aid you in your battle (remember that guy?), and also a poisoned apple. Remember not to eat this, n00b.

There’s no way around this quest. You have to go back and kill them all. That’s it. Just go back and start hacking. Noone will run, they’ll just attack you when they see what you’re doing. You don’t have to kill the guardian though, I let him be.

Okay, first thing, that annoying Khajit now wants to be your friend. Stock up on spells and potions from him. Wait ‘til he’s training in the training room, and after he’s cast a few spells, attack. He wont have restored his magika yet and will be near helpless. Ocheeva and Vincente should be killed while they are sleeping in their private quarters, if this is possible.

Antoinette is often in the training room, but can be found asleep in the living quarters sometimes. Telaendril is harder to locate, as she moves around, but you’ll find a note on Ocheeva detailing her schedule. Hack her down.

The final dude is the huge orc. He may be a problem. The trick here is to take all the food off the table in the living quarters and place the poisoned apple on the table. He will eventually eat it, and die. If you have trouble with anyone, or are getting outnumbered, summon Rufio’s ghost to help you. He’s very useful.

The Purification is now complete. Every Dark Brotherhood member based out of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary has been killed. I must now report back to Lucien Lachance at Fort Farragut.


The Dead Drop

Don’t Worry, This Doesn’t Involve Corpses and High Places

Speak to Lucien back at his Fort.

According to Lucien Lachance, I will now receive my contracts, as well as any rewards I may be owed, by visiting secret dead drop locations scattered around Cyrodiil. My next contract can be found in a hidden hollow inside the moss-covered rock on the top of Hero Hill, which is to the southeast of Fort Farragut.

Lucien will promote you, and gift you his horse, Shadowmere. This is a very useful horse to have, use him. He’ll follow you when you fast travel. Get to Hero Hill on foot, as it’s quite a steep journey and the horse won’t make it. Once there, go up some stairs and look for a rock covered in moss. Look inside and get your orders.


The Affairs of The Wizard

No, He’s Not Cheating On His Wife, You Fool

Your journal will update. Remember to read the orders as they sometimes contain useful hints and tips.

I have received my new orders from Lucien Lachance. I must go to Leafrot Cave and kill a Necromancer who has begun the process of transforming himself into a lich. This Necromancer, Celedaen, has not yet completed his metamorphosis but is still incredibly powerful -- possibly too powerful to kill if faced directly. I should search the cave for Celedaen's writings, and try to discover his weakness

Follow the map marker to the cave. Travel by foot as the terrain is too hard for Shadowmere. Once in the cave, sneak around until you find your target’s journal. It’ll tell you that his soul is tied to an hourglass, which you must steal from him in order to kill him.

I have discovered the journal of the Necromancer Celedaen. It appears he has used a magic hourglass called the Sands of Resolve to turn himself into a lich and extend his life indefinitely. The process is not yet complete, however, and the hourglass must remain on Celedaen's person for some time, as it contains his life force. If I could remove the Sands of Resolve from Celedaen's possession, perhaps through pickpocketing, he would surely die.

Your target is further down the road, pacing between rooms. Sneak up to him and pickpocket the hourglass from him, and he will die. That easy. You can try and attack him without doing this, but he is roughly 15-20 levels above you and is a tricky opponent… so I don’t recommend this.

Once the wizard’s dead, your journal will update telling you where to get your next dead drop orders from. Go to Chorrol and get to the Great Oak. Circle the base whilst looking in the bushes and you’ll find the sack, it’s tricky to spot.


Next of Kin

This is a Really Unlucky Family

I have received my new orders from Lucien Lachance. I must kill every member of the Draconis family -- Perennia Draconis, Matthias Draconis, Andreas Draconis, Sibylla Draconis and Caelia Draconis. I know the location of only the family matron, Perennia Draconis, who can be found on the farm known as Applewatch. I should head to Applewatch, find out as much information as I can on the locations of the other family members, and then systematically kill them all.

Exit Bruma via the North Gate and follow the amp marker to Applewatch. Once there, speak to Perennia. She will think you’re the guy she hired to deliver presents to her children, and will give you a list detailing where to find your other victims. Handy, eh. Once you’ve finished this helpful conversation, kill her. One down…

Matthias’ house is in the Talos Plaza district, so head over there. It’s over in the north east, there should be a map marker. Break in at perhaps 2.a.m and kill him when his servant is around. I couldn’t do this because the servant kept popping up, so I waited ‘til he was on patrol and killed him. I got a 1000gold fine, but at the time I was feeling a bit plush. This is possible to do if you’re having trouble and have gold to spare.

Andreas is at the Drunken Dragon Inn. Its NorthEast of Leyawiin, for those of you who aren’t following your markers. Wait ‘til he goes to bed, and for the Imperial guy to wander off, and stealth kill him in one go. You shouldn’t get a bounty. This is pretty easy. If you’re feeling inventive, talk to him and tell him you killed his mother. He will attack you… and the Imperial Guard will step in and kill him for you. How nice.

Caelia is working as a Guard in Leyawiin. This is annoying. Don’t listen to the information given to you, she is found patrolling the city. You could tell her you killed her mother, but she’ll simply arrest you. I followed her to her room in the Three Sister’s Inn, at about 7-8 a.m. You can lock pick your way into her room and kill her there, in privacy. She’ll try and arrest you though, so be quick about it as you don’t want the Guard interrupting.

Sibylla is living like a wild hobo. She is in Muck Valley Cavern and will attack you on sight. The cave is full of evil critters, who’ll attack you (bears & wolves, mostly). She has a wolf that hangs ‘round with her. Be careful, she’s vicious, but you can kill her if you’re careful.

Once they’re all dead, your journal will update - you’re done. You’ll be told where your next dead drop can be found.


Broken Vows

Why is it Always The Guys’ Fault??

I have picked up my next contract from the dead drop in the Castle Skingrad well. I have been ordered to kill the Khajiit J'Ghasta, who can be found at his house in Bruma. J'Ghasta is a master of unarmed combat, and will prove a challenging opponent. I should also be aware that J'Ghasta is expecting trouble, and has paid off the guards to look the other way if our fight spills out into the city streets.

Fast Travel and get to Bruma’s East Gate. Follow the marker and break into his house… which is empty. Get to the bottom floor, and check beneath the stairs. Move the cloth out of the way and enter the hidden trapdoor. Here you’ll find J’Ghasta in his training room, and he will attack you. He is barefisted, but is well trained and can hurt you. You, however, have a sharp weapon. Insert it into him repeatedly until he isn’t moving; this means he is dead, you’ve won.

J'Ghasta is dead. I must pick up my reward and next contract at the dead drop located in the rotten box under the Old Bridge, just south of the Imperial City.

Follow the map marker to get to the Old Bridge to receive your next set of instructions.


Final Justice

How Many Kinds of Justice Are There?

You must now kill an Argonian huntress. She can be found in the Flooded Mine, follow the map marker to get there. She wanders around the mine most of the time, follow your marker to catch up with her. If you wait until just after 10p.m., she will be asleep, and much easier to kill. After she’s dead, your journal will once again update and tell you where to find your next dead drop. The journal knows all, remember.

I must pick up my reward and next contract at the dead drop located in the coffin just outside the ruins of Fort Redman.

The Fort itself is a vampires hideout, but you don’t need to enter it… so don’t. If you want to, visit later. It’s found North of Leyawiin’s NorthEast gate.


A Matter of Honor

Aren’t They All…

I have picked up my next contract from the dead drop in the coffin outside Fort Redman. I have been ordered to kill Alval Uvani, a Dark Elf merchant who spends his time traveling around Cyrodiil. I should consult the schedule that has been left for me to determine where and when I should strike. Uvani is a master in the Destruction school of magicka, and has killed before, but he does have a weakness: if Alval Uvani drinks Mead, he will be rendered immobile, due to a rare allergy to honey.

Okay, there are a few methods to get the mead into him. One is to travel to his home in Leyawiin, and replace everything edible / drinkable in there with mead, so when he’s home he’ll drink it. He isn’t home often though.

The second option is to follow him to the various pubs and inns he visits. If you’re skilled, you can steal all the food in the place and replace it with some mead, but this is much harder. He’ll steal his meal, and if there’s only mead available, that’s what he’ll take. However if you attack him here you may get a bounty for murder, unless you’re lucky (or stealthy).

I got him to drink mead in his home, as I stumbled across him there, which was lucky. He drank the mead and became paralysed, at which point I showed myself and murdered the poor guy. He can’t fight back, he just dies.

I have killed Alval Uvani. I must pick up my reward and next contract at the dead drop located in the Market District of the Imperial City, in a hollowed-out tree stump behind Stonewall Shields.

Get there, and follow the marker to the hollowed-out tree stump. Receive your new orders from the dead drop.

The Coldest Sleep

Who Turned The Heating Off?

You have to go and kill a Nord barbarian who lives in seclusion at a camp atop a mountain. The mountain will get marked on your map, and when you arrive it might seem a simple enough trek. It’s not. Follow the base of the mountain East, and you’ll find a road leading up the mountain. Take the road West at the fork, and follow it until you come to the camp.

Once there, your target will attack you, along with his pet. You’ll have to kill them both, and they can be tough. Once they’re dead, your journal will update once more.

I must now pick up my reward and next contract at the dead drop located in an old chest that is sunk into the pool at the Ayleid ruin of Nornal.

Nornal is South of Muck Valley Cavern. Inside, follow the stairs and take the passage right at the first junction you come to. You’ll come to a room filled with water- dive in, and you’ll find a chest floating in the middle of the room. Inside are you orders. Be quick about this, you don’t want to drown, do you. (no)


A Kiss Before Dying

You’ve Been Doing A Good Job So Far, Right…?

I must go to the city of Bravil, and lie in wait near the ancient statue known as the Lucky Old Lady. A Wood Elf named Ungolim visits the statue every night between around 6:00 PM and 1:00 AM to make a wish, as is the local custom. When I see Ungolim, I must kill him. I should be warned, however, that Ungolim has been alerted to danger, and if he senses an assassin will probably attack on sight. He has also bribed the guards to look the other way if there is a fight. Perhaps a stealth approach would be best...

Fast Travel to Bravil, and follow the marker to the statue. Ungolim is an archer and is good at hearing your stealth attacks, so look out, make sure you‘re a bit higher level stealth. If not, dive right in and get some good, solid hits in. He will attack you on sight, so beware.

Once he’s dead, your journal will update. Time to go get the next dead drop, off you go….

Not quite.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

Following a Lead

Lucien Lachance shows up and confronts you. Your dead drops have been fakes, and apparently you’ve been killing members of the Dark Brotherhood! You’ve decimated the Black Hand. Someone has clearly been switching dead drops to set up LL, but he believes you are innocent of this crime. He wants you to get to the bottom of this, while he hides out at Applewatch, as he’s no longer safe.

Get to anvil and you’ll find the barrel empty. Hide nearby and someone will come up and start fiddling with the barrel. Reveal yourself, and confront them. The culprit is a wood elf called Elinroth. He says he was told to place the orders in the barrel by someone else, and will direct you to the lighthouse. DON’T CARRY OUT THE ORDERS FROM THE DEAD DROP. You’ll need the character that they tell you to kill. You’ll ruin the entire quest line if you do. I just didn’t bother receiving the information at all, I just talked to Elinroth.

Speak to the lighthouse keeper and tell him who you represent. He’ll be terrified of you, and give you the key to the cellar as long as you let him live. The entrance is outside, so follow the marker out and get into the cellar. Something’s been going on down here… skulls everywhere, deformed corpses, that kinda stuff.

At the back of the cellar, you’ll find a diary. It details the traitors thoughts and his plans, clearing Lucien from the alleged killing of the other Black Hand members. If you want an interesting decoration for one of your homes, pick up the mother’s head. It’s a corpse’s head, but it’s unique within the game. (for good reason…. Ew).

Exit the cellar and Fast Travel to Applewatch. Enter… and you’re too late. The remaining members of the Black Hand have found Lucien and… Delt with him. Arquen will speak to you, promote you to speaker, and ask you to come back later and talk to her at 3 a.m. Lucien’s desecrated corpse is hanging behind her the whole time. Make a save here.

Handy note… outside apple watch you’ll see some headstones. If you read them, you’ll notice they’re the family you murdered earlier. Perennia’s headstone sounds angry… if you activate it, her ghost will attack you. So watch out.

Return at 3a.m. and speak to Arquen to trigger the next mission/thing.


Honor Thy Mother

Because We All Love Our Mother…

Arquen will speak to you at 3.a.m. Your journal will update, telling you to play along ‘til you can figure out who in the room is the traitor. Arquen tells you they are going to visit the Night Mother, who will decide the next Listener of the Black Hand. Your controls will be disabled and you’ll appear in Leyawiin before the statue of the Lady of Luck, and watch the members of the Black Hand perform the incantation. The statue will remove, exposing the door to the crypt below. Before you go down after the rest of the DB members, activate the statue for a bit of a luck boost- useful.

The incantation has revealed the hidden door to the Night Mother's crypt! I must follow the other members of the Black Hand down into the crypt. Once we're down there, the traitor will surely try to destroy the Night Mother. I must stop the traitor at all costs!

Once inside, you’ll loose control of your player again and can only watch the scene unfold. The Night Mother appears, and tells Arquen Lucien was a loyal follower, and she is angry they killed him. She tells Arquen the traitor is still among them, to everyone’s horror.

Suddenly, the man to your right, Mathieu Bellamont, has had enough. He reveals that yes, he’s the traitor.He will kill the other two men and make for the Night Mother. Arquen will call for you to stop him, before attacking herself. You will regain control, and should attack Mathieu straight away. Kill him, and your journal will update. The Night Mother will speak with you again. She offers you the status of Listener of the Black Hand, the highest rank [technically, guild master]. She says before you accept you should take what you want from the tomb, because there’s some good stuff and you won’t ever be able to come back again. Take what you want, speak to her, and accept. But remember to take Mathieu’s weapon, which is handy.

The Night Mother has named me Listener of the Black Hand! It would appear my days of killing for the Dark Brotherhood have come to an end. When I'm ready, I should speak to the Night Mother again and she will use her power to teleport me to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary.

When you’re done, and have accepted the Night Mother’s offer, she’ll transport you back to the Cheydinhal sanctuary. You’ll notice the stats of the Blade of Woe you got earlier have improved, thanks to the Night Mother. Your journal will update once back in the sanctuary.

Arquen will act as your speaker, and recruit new members for the DB and your sanctuary, which is pretty bare. All you have to do is visit the night mother once a week, by activating the statue in Bravil. Then report back to Arquen with the orders, and you’ll get 200 gold. After you’ve spoken to Arquen, your journal will update again.

You’ve now completed the quest line, congratulations!

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Once a week, I must speak with the statue of the Night Mother in Bravil. The Night Mother will give me a list of names and locations of people who require a visit from a Dark Brotherhood Speaker, to arrange an assassination. If I take this information to Arquen in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, she will give me my weekly earnings. I can do this every week for as long as I want, and there is no penalty if I choose not to.

Each time you visit and return from the Night Mother with orders, the DB’s sanctuary will repopulate with new members. You can command one of them to follow you, if you want.

Note - none of the names given to you by the Night Mother are actually NPCs in the game, so don’t try to carry out any of the quests yourself!

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On Expulsion

You remember the 5 Tenets? You’d better read up on them, then, they’re the rules of the guild. If you break the rules more than twice, you will be expelled [on the third time]. However, each time you break the tenets you’ll have to defeat an evil spirit sent by Sithis. The third time, you have to defeat the spirit, but will still not be reinstated into the guild.

[2nd Time]

I have slain the Wrath of Sithis, and am no longer exiled from the Dark Brotherhood. I may resume my duties as normal. I should be wary, however, for this was my last chance at redemption. If I invoke the Wrath of Sithis again, I will be forever exiled, even if the spirit is slain.

[3rd time]

I have been exiled from the Dark Brotherhood for breaking one of the Tenets. The next time I sleep, I will be visited by a spirit of vengeance known as the Wrath of Sithis. But even if I defeat this spirit, I will never be allowed to complete my duties in the Dark Brotherhood. I have gone too far, and Sithis is most displeased...

I have defeated the final incarnation of the Wrath of Sithis, but my relationship with the Dark Brotherhood can never be repaired...

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

5. The Fighters Guild

Joining The Fighters Guild

This is ultra-easy. Unlike the Dark Brotherhood or the Thieves Guild, this is simply a matter of talking to a member and wanting to join. Joining can be done in Anvil, where you should look for an NPC called Azzan, Chorrol (look for Vilena Donton), or finally in Cheydinhal, where you should look for the large orc called Burz gro-Kash. Speak to them and tell them you want to join, and they’ll make you members.

The next sections are the quests you’ll undertake. The first few may not be in the order you do them, as you initially have more than one person giving you quests, so if you do them differently, just skip backwards and forwards within the guide. Let’s say you start in Cheydinhal (hint hint, go there.)


The Desolate Mine

Talk to Burz gro-Kash in the Cheydinhal guild. Remember, try not to kill him even when he’s being extremely condescending and calling you “meat”. Killing members is not allowed.

You will be told to deliver a shipment of weapons to some members in a cave. The mine you are looking for is just NorthWest of Cheydinhal, but it will also be marked on your map. Travel there, probably on foot, unless you visited earlier. Enter the mine, and look for the NPC called Rienna.

Talk to each of the members after to work out which weapon to give them. Someone who says, “I like slashing people” probably wants a sword, and someone who says “I like smashing people with heavy weapons” would want the axe… you don’t really need to be told all this. Anyway, hand out the weapons, then you have to go flush out the goblins. Just run around killing them. If you’re low level, try and stick near the NPCs, who’ll help out, but it shouldn’t be a problem. There are quite a few though, just keep hacking away ‘til you get a journal update.

Go back to Cheydinhal and talk to Burz gro-Kash, who will reward you and promote you- congratulations.


A Rat Problem

To trigger this quest, you must travel to the guild in Anvil and speak with Azzan. He’ll direct you to Arvena, who has a rat problem. But not in the manner you’d think.

You see, when you talk to her you learn she likes her rats… the problem is something is killing them. Oh well, better go investigate. Follow the marker down into her basement, and you’ll find a mountain lion. In the house. Well, there’s a rather unsubtle problem. Kill the mountain lion, and return to Arvena.

She isn’t sure her problem is over yet, though, and wants you to kill the rest of the lions in the area. She will direct you to a hunter who can help, follow the marker to find him wandering ‘round Anvil. Speak with him, and he’ll agree to help. Just follow him, I know he’s slow, but he leads you straight to a load of lions. Once they’re all dead, return back to Arvena in Anvil. There are four lions, so make sure they’re all dead.

Great, done! Well, no. There’s a mountain lion in her basement again, so head down and kill it… again. Go back and speak to Arvena, who is sure someone called Quill-Weave is baiting the lions into her cellar. Okaaaay, paranoid much? Go hide outside the back or Arvena’s House, near the basement entrance (you’ll be able to see where it is). Make sure you’re not close enough for anyone to see you, and that you’re well hidden. Wait until around 8p.m., and watch Quill-Weave come and drop meet by the cellar’s rear entrance. Once she’s done, confront her about it, and she’ll confess.

You now have a choice. You can either rat her out to Arvena, and she will reward you by training you up in Speechcraft for free. Or, you can tell Arvena it wasn’t Quill-Weave, and Quill-Weave will train you in Acrobatics for free. Either way, you finish the quest, congrats.


The Unlucky Shopkeeper

You’re in Anvil, so you might as well get the next quest from Azzan. He’ll direct you to a store, just follow your map marker. This guy’s store keeps getting broken into, talk to the owner and he’ll ask you to stand guard in the shop overnight. Don’t worry, you won’t be trespassing.

Wait until it’s 7p.m., and start using the wait button for intervals of one hour. Eventually you will come round to see three thieves sneaking into the store. You don’t have a choice… kill them. They put up a bit of a fight, so make sure you’re ready, and they’re armoured up. There are also three of them.

Wait until the owner comes back in the morning, and speak to him. He’ll tell you all three were former employees, surprisingly. And that’s the end of this quest. Simple.


Unfinished Business

Go back to Azzan, in the Anvil guildhall. He’ll tell you that he doesn’t have any more quests for you, but gives you a promotion within the guild. He’ll direct you to Vilena, in the Chorrol guild. Speak to her, and she’ll tell you to speak to someone called Modryn Oreyn.

When you speak to Modryn, he’ll tell you someone named Maglir has not finished the quest he was assigned. Follow the map marker to locate Maglir, who’ll tell you he wasn’t being paid enough to complete the contract. So, it’s up to you to do it instead, as the helpful guy you are.

Fallen Rock is North and to the West of Skingrad, but is marked on your map again. Go in, but get ready for some serious battles. Follow your compass, and kill the ghosts and critters you come across, but KEEP THE ECTOPLASM. Trust me, you’ll thank me later. Eventually you’ll come across the journal you’re looking for… pick it up, and you can leave.

You may give it to Maglir or Modryn, but trust me, you don’t want to help out Maglir, and it doesn’t matter either way, so just go back and give it to Modryn. Done.


Drunk and Disorderly

Talk to Modryn for your next contract. You need to go to Leyawiin and sort out some problems being caused by rowdy members of the guild. Head over there.

Ask anyone in Leyawiin about the trouble, and you’ll be directed to the five claws lodge, it’s easy to locate. Talk with the men, and you’ll find the problem is there’s no work for them. The Blackwood Company have been undercutting their prices and doing jobs no respectable guild member would do, thus stealing all their business.

Talk to the woman behind the bar and raise her disposition until you can ask about someone called Margate. Find her and say hi, and she’ll tell you she can help.. If you find her five pieces of Ectoplasm. Lucky I told you to gather some earlier, right? If you still need one, the alchemists store in Skingrad near the East Gate sells one (and only one). Otherwise, you’re gonna have to go hunting.

Once this is done, talk to Margate and give her the Ectoplasm. She’ll tell you she’ll pay the fighters guild members for certain ingredients, so problem solved, they have something to do. Go tell them, and they’ll be grateful. Now go back to Modryn, who’ll promote you again.


Den of Thieves

Go speak to Azzan in Anvil when you want your next contract. You need to locate some thieves. Talk to anyone about this in the town, and they’ll direct you to an NPC who knows about them. Go talk to this guy, he’ll tell you all you need to know. He’ll also mention they took a flask from him, which you can pick up during the quest for a little bonus.

Head north of Anvil and follow the map, you’ll soon find the cave. All you need to do is head on inside and kill everyone you come across. Make sure you get ‘em all, and loot their treasure in the big pit at the end. Also, check around for the heirloom for the NPC you spoke to before, it’s easy to find.

Once done, return the heirloom to the NPC first, and then go speak to Azzan, in that order. You’re done.


Amelion’s Debt

Head over to Burz gro-Kash in Cheydinhal for this quest. You need to retrieve a heirloom for a girl named Biene, in a small village called Water’s Edge, near Leyawiin. Once again, it’s on your map.

Speak to her, and she’ll tell you she needs money to pay off her debts. You need to go into a family tomb, fight the baddies, and get the armor at the end, and return it to her. OR, just give her 1000 gold and keep the armor… or don’t bother getting it at all. The tomb will be literally East of your position, on the compass and across the lake.

It’s a pretty linear path inside the cave, just follow it ‘til the end. There are some tough ghost-like creatures in here, so bring silver or magical weapons and lots of health potions. Remember to look out for a rope you have to pull at some point, which opens up a secret door, but otherwise, there’s not much more direction you’ll need.

Now, give her the money or the armor, whatever. The armor is nothing special, so I handed it over. Return to Cheydinhal, and you’ll get another advancement - score.

 
The Masters Son

Now go over to Chorrol. Speak to Modryn, and he’ll explain you need to escort the guild master’s son on a mission. Don’t worry, he can’t die, so it’s a bit of a doss mission really. Go and find the guy - called Viranus. Tell him not to go speak to his mother, there’s no time. He’ll follow you now.

Head to the cave you’ve been told to visit. It’s NorthWest of Chorrol, and you may have to walk there unless you can Fast Travel somewhere close. Anyway, it’s the same idea, go inside and chop up the evil creatures. You will find the corpse of the NPC you’ve been sent looking for, Galtus Previa. Too bad.

When the journal updates, head back to Modryn and inform him of the news. Viranus will leave, but don’t worry, Modryn has another quest for you already.


Unfinished Business, Part Two

After speaking to Modryn, head out to Bravil and get over to the Lonely Suitor’s Lodge. Talk to the idiotic midget. He tells you that he’s no longer in the fighters guild, and has joined the Blackwood company. I revise my earlier statement, he’s a traitorous midget as well. Report the news back to Modryn. You’ll be instructed to once again, finish his contract.

An NPC at the mages guild wants you to collect imp gall for her, and suggest a Glen you can visit where it’ll be easily retrieved. You need to collect 10 portions, so head to the Glen, which will appear on your map and compass.

Inside there are a bunch of imps and a troll, watch out for the latter. The imps are easy to kill. You needn’t kill anyone, just enough to get the 10 imps galls you need, by looting the corpses of fallen imps. Return to the NPC you met earlier at the mages guild and give her the galls, she’ll give you a ring in return. How nice. Return to Modryn, who will promote you and end this quest.


Azani Blackheart

Talk to Modryn again, and he’ll tell you he has some unofficial business he want to talk to you about. Meet him at 8p.m. in his house, follow the compass to get there. Talk to him, and he’ll direct you to Leyawiin, where he wants you to meet him again. Fast travel there.

Once there, head to the place you’ve been directed to, Modryn will follow you. When you get to Arpenia, explore everywhere, and you’ll find it’s deserted. Make sure you go absolutely everywhere, including through a couple of obvious traps. After you’ve checked everywhere, Modryn will tell you he knows somewhere else the person you’re searching for may be hiding. Follow him.

You’ll actually need to follow him now, and he’s slow, but there’s no way around it. When you get there, enter the ruins. He’ll follow you once you’re inside, and explore until you come across Azani. Make sure you’re wearing Light Armour, as you’ll want to loot his goodies. Loot his ring, as well, for Modryn. After you speak to Modryn with the ring, he will leave, and you can too.


The Wandering Scholar

Go to Anvil and speak with Azzan again. You need to get to a cave and guide (and protect) a scholar who wants to explore some ruins. Head to Kavatch, and go North and a bit East, but use the compass to make sure you’re heading the right way. Once there, talk to the scholar.

She’ll lead the way, so follow, but keep a sharp eye out. There are some serious enemies in here, and can be pretty challenging. I found a storm atronach and a bunch of daedra. There are some separate smaller battles where you need to defend the scholar from some enemies, before moving on, and fighting another small battle, ad infitum… until you reach the end. She’ll tell you she’s come far enough, but wishes to remain (in the cave full of bad guys?… fine.). You may now leave, but return to Azzan for some gold.

The quest is now complete.


The Fugitives

Now, go to Cheydinhal and Burz gro-Kash. He’ll instruct you to go to Bravil and find out about some escaped fugitives. Talk to some people around Bravil, and by bribery or persuasion, get them to like you enough to speak freely about the subject.

You’ll find you need to go to Bloodmayne cave, where they’re rumoured to be hiding. There are two ways to enter the cave. You’ll have to enter through both to kill them all. Simply follow the compass points when inside and kill the fugitives as you run into them. It’s possible to put some stealth to good use in here, and can be handy. There are four people you need to kill, and one of them is on a level you won’t be able to reach. A couple of well-placed arrows with deal with this one, though.

Once they’re all dead, return to Burz gro-Kash to end this quest. You’ll get another promotion, congratulations.


Trolls in the Forsaken Mine

Go back to Chorrol and speak with Modryn. You’ll be directed to a cave (full of trolls, but you don’t know that yet), where a lot of members have been sent but haven’t returned… including Viranus, remember him? Oh dear. Travel to the cave, enter, and fight your way through all the trolls. You’ll eventually come to Viranus’ corpse. Take and read his journal.

Get back to Modryn and report the bad news. This ends the quest… time to look for some more work.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

The Noble’s Daughter

Go to Burz gro-Kash and speak to him about this contract. He’ll direct you to an orc (a good orc) who has a mansion in the middle of nowhere. Riiiight. Head over there and talk to the orc in question, who has a name so long and hard to type I’m not going to bother trying. He is not called, for all intents and purposes, “Mister Orc”. He can’t speak well, but you’ll get the drift… he’s missing his daughter.

Okay, head east out of the mansion and grounds, and you’ll come across three ogres. You’ll have to kill them at the same time, and it can be tricky. Potions are recommended. Once dead, speak to the lady orc and return her to Mister Orc. He’ll be very happy, and give you a sword, yay.

Return to Cheydinhal and speak to Burz gro-Kash, who is happy and even has a new contract for you.


Mystery at Harlun’s Watch

Follow your map and compass to locate the small village, and speak to Drarana. Try to do this quest at night. You’ll find the villagers have been disappearing, and you have to go investigate. Follow the compass and you’ll come to some Willow The Wisps, loitering around. They’re spirits, so your normal weapons won’t hurt them, and they’re hard to kill anyway. It is possible to keep luring them away, if you’re having trouble, until you’re free to simply walk into the cave indicated by your compass marker.

Search around the cave, and kill any trolls who attack you. You’ll eventually find a room off one of the passageways full of corpses, [dead] skeletons, and a troll. Kill the troll, and your journal will update. Apparently the trolls have been feeding on the villagers who fled into the caves, away from the Willow The Wisps outside.

Now you can leave and go back to Drarana. Tell her the bad news, then go back to Burz gro-Kash to end the quest.

 
The Stone of St. Alessia

You need to go to Anvil and speak to Azzan about this one. Talk with him, then go to Bruma and talk to the priest inside the chapel. The stone has been stolen by thieves, so leave the town and head east. You’ll run into a lone thief, so walk over and say hi. He says that his band of mates stole the stone, then got attacked by ogres, who’ve retreated to their lair with the stone. He’s even kind enough to mark out the ruins on your map. Fast Travel to get there, it’s a way away to the East.

Explore the ruins, kill the bad guys you run into (ogres), and eventually you’ll find the stone behind a gate you can’t open. Look behind and up, there’s a balcony- get up there. There is a block up there you press (once) and it’ll open the gate. Get back down, and take the stone.

Now return it to the priest. He’ll give you three strong potions of healing. Once your journal updates, head back to Azzan to end the quest. Simple, but the ogres can be a problem. Make sure you’re prepared and have saved before entering.

You’ll be told to go visit Burz gro-Kash, but don’t, there’s no need. Get yourself promoted by Azzan.


Information Gathering

Now, talk to Modryn. Find him by using your compass, duh! He wants you to join the Blackwood company. Yeah, you heard right. To find out about the Company first though, he tells you of a cave where one of the leaders is hiding out at. Head over there, using your map and compass. It is just East of Chorrol.

Inside, you must kill everyone. EVERYONE. Then go talk to the leader, indicated by the compass. Oh, don’t kill him though. Talk with him and he’ll follow you- if he refuse though, hit him a bit (barefisted) until he agrees. Take him back to Modryn, you can use Fast Travel.

When you get to him, he’ll tell you to get the Blackwood Company Leader to sit in the chair. (you’ll be in Modryn’s house, btw). You have to interrogate him. Talk to him, and when he refuses to answer your questions, punch him a bit, then ask again. You’ll get so far in the conversation, before he’ll refuse to go on again. Punch him a bit more. Repeat this cycle - don’t kill him - until eventually, just before the last question, he’ll commit suicide. Dang it.

The journal will update, and Modryn will give you the amulet of interrogation. He wants you to infiltrate the Blackwood company now.


Infiltration

After talking to Modryn, head to Leyawiin. Follow the compass to the headquarters and ask the leader about joining.. He’ll let you. Follow him into the basement, drink the hist. You’ll appear at Water’s Edge, remember this place? Not quite the same now, though.

There are goblins everywhere. Remember not to hit your new buddies, though. Slaughter the goblins outside, who don’t fight back for some reason. You’ll be informed there are more goblins inside. Head into the houses to do your duty. Notice before you kill them that they seem… almost at home. Kill the goblins inside the houses, and you’ll get an update in your journal. You will now pass out.

You’ll wake up in Modryn’s house, speak to him. He instructs you to return and look around Water’s Edge, to check what happened in your hist-induced rampage.

When you arrive, you’ll meet Biene’s father. You remember her, right? Okay. You’ll notice everyone is dead. The man doesn’t know it, but it’s your fault, you killed them all… even the sheep. Speak to him, then leave, and feel ashamed. Get back and tell Modryn about this, who won’t be too happy, and who can blame him.


The Hist

You must head to the Blackwood Company’s Headquarters in Leyawiin, and put simply, kill everyone. Travel there, and expect a battle with multiple leveled NPCs at the same time. I had to fight three, first thing through the door, so I advise you save before entering. Lookout for people with enchanted weapons, as they hurt. Try to loot as much as possible, but save room for the guy right upstairs, who has some sweet equipment. Kill everyone in every room apart from the locked one on the bottom floor (there is some Nirnroot in a pot on the first floor).

At the top floor, you’ll battle Ri’Zakar. Kill him and take the keys he has on him. You can now open the locked door downstairs, which leads to the Hist Tree. Rest, heal and save before entering.

Enter, and battle the two mages you find inside. Once they’re dead, search the room until you come across some loose pipes you can put into your inventory (actually pick up and take). Go to both ends of the big machine in the center of the room, and activate the bit with the spinning wheels. You’ll use the pipes. Once you’ve done this on both sides of the machine, it’ll blow up, killing the tree. Ace. Save, and leave the room.

Back in the headquarters lobby, you’ll come across that annoying midget Maglir. He is angry with you, and wants to fight. Beat him, a lot. Make sure you hurt him before you finally kill him, you know he deserves it. He’s not much of an opponent, you can see why he’s a total failure at everything. You’re really putting him out of his misery.

Go back to Modryn and speak with him. He’ll give you the Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw. Now go back to the fighters guild and talk to Vilela Donon, who’ll make you head of the fighters guild. You can reappoint Modryn as you’re second-in-command. A bit like Arquen, in the Dark Brotherhood. Go and tell Modryn the good news, and he’s happy.

Talk to him again and decide what he should do. Each week you can return and get some gold, as well as decide what you want him to be doing again.

Congratulations, you’re done!

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

6. The Mages Guild

Joining The Mages Guild

Important Note - You may only join the Mages guild if you don’t have a bounty.

Joining the Mages Guild is easy, you must visit the Guild headquarters in any of the towns around Cyrodiil and speak to the people listed below. Ask them about joining, and when they ask if you want to be their newest recruit, say “yes”.

• Skingrad Mages Guild - Adrienne Berene
• Chorrol Mages Guild - Teekeeus
• Bravil Mages Guild - Kud-Ei
• Cheydinhal -Mages Guild - Falcar
• Leyawiin Mages Guild - Dagail
• Anvil Mages Guild - Carahil

You cannot visit the Arcane University in Imperial City just yet, so don’t go there.

When joining, make sure you’re aware of the punishments that you’ll receive from the Guild should you break one of their rules. If you steal from a member, you will have to collect 20 Dragon’s Tongue Flowers and 20 Redwort Flowers. If you murder a member, you will have to find 20 portions of vampire dust and 20 daedra hearts. Sounds fun, right?…


Recommendations

First things first, you’ll want to be allowed into the Arcane University, otherwise you’ll never get promoted or get any real quests. But to get in there, every guild master from the Mages Guilds listed above must send a recommendation about you to the University. They’ll each have a task to set you before you get their recommendation.. You don’t have to go about them in the order I’ve listed, but I did.

Bruma Recommendation

Jeanne Frasoric has tasked me with finding J'Skar. I should speak with the guild mages in Bruma.

In the cellar of the guild you’ll find Volanaro. Raise his disposition towards you and he’ll tell you the truth about where J’Skar really is. [ bribing and persuasion works here ] . He’ll ask you to steal the manual of spell craft, which is really easy. Follow the map markers [ it’s all inside the guild hall ] and, using lock picks or the unlock spell you’ve been taught, get to the room you’re supposed to be in and steal the book.

I have Jeanne's Manual of Spellcraft. I need to deliver it to Volanaro.

Give him the book, and you’ll be told to return after 10pm. Do so. J’Skar will appear, and you can go and tell Jeanne the “good” news. She’ll agree to send her recommendation to the University. One down…


Bravil Recommendation

I've been given a charm scroll and need to use it to help persuade Varon Vamori in Bravil to return Ardaline's staff.

Any means necessary, eh? Don’t get too excited. Anyway, you have to track down this darned staff and return it. Follow the compass to Varon and use a scroll on him so he’ll like you, then speak to him. He’ll tell you he sold it to a mate in Imperial City. Return to Kud-Ei and tell her this, she’ll want you to travel there and get it.

In the Talos Plaza District you’ll find the guy you’re looking for, follow the compass and you’ll be fine. Now, you have two choices. Use the scrolls on him, and he’ll agree to sell the staff to you for 200 gold. Use the scrolls on his wife, and she’ll tell you where he’s keeping the staff and where he keeps the key to the chest the staff is in. Are you good or bad? Now it’s time to decide.

So, steal the staff or buy it, then return to Kud-Ei. She’ll be grateful, and send her recommendation as well. Good going, you now have two.


Cheydinhal Recommendation

So, you need to get something called the “Ring of Burden” which has been dropped down a well. Think about it, and you’ll figure out that this sounds slightly suspicious. Think… oh, whatever, you’ll twig later on.

Wait until Falcar isn’t around, and talk to Deetsan.

I need to enter the well behind the Mages Guild in Cheydinhal to retrieve a Ring of Burden for Falcar. The last person given this task has disappeared; should I learn anything about him, I should speak to Deetsan.

The last person down there disappeared? Uh-oh. Let Deetsan teach you the spell buoyancy, and head over to the well. Before you enter, drop any heavy stuff. The Ring of Burden adds 200points of weight to the carrier… so if you become over-burdened, you’re going to drown. Get it now? Alright, enter the well. Get down there, hold your breath and dive. Cast the spell, by the way! Look around and you’ll notice someone else floating down there. I guess you’ve found your predecessor. Take the ring back to Deetsan. There’s also a Nirnroot plant down there… take it.

Deetsan will tell you the Falcar’s disappeared, and wants you to look into it.

I need to search Falcar's quarters in the Cheydinhal Mages Guild for any sign of his recommendation letter. If found, it should be given to Deetsan along with anything unusual.

Search his room and find the two black soul gems in the dresser by his bed… but no recommendation. Take the gems to Deetsan, who’ll be a bit taken aback. After a bit of talking, she’ll send the recommendation instead of Falcar. Great!

Anvil Recommendation

Speak to Carahil and he’ll tell you about some kidnapping and murders that have been going on, and he wants you to help solve the mystery. Where’s Scooby and the gang when you need them, eh?

I need to speak to Arielle Jurard at the Brina Cross Inn north of Anvil.

When you get there, follow the instructions given to you… they’re extremely simple. Eventually you’ll be instructed to sleep, and then leave the inn and travel along the road in a particular direction. Do so, and you’ll eventually be greeted by someone you’ll have seen in the inn. This NPC will attack you, so kill her. Loot her body and take the note you find, as well as the keys. Go back to the inn and find her room, where there’s some loot in a chest you can steal as well.

Return to Carahil to get your recommendation.

Skingrad Recommendation

In order to get a recommendation from Adrienne Berene, I need to find Erthor and return him to the Skingrad Mages Guild. I should speak with other guild mages to learn his whereabouts.

Ask various people around the place and they’ll tell you where Erthor is. Make sure you find and speak to Vassinus and Druja in the Guild, they’re especially helpful.

I have been told that Erthor was last seen at Bleak Flats Cave, west of Skingrad. I should remind Adrienne of this.

Head out there and you’ll find him at the heart of the cave, which is full of zombies. You have to kill them all before Erthor deems it safe to come out. Speak to him, and either escort him back to the guild or send him away on his own. Report back to the guild hall for your recommendation.


Leyawiin Recommendation

I need to find an amulet so that Dagail will send a recommendation to the Arcane University for me. Agate may know more.

Speak to Agate, who tells you Dagail needs an amulet to control the visions she’s been having. Speak to various guild members, but particularly Sdrassa and Alves. They tell you to speak to Kalthar, so find him and speak to him. You’ll then be told by your journal [ which has a mind of it’s own… ] to go and speak to Agate again.

She’ll direct you to Dagail, who’ll give you a vision / riddle. Fantastic. Luckily your remarkable journal translates, and tells you to find the fort where Dagail’s father used to be stationed at. You’ll be pointed to Fort Blueblood, so get there.

There are quite a few enemies in here, take them out whilst exploring the Fort. You’ll eventually find an inner room, and a coffin, with an amulet inside. Take the amulet. NOTE- you’ll need some silver/daedric/magical weapons for the more ghost-like inhabitants of the Fort.

Head back out, and you’ll meet Kalthar. You need to fight him (and win) to get out. Kill him and loot the keys to the Fort off of his body, then leave. Return to Dagail who’ll thank you and agree to send off the recommendation.


Chorrol Recommendation

Right, time to collect your final recommendation [ If you’ve been following the guide! ]

Earana has asked me to bring her a book titled Fingers of the Mountain so that she may translate it. I need to tell Teekeeus about this immediately.

To get that journal entry, speak to Teekeeus and then follow his instructions to find and speak to Earana. Teekeeus also wants that book apparently, or so you learn when you report back to him. Head to Cloud Top Ruin and you’ll find a corpse, which contains the book.

I recommend you go back and give the book to Teekeeus, not Earana [ you’ll see why ]. He’ll thank you and get you your recommendation. But there’s more.

• If you want the “Fingers of the Mountain” spell, which is very powerful, speak to Earana. She’ll ask you to steal the book back from Teekeeus - improvise, and do so. Make sure you’re strong enough to withstand a lot of damage, because you’re directed back to Cloud Top and a ruined pillar, which you have attack with a shock spell. You’ll then be hit by lightning… if you’ve survived, you have the Fingers of the Mountain spell, yay. Return to Chorrol, and you can steal the book back from Earana by looting her room at the Gray Mare, and then give it back to Teekeeus. Now everyone’s happy.

I have received recommendations from all of the local guild halls in Cyrodiil. I must now travel to the Arcane University and speak with Raminus Polus.

Travel there, and speak to Raminus. He’ll give you the robes of the Apprentice and promote you. You can now enter the Arcane University at will.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

A Mage’s Staff

Speak to Raminus to receive this quest.

I need to find the grove near Wellspring Cave, northeast of the Imperial City, to acquire wood for my Mage's Staff.

When you arrive there, enter the cave. You’ll be attacked by a Necromancer, so be prepared. Explore and you’ll find the body of the person you were supposed to meet. Loot the corpse for her keys, and proceed through the cave. You’ll find another exit, so leave. You’ll be confronted by quite a few more Necromancers, which may be a problem as they all attack at the same time. When they’re dead, your journal will update.

The necromancers that ambushed me have been defeated. I need to get wood for a staff and get back to Raminus Polus to tell him what's happened.

Don’t leave, look for Elleta’s body and “activate” it for another entry in your journal. Now, in the small grove there’s a chest, open it for the wooden staff you’ve been looking for. Take this to Raminus.

You’ll be told to find Delmar, who’ll make your staff. It can either be in the school of destruction [fire, frost or shock], illusion [charm, paralyse or silence], or mysticism [soul trap, telekinesis or dispel]. You can choose for yourself, I’m sure!

Come back 24hours later and pick up your finished staff. Then return to Raminus, who’ll advance you within the guild and give you your next quest.


Ulterior Motives

You’ve been asked to go to Skingrad and talk to the castle steward. Fast travel there, and follow your compass marker to find the guy. Speak to him and he’ll update your journal.

Mercator Hosidius told me the Count will meet with me North of the Cursed Mine west of town at 2am.

For those of you who are really, really gullible, this is a trap. Of course it is, the “cursed mine”, “2a.m”… it sounds like something out of a bad movie [ or an obvious video game! ]. Anyway, you still have to go, but prepare for battle. Mercator will confront you with two Necromancers, and you have to battle them all.

The count will appear and speak with you when you’re done.

Count Hassildor saved me from the ambush set by Mercator Hosidius. I need to deliver his message to Raminus Polus.

Speak to Raminus, who’ll explain all. He’ll also tell you about the count’s secret… which I’ll be keeping to myself. Odd though, that he’s never around apart from when it’s night, huh? **nudge**.

Your journal will update, and you’ll be promoted once again to Evoker.


Vahtacen’s Secret

Raminus Polus has asked that I speak with Irlav Jarol about assisting with his research.

Find Jarol - the dude with the really, really white robes - and speak to him.

I need to find the Ayelid ruins of Vahtacen and speak with Skaleel.

Go and speak to Skaleel first off.

A room in Vahtacen contains a pillar that reacts to magic. I need to figure out how it works, but I must be careful so that I am not harmed. Its been suggested that I should stay away from anything but simple, single effect spells.

Go into the ruins and speak to Denel. Look through the trunk just behind him and take all the spell scrolls, you’ll need them. Go speak to Skaleel again about reference materials. Ask about it, and she’ll give you some stuff that’ll help Denel translate. If you can’t find her, don’t worry, just skip to the next step.

Stand in the southwest corner of the room with the pillar. Shoot a fire spell at the pillar from that corner and it’ll react… hmm. Now, move to the left into the next corner, and shoot a frost spell. The pillar will move, a bit. Move to the left, again, and get into the next corner. Shoot a damage magika spell from here, and the pillar will react again. Move to the final corner, going to the left once more. Fire a fortify magika at the pillar from here, and the pillar unlocks. You solved the puzzle!

I've solved the puzzle of the pillar, opening up more of the ruins of Vahtacen.

Enter. There’ll be a lot of ghosts and wraiths, so have a silver/daedric/magical weapon ready. There are more than a few traps around, too. When you get to the last room, head up the staircase in the North end, and activate the switch you’ll find to your right. Go back to the last room you were just in and up the stairs that have just appeared in the middle of the room… be careful of the skeletons who’ve recently appeared. There’s a switch at the top of the steps on a pillar, press it and take the item you’ll find.

I've found an object deep within Vahtacen. I should take it to Skaleel.

Skaleel will tell you to take the item back to Irlav. Do so, to end the quest.


Necromancer’s Moon

Speak to Raminus.

I need to go to the Mystic Archives and speak with Tar-Meena.

Tar-Meena told me to find a book called "Necromancer's Moon." I need to look for it in the Mystic Archives of the Arcane University.

The book is on a table by the door, pick it up and read it, then return to Tar-Meena. Then go talk to Raminus, who’ll tell you to go and talk to Bothiel. Mention advancement to him at this point and he’ll promote you.

Find and speak to Bothiel, using the journal and the compass. She’ll give you a note and send you back to speak to Raminus. Boy, there’s a lot of back and forth here.

I need to find the Dark Fissure, south of Cheydinhal, before the next time "the Shade of the Revenant" occurs. I should be on the lookout for the "heavenly lights" mentioned in the Necromancer's book.

Good, something to actually do. You should be able to walk to Dark Fissure from Vahtacen. Once you get there, hide out for a while until it’s night… you’ll actually have to stay in-game rather than use the wait button. You’ll eventually see a Necromancer come out and make a Black Soul Gem… attack him, and take the note from his corpse. Alternatively, you can enter the cave and fight the first Necromancer you find, and just take the note from that guy.

I have found evidence of Necromancers creating Black Soul Gems at the Dark Fissure Cave, as well as other altars throughout Cyrodil. I need to get this information to Raminus Polus at the Arcane University.

Talk to Raminus again. You now report to the Archmage for your quests.


Liberation or Apprehension?

Speak to Hannibal Traven, the Archmage dude.

I need to travel to Nenyond Twyll, south of the Imperial City, and make sure Mucianus Alias is safely rescued from the Necromancers there. I am to escort him back to the Arcane University.

Head there, and you’ll meet the NPC you’ve been told to meet, whose name is hard to remember and worse to type. Great, follow him… but not too close. Why? Because the moron runs right into a trap and gets himself killed.

Head further into the ruins and fight the Necromancers you’ll come across, watch for traps and the like. Eventually you’ll run into Mariette who tells you that Alias is now a worm thrall… and isn’t going to be leaving.

Continue into the bottom chamber, and follow the compass until you find the hidden door behind which is Alias. “Activate” him and your journal will update… there’s not really much left of him anymore. You can now return to Traven and tell him the bad news.

I've found Mucianus Alias. He's been transformed into some kind of walking dead; there's nothing I can do for him. I should report his fate to Hannibal Traven at the Arcane University.

After talking to Traven, report to Raminus who’ll promote you to Warlock.

Information at a Price

Speak to Traven, who’ll direct you to Skingrad and Hai-Liurz. Speak to her and she’ll tell you what to do.

Count Hassildor has information that he will provide only if I remove the Vampire Hunters lurking around Skingrad, as well as a nest of vampires in Bloodcrust Cavern outside of town.

Okay, get to the Cavern and you’ll have to kill all the vampires. Collect the vampire dust, and once you’ve got it all your journal will update. You can now go and talk to the vampire hunters, and when you’ve shown them the dust they’ll just leave.

If you want to, you can tell the hunters where the vampires are, and let them go fight. Wait until your journal (eventually) updates, telling you which faction is dead, then go to the Cavern and finish off the leftovers. OR… you can just kill both factions, both the vampires and the hunters. I recommend the first option.

Now return to the castle and speak to the count.

Count Hassildor's news about Mannimarco must be delivered to Hannibal Traven right away.

Return, and speak to Traven. Wait at least three days before returning, and speaking to him again for your next quest.


A Plot Revealed

Hannibal Traven wants me to check in with Jeanne Frasoric at the Bruma Mages Guild. I should go there immediately.

When you arrive at the Bruma mage’s guild…

I have arrived at the Bruma Mages Guild. It appears to have been attacked. I should look for survivors.

There are lots of wraiths, make sure you’re prepared for them. Fight your way through the guild, there’s only one route. In the final room, kill the Necromancer you find… and someone appears in front of you. Don’t attack! It’s J’Skar.

J'Skar is the only survivor of the slaughter at the Mages Guild Hall in Bruma. He's given me information about the King of Worms. Hannibal Traven should be told immediately. I should return to the Imperial City.

Tell Traven about this. Wait another three days, and then return for the continuation of the quest. You’ll be told to go and retrieve two items from different Forts - go get them.

First, go to Fort Teleman. Fight your way through the Necromancers until you find Irlav’s corpse. Loot it for the Bloodworm Helm. Take it back to Traven for the journal update.

Now, you have to make your way to Fort Ontus, probably having to make a bit of a trek unless there’s somewhere for you to Fast Travel to.

Travel through the fort, speaking to the “mages” on your way through, who’ll direct you to Carayana. Speak to her, but she’s uncooperative… so kill her. Get close and chop her into small pieces. When she’s dead, your journal will update…

Caranya was a traitor to the Mages Guild and intended to deliver the Amulet to the King of Worms. I need to get out of Fort Ontus and take the Amulet back to the Arcane University.

Be careful on the way out, the “mages” are really Necromancers and will attack you. I was stealthy and just sneak killed them all on my way out. Speak to Traven and Raminus, who’ll promote you to Master Wizard.

Ambush

Speak to the Archmage for this quest.

I need to travel to the south of Cyrodil and meet a group of Battlemages preparing to storm the ruins of Silorn.

I have arrived at Silorn, and spoken with Thalfin. We cannot enter the ruins, so I must help prepare an ambush for the Necromancers when they attempt to leave.

Speak to them, and they’ll tell you about each of their abilities. You have to decide if they wait up close or further back. I put Iver and Thafil up close, with Merete further back. The Necromancers will emerge and the ambush will take place. You can try to stop Falcar running back into the ruins, but I found it impossible. I did get a few good slashes in on him though, which helped later in the battle.

Falcar has fled back into the ruins of Silorn. I must find him.

There are a load of Necromancers and switches, but it shouldn’t be too hard for you to figure out. You’ll find Falcar… behind a gate. You’ll come to an area where you can see him, but the gate is blocking your way. Up and behind you is the switch you need, upon the balcony. You have to backtrack your way through the ruins until you find a room with Alchemy equipment in, and locate the switch on one of the pillars. It’ll open a secret doorway for you to go through, which leads to that balcony and the switch.

Press the switch and jump down to go through the gate. Be prepared for a tough battle with Falcar. Once he’s dead, loot his body and take the Soul Gem you find.

I've recovered the Black Soul Gem. It needs to be taken back to Hannibal Traven at the Arcane University.

Take the Gem back to Traven to end this quest.


Confront the King

Hannibal Traven has promoted me to Arch-Mage, and has tasked me with stopping the King of Worms. I need to take the Black Soul Gem to Echo Cave and confront him.

Speak to Traven, who’ll promote you, before nobly sacrificing himself to put his soul into the Gem. It’ll prevent the King of Worms turning you into a Thrall, so be grateful. He’s now dead, by the way, but you’ve still got to kill the King of Worms before you’re officially Archmage. Search Traven’s body and take the Soul Gem.

Follow your map and compass to Echo cave, and kill the annoying guard outside who has the key. When you enter the cave, your journal will update.

I've arrived at Echo Cave, and have gained access to Mannimarco's lair. I need to find him inside and put an end to him.

Make your way through the cave, killing Necromancers as you go. At the bottom of the cave, you’ll finally run into Mannimarco, the King of Worms. About time too. He has his big “evil speech”, then get on with the job and kill him. He’s not much of an opponent, just don’t let him get off to many spells.

I have killed the King of Worms. I should return to the Arcane University to announce his defeat.

I took his staff, for the memories. (!) Anyway, return to the Arcane University and speak to Raminus.

Raminus Polus thanked me for putting an end to the King of Worms, and has recognized me as Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild.

Congratulations, Archmage!  You will be given the Archmage’s robes and hood, and the office is now yours. [ note - there’s the Ice Staff in your office you had to steal in the Thieves Guild quest. It’s quite cool, and it’ll respawn back in the office wherever you drop it… I think! ] You can now also get an Apprentice to follow you around, if you so wish.

There is also a stupid chest you put ingredients in, which after 24hours respawn again in numbers… yay, but it doesn’t work for Nirnroot. Be careful about this, because the chest looks totally normal, and if anything but ingredients go in it, then the item will disappear. Forever. This is how I lost an entire set of Dwarven Armour and, worst of all, my Cowl of Nocturnal. Dang it!

This is the end of your Mages Guild quest line. Well done.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

7. The Thieves Guild

Joining the Thieves Guild

I’ve noticed a lot of questions about this particular subject on the forums, so here are the official methods to join. There are two ways, listed below.

• The first and easiest way, it to head over to the shacks by the Imperial Waterfront between midnight and 3a.m. This should be where all the beggars hang around too. (imperial waterfront is to the southeast of imperial city, for you newbies). Check the gardens that back onto the large wall along the waterfront, and in one of them you’ll stumble across a group of three people. One will be carrying a torch- go speak to him. Make sure he likes you before you ask anything, persuasion or bribing works. His name for the record is Armand Christophe. Once he likes you, (aim for around level 70 on the persuasion-scale), ask about the Thieves Guild, which is an option triggered by asking about the Grey Fox. You should get all the information you need to join from him now.

• The second and more purist way to join is to get caught by the guards in Imperial City for theft. Put up with their annoying one-liners (“stop right there, criminal scum!”) and let them take you away to jail. Once you’re released, head back to the trade district, and you will be approached after a time by a beggar. Don’t worry, he doesn’t want shoes for his dying children. This one’s useful. He’ll give you a note about joining the guild. Why the guild wants a thief that keeps getting caught, I don’t know.

Right, follow the instructions so far given to you by me or an NPC… or the note. After talking to Armand Christophe, you will have to race two NPCs to steal a diary and return it to Armand. Whoever completes this task first, gains entry to the guild. Don’t hand around you fool, this is actually a race.

He tells you it’s in the city and that you should ask the beggars. Don’t. Follow the woman, who seems to have some homing device and heads straight for the diary. Follow her, and even if you enter the house just after her you can still beat her to the diary with ease. The exact directions are: run past the lighthouse at the waterfront and enter the Temple District of Imperial City. Straight away, take a sharp right into the small alley and turn left at the end. The second door on the left is the one you want. Check the desk on the right side of the room to find the diary you seek. Yay, now take it back to Armand. Don’t worry, the race ends once you have it and you won’t be troubled by the other contestants.

Important note - do NOT kill the other contestants. Killing ANY member of the thieves guild results in immediate expulsion. don’t do it… seriously.

Give the diary to Armand, become a member, celebrate for exactly five seconds. Good, now talk to him again about a job. He’ll give you this.


Independent Thievery

So sue me, it’s not technically a quest. But if you want any, you’ll have to do this. You have to prove your worth in the guild, so steal as much stuff as you need to fence 50 gold (you’ll be told where and who your fence is). If I remember correctly, this fence resides in Bruma. Once you’ve sold enough, a journal entry will pop up, and you can go talk to Armand again.

As a helpful note, you’ll need to keep doing stuff like this until you’ve eventually fenced 1000 gold, so in your spare time remember you could be doing this - you don’t need to be on any quest particularly. Between some quests you’ll be asked not to come back until you’ve fenced < > amount of gold, so go to your current fence and do it. It’s not too hard. Check out the mage’s guild and it’s equipment (if you’re not a member), it’s useful and pricey.

 
Untaxing the Poor

Your first real quest, nice one!

Armand of the Thieves Guild has asked me to recover the tax records and taxes collected by the Imperial Watch. They are being held by an over-zealous Captain called Hieronymus Lex in the South Watchtower. [Journal Entry]

Wait until it’s night, then head towards the diary-house. Once there, check around and you’ll find the watchtower in question. As soon as you enter, sneak around. Straight into sneak mode, literally. There will be guards, ignore them and travel up.. And up.. And up. There will be a lock to be picked, so make sure you have some lockpicks handy. Buy some from your fences or from Shady Sam outside imperial city (he hangs around the outside walls, stroll around and you’ll find him).

Once you’re in Lex’s room, sneak around and don’t wake him up. Open the drawer and extract the money and records. Now carefully sneak back out, and all the way down to the bottom floor, and leave. Return to Armand. Easy, quest done.

 
The Elven Maid

Remember to sell some stuff, you’ll need to before you can take this quest.

After you get the initial journal entry, head over to Cheydinhal and talk to the beggars. Give them the money they want for info, it’s annoying but necessary. You find you need to visit the chapel undercroft in the Temple of Arkay.

Enter the Temple, sneak downstairs and enter the undercroft. Make sure noone sees you doing this. Be careful inside, as there is someone guarding the bust- but there are plenty of shadows to hide in, no problem. Take the bust and leave, head back to Armand.

**shock!** he’s not around, and there are imperial guard all over the waterfront, damn them. A NPC called Methredhel will find you and start a conversation. Listen, she’s filling you in. I’ve included the journal entry that pops up after you’ve spoken to her.

Methredhel contacted me. She says that this whole job was just a setup to flush out the informant, a Dark Elf named Myvryna Arano. They didn't see fit to let me in on the plan though. She has specific instructions from Armand to plant the bust in Myvryna's cupboard. Then I have to find Hieronymus Lex and snitch on her.

Find Myvryna’s house and enter it without anyone seeing using a lock pick. I waited ‘til night, because there are a lot of imperial guard around so this can be annoying. Place the bust in her cupboard, sneak out, and talk to Lex. He is standing around in the center of the shacks like a moron. Persuade him, bribe him, convince him that Myvryna has the bust. He will eventually give in, and check her out. He finds the bust, she admits she’s a snitch, goes to jail and is kicked out of the guild. Too bad.

Wait a while and find Armand when he returns. Report to him, and get advanced (woot woot). Time to move on.


Adharji’s Heirloom

Steal more stuff, then visit your new quest-giver-person in Bravil, S’krivva. If you’ve stolen and fenced enough, she has a new job for you. This one.

First things first, go to Leyawiin and talk to Adharji. You’ll end up looking for an argonian called Amusei. Give a beggar some gold and he’ll tell you Amusei is in jail in Leyawiin, the fool. Go to the jail, and walk past the guard at speed, ‘cause he’ll follow you pretty soon after. Lockpick the door and talk with Amusei- trade the information on the ring for a lock pick and his freedom.

Amusei told me that the ring was inscribed on the inside with the name Alessia Caro, a.k.a. the Countess of Leyawiin. Apparently he tried to sell it back to her. When he went to deliver the ring, he was arrested and thrown into jail. She kept the ring. It must be somewhere in the castle, assuming she isn't wearing it. I'll need to find someone who can tell exactly where. This might be a good time to revisit Ahdarji, or to see what the beggars know

Don’t, just bribe the staff. They’ll tell you the countess wears the ring all the time… how inconvenient. Wait ‘til night, between 1a.m. and 3 a.m. and lock pick the door to get to her bedroom. Careful, there are guards, be stealthy. First door on your right, follow it thru ‘til the end and her bedroom. Open her jewellery box (do NOT pickpocket her, she wakes up), take the ring and get outta there. Watch it, the guards are still around (but are n00bs, so no worries).

Great, go back to Ahdarji. Give her the ring, get the reward, get back to Bravil, talk to S’krivva. Congrats, you’ve done this one.

Misdirection

Steal and fence, steal and fence… now go back to S’krivva and talk. Lex is once again being a pain, so go visit Methredhel in the Talos Plaza district, where she’s hiding out at the time. Ask a beggar for more exact directions.

Read the journal entry that pops up. Got it? Right, head over to the arcane university. At 3a.m., enter the big tower and sneak up the levels using the teleporters (round purple platforms, just step on them and activate). Once in the archmage’s chambers, steal the staff and leave the note you’ve got in his nightstand. Ace. Get out of there and take the staff back to Methredhel.

Ok, now go back to the waterfront and watch Lex. He gets a note and drops it, pick it up and keep it. Report back to Methredhel, who’ll be pleased, and want you to return the staff, having got what you wanted. (make your mind up!). Go to the house you’ve been told to (not the arcane university), and place the staff back in his chest during the night. Carefully. Be stealth.

Talk to S’krivva to round this one off.


Lost Histories

Once you’ve fenced enough (400 gold this time), talk to S’krivva.

S'krivva has asked me to find out what happened to the thief named Theranis. He was sent to steal a book entitled Lost Histories of Tamriel from the wizard in Castle Skingrad. My job is to recover the book. S'krivva doesn't care if Theranis delivers it to her or I do. I'm getting 400 gold coins either way.

Go to Skingrad and talk to a beggar, who’ll tell you about Theranis. He’s in jail, so you need to get there.

You can either steal something and get caught (duh), try and sneak all the way into the jail (kinda hard unless you’re good), or get hired. This is easier. Talk with the guard in the prison, who’ll direct you to the butler, who’ll hire you to feed the prisoners. Purrr-fect. I advise this.

You now have a job (yay). Go to the jail and the door will be opened for you by the annoyed jailer. Theranis is nowhere to be found, but talk to another prisoner. Ask about the Pale Lady… trust me, you want to know. Agree to set him free.

Go looking for blood that’ll be on the floor and open the hidden door using the strange candle. Follow the blood, follow the blood… wow, a vampire. What were you expecting, a man with tomato ketchup? Kill her (the Pale Lady, btw). Ooh… that’s where Theranis got to. Ouch.

You’ll find his body in a cage. Wait, who’s that? It’s Amusei! Oh god, he’s hopeless. Jail again, and this time with a vampire. Set the hopeless wretch free, and talk to him. He’ll tell you where to find the book, if you get him outta the castle.

Off you go again… first, it’s gotta be night to reduce the number of randoms walking around. The Pale Lady has all the keys you’ll need, take ‘em. Leave via the wine cellar, NOT the way you came. Steal some of the more expensive wines. Take the right door, cross the hall into the dining room. From here you can access another hall, which leads to the main hall. Don’t go into the main hall, but walk straight on and you’ll find yourself outside. Head through the main gate and pray no guards are lurking around. Walk a bit further, and Amusei will give you a note about the book. Score.

Simple now. Find the book and go back to S’krivva. Complete, congratulations.


Taking Care of Lex
And about time, too.

Steal, fence, you know the drill. Then go talk to S’krivva again. Read the journal entry so you know what to do. Got it? Good, because I’m not about to quote it all here. Head over to Anvil.

Talk to a beggar to get the information you need, and you’ll be directed to a blacksmith. In the castle, talk to the blacksmith, who’ll open a secret door for you. Follow the passage and you’ll emerge out a secret door very, very near the room you’re trying to sneak into. (yes, sneak. Be stealth, you’re a thief, remember).

Wait ‘til early morning (2.a.m-ish), so the castle’s empty. Enter the room quietly, and steal the letter that you want. Go back to the secret passage and make your escape. No, that’s not it! Go talk to a beggar and he’ll direct you to a “stranger” that can forge your papers (or more precisely, the signature for the letter you just stole). You’ll need 500 gold for this, no way ‘round it.

Wait for 24 hours.

Once you’ve got the letter back, head off to the Imperial City. At night, sneak into the building directed and steal the seal. (heh heh). You’ll need lock picks, etc, but it’s pretty easy. Now you have a letter with a forged signature and a stolen stamp. Oh joy.

Go to Bravil and give the letter to the countess. Go talk to Dairihill just after this.

Now, go speak to Lex about the news in Imperial City. He’s going to Bravil! He’ll love that. Not. But he’ll leave anyway. It is official, after all. Now go back and talk to S’krivva to finish this quest.

Turning a Blind Eye

Real original title **rolls eyes**. You’ll see why.

You’ll have needed to fence 600+ gold to start this quest. Then go to a big city, e.g. Imperial City, and wait around until a messenger runs up to you. (actually use the wait button, it’s fine). It’s a note from the grey fox!

Go to Bruma and enter the house indicated. You’ll meet the grey fox inside. You’ve got to steal Savilla’s Stone from some… blind monks. How low can you go? That low. Don’t worry, it’s not as easy as it sounds. (actually.. You can worry.) You may have to make the arduous trek to the monastery. Find a monk, bribe him, and follow him.

Follow the map marker until you find the room with the stone. Remember, be stealth. Kill the guardian, grab the stone. Yoink! Leg it before those red stones can hurt you anymore with their weird energy bolts.

Don’t go all the way back, there’s really no need. Enter a room that should be just to your right, and follow the passage to the exit. You may find a note lying around that will give you some background info on the cowl the grey fox wears all the time. Exit, return to the man himself, talk to him, and finish the quest.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

The Arrow of Extriction

Head to a large city that isn’t Bruma and wait. Make sure you’ve fenced over 700gold, though. Once again, you’ll get a message from a messenger. Hey, it’s Amusei! Head to Chorrol now to talk to the Grey Fox again.

The Gray Fox will pay me 500 gold coins to steal the Arrow of Extrication. It was recently recovered by Bravil's court wizard, Fathis Aren. There will be no bloodprice for killing Fathis, so long as he doesn't die in the castle. I should start my search in Bravil.

Talk to a beggar in Bravil (read; “bribe the miserable scumbag“), and you’ll find out that Fathis keeps his stuff in a tower outside Bravil. You can only enter it via a secret passage inside the castle.

Enter the castle, and then make sure it’s daytime. At night there are guards outside the door you want. Enter the door to the hall, take a left, enter Fathis’ room. Use your map to look around, and trigger a journal update by looking at the chests.

Read your update. Ok, now look for the moveable pillar. Are there no end to the secret passage ways around the castles of Cyrodiil? Obviously not. Hey, an underground entrance. Enter, and take the upper path into some water. You’ll end up at a pool you can dive into. Watch it, the fishes are hostile (seriously.). Don’t dive all the way down, you’ll end up outside. Dive a bit of the way down instead. There’s a passage you can follow, so do so. Follow this rather linear passageway, open doors, pick locks, kill evil guys and creatures, and you’ll eventually find yourself in the tower you’ve been looking for.

Fight your way up. In a room near the top, you’ll find the arrow of extriction. Take this, and return to the grey fox.

Note- this isn’t a walk in the park, this can be annoying. If you’re low on health in the tower but have nowhere to go, don’t fret. Run up to Fathis (who appears) and pickpocket him quickly, taking the key to the tower. You may now leave (quickly) and peg it back to the nearest town to heal yourself. You have the key, so can enter through the tower door without going through the passageways again. Useful, because you can re-supply on potions, etc.

Once you’ve given the arrow to you foxy pal, you’re done.


The Boots of Springheel Jack

What’s our motto? Steal and fence! So get to it. You’ll need to fence 800+ gold pieces this time, enjoy. Wait in one of the big cities, once again I recommend Imperial City, and Amusei will approach you again with a note. Now, head over to Cheydinhal and talk to the grey fox again.

Okay, now get back to Imperial City and bribe a beggar to find the house you want. Enter it and avoid the servant, who’s a pain. Enter when it’s day, and talk to Jakben. Make sure the servant is out at the time. Jakben will be “terrified” because he’s all alone, and will give you all the information you need. He’ll even hand over the key to the mausoleum you want to get to! Sweet.

Right, get down to the mausoleum and start looking for that coffin. When you find it, you’ll notice there are no boots. No worries, take the diary and read it. Wait a second…. Springheel Jack was a vampire. Stating the obvious, anyone? Hold on a minute, Jakben only leaves his house at night... Ahh, it all makes sense! Kill Jakben, who has coincidentally come down to kill you. Loot the boots from his dead body.

Once you have the boots, head back to the grey fox and speak to him. Quest completed.


The Ultimate Heist

Oof, now this is a big one. Stock up on potions and stuff, you’ll need them.

Steal and fence over 1000gold, and you’ll receive a message from Amusei like usual next time you wait in the major city. Get to Othrelo’s house to start this finale. Beware, this is tricky. You’ll be given the arrow you stole earlier, as well as the boots. You’ll need these items!

You don’t need to kill anyone in this quest, so try to avoid it. There’s no blood price but the bounty can be horrible if you start killing guards, which is an option (stop drooling, you’re not going to). You can finish this quest without a guard ever seeing you. This is the good option. Trust me.

Head over to the Imperial Palace and mosey on down to the basement. Make sure noone sees you pick the lock to get in. Stealth is the key. Sneak!

Inside there is a guard wandering around. Get the idea of his pattern, and stealthily make your way around the room to the huge hourglass. No, I don’t get it either. Activate the hourglass, and the Old Way will be opened. Leave the imperial palace (carefully).

Now, enter the Imperial Sewers. Inside the path is pretty linear, there are a few doors to open with wheels but otherwise, nothing too challenging. You will soon stumble upon the Palace Sewers entrance.The path is still pretty linear, but the enemies become a bit more lethal, so watch it. You’ll come to a wooden door eventually- the Old Way. Read the Journal Update, and maybe make a save. You should be making a few, remember.

Here’s another linear path. Follow it. Avoid the evil people who want you dead.. Preferably, try killing them before they kill you. You’ll end up in a room with a closed gate. Notice two deactivated red gems. Ignore them, but avoid them in a second. To open the gate, there’s a button you need to press on the balcony just above you. Explore until you find your way up there (it’s not hard). Press the button, jump down and leg it through the gate. The red gems are activated and will be trying their best to fry you.

Walk to the end of this room. Journal update! So head east to get another.

There is a door here. You might be able to make it out. You need to find a switch to open it. There’s a door nearby, go through and push the button just inside the doorway. This open up a doorway below you. Follow the path ‘til you find the next button, and press it. This has opened the original secret door in the wall, that was “meant to move“, remember. Get back there. Sorry about this paragraph, it’s a mess, but once you’ve done it you’ll totally understand why it’s hard to write out. Careful, there are some fresh enemies around.

Okay, save, and stand on the plate between the red crystals, facing the statue. It will rotate, and lo and behold, there’s a mini-light showing you the very small target you want to hit. You’ll need to use the arrow of extriction here, so make sure you’ve saved as you only get one shot. Aim quite a bit above the spot you’re trying to hit, as the arrow will arch (or so I’ve found). Journal update time!

Okay, there are two stone guardians coming to kill you. They are annoying, but you can defeat them, just stick at it. Remember, block, slash-slash, block, slash-slash. Repeat this dosage until opponent is dead.

Now, get to the door that you can now reach. Save again, and get into stealth mode. Be very, very quiet, before you even go through. Now, enter in stealth mode.

You’re in a room full of sleeping guards. See why I was cautious?

You can sneak out of here, or tail any leaving guards, whatever, but be careful. If you are spotted, it is possible to run through this entire level, but I wouldn’t advise it as it’s much harder and much more frustrating, requiring a lot of luck and repeated saves.

All right, let’s assume you’ve made it into the corridor. Stick to the shadows and follow the map marker, sneaking up and up. It may try and tell you to go through a door you can’t, and if so, just go up a level and it should resolve itself. Sneak past the blind monks, (don’t touch them or speak to them), and sit down in the chair by the circular table. They will give you the Elder Scroll. Yesssss! Take it.

Head up the stairs, avoiding the handicapped monks. Be careful, they are retarded and sometimes walk halfway up the stairs only to spin 180 and come back down. Give them space, they are old and seem lost.

Keep on going up and up, and eventually the marker will go green, so you’re in the right place. Be stealth, and open the lock to the room. Get out of sneak mode and run to the fireplace. Once there, pause and contemplate life. Also, save. Decided if you wanna keep the Boots of Springheel Jack. You can wear them to cushion your fall, but they will disappear. If you don’t wear them and you’re not tough enough, you will die. But if you think your character’s strong enough to withstand the fall, don’t wear them and take the pain. It’ll hurt, but I made it. If you didn’t… lucky you saved like I told you to, eh.

You’ll find yourself just outside the Old Way. Familiar, huh. Get out of there! Return to the grey fox. Once again, you have done a “capitol” job. Yes, thank you very much.

Alright, now you can finish this off. No worries, no more bad guys. Go to Anvil and speak to the countess when she’s on the throne. Show her the ring, and she’ll say it’s from her husband. Cue the grey fox, who enters and removes the cowl using the power of the Elder Scroll you stole (shh). You’ll find his name is Corvus, and by donning the cowl he had his name removed from history. Let the drama play out, and he’ll give you the cowl. THIS ROCKS. Don’t loose it.

+25 to sneak, +200 to feather, +100 to detect life.. Ace. However, when you wear it you get a bounty of 500, but don’t worry, this disappears when you take it off. Just be careful. It also doesn’t matter who sees you put it on or take it off, as they won’t associate you with the Grey Fox.

And, oh, by the way, you are now the Grey Fox, head of the thieves guild. Did I not mention that?

Congratulations, you’re done! Not only do you have the cowl, but you have a crummy little guild hall type place to hang out in with your fellow thieves. Its at the imperial waterfront, behind where the barred door used to be. It’s all yours! It’s not much really, but hey, who cares, you’re the Grey Fox now. Good job.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

8. The Vile Lair : Comprehensive

Purchasable Areas

Bedroom Area

Price : 1770

Included - You get a desk with some ingredients, and a coffin bed for those uber-vampires out there.

Cattle Cell

Price : 1770

Included - A prison cell with a captive inside who never wakes up, perfect for those vampires in need of a quick snack. You can heal him when you've... erm... drained him of his life force, so to speak.

Dark Minion

Price : 1770

Included - Does what it says on the tin. A dark minion who you can send out to murder someone. He will bring back the persons items to you, which is useful, but bear in mind, your infamy will go up one point each time.

Dining Area

Price : 1770

Included - You get a table with food on and some kitchen cupboards. There is also better lighting in the Lair.

Garden Receipt

Price : 1770

Included - The main room will become the Garden of Venomgrowth, with many poisonous ingredients growing their for the budding murderer. This includeds the Chokeberry Vine, a new addition.

Storage Area

Price : 1770

Included - Chests, crates, the usual. Places to store stuff. You also get "Greywyn's Poison Supply" chest.

Study Area

Price : 1770

Included - Desks and bookshelves, you know the drill. There are also many skill books that will appear (very useful).

Ichor of Sithis

Price : 1770

Included - Ichor, The Blood of Sithis. Buy it to find out more.

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Feature Number One : The Dark Minion (more detailed version)

He will live in your Vile Lair, but don't worry, he keeps to himself, creating works of art with various corpses to pass the time. He has his own disgusting little room (i mean, attractive). You can talk to him and ask him to murder in the name of Sithis, at which point he will disappear for a few days before returning. He will have gone off to kill someone, by the way. Note, he is not always successful. I think he has a 75% chance of killing his victim. Everytime he kills, you will recieve one infamy point. The "Victim's Loot Chest" will also fill with the belongings of the person your minion killed. This loot can be left and will accumulate rather than disappearing everytime he kills again.

Feature Number Two : The Cattle Cell (more detailed version)

This is simple. Inside is a person who will never wake up, so you can feed on him as you like, whenever you want (if you're a vampire, of course). He is an "essential NPC" inside the game, and so cannot die, no matter how much you drain him.

Feature Number Three : Garden of Venomgrowth (more detailed version)

This is where all the ingredients you could ever need to make various poisons will grow. If you check various FAQs and Walkthroughs, you will find a list of plants that grow here. I'm going to list it below, but I don't take credit for compiling the list.

2 Morning Glory Vines

6 Ginseng Plants

3 Chokeberry Vines

4 Fennel Plants

5 Elf Cup Caps

4 Milk Thistle Plants

6 Nightshade Plants

10 Stinkhorn Caps

? Wisp Stalk Caps

Feature Number Four : The Font of Renewal

Here you can get rid of your vampirism by using some of the Purgeblood Salts you can find in the nearby veins. You don't need to buy anything to use this, it's free. Handy hint - if you use the Font of Renewal, it is possible to take the "Cure Vampirism" quest without being a vampire.

Feature Number Five : The Shrine of Sithis

You know the altars of the nine in every town? Well, here you have an altar designated for the evil players amongst you (and we know there are quite a few). You need the Ichor of Sithis to activate it (purchased in an upgrade, see my earlier post). If you have completed the theive's guild and didn't loose the Cowl of Nocturnal like I did, then donning the mask will give you an instant 100 infamy points, allowing for the greatest blessing from the altar. Here's a list of the various blessings you will recieve...

Infamy 1-20 : Call of Sithis

Restore Health 200, Restore All Attributes 100, Fortify Health 10, Cure Disease. Duration: 900 secs.

Infamy 21-50 : Scream of Sithis

Restore Health 200, Restore All Attributes 100, Fortify Health 15, Cure Disease, Fortify Agility 2, Fortify Sneak 5. Duration: 900 secs.

Infamy 51-90 : Lament of Sithis

Restore Health 200, Restore All Attributes 100, Cure Disease, Fortify Health 20, Fortify Agility 5, Fortify Sneak 10. Duration: 1000 secs.

Infamy 90+ : Death Knell of Sithis

Restore Health 200, Restore All Attributes 100, Cure Disease, Fortify Health 25, Fortify Agility 10, Fortify Sneak 20. Duration: 1200 secs.

Feature Number Six : The Study

If you buy the study, you will find two entirely new books. One is called the Menifesto Cyrodiil Vampyrum, the other Opusuculus... something. So sue me, the name is complicated, and really hard to remember.

 

Little Presents Around The Lair

Crimson Eviscerator

An enchanted dagger you will find in the Unusual Box by the Shrine of Sithis. This is free with the Lair, you don't need to purchase any upgrades. Here is a mini-guide to it's attributes, as tested by me, so don't get mad if they're a little bit off.

Level 1-4

Weight - 2.7

Health - 100

Value - 10

Damage - 6

Effects : Absorb Strength 5secs (3pts), Damage Health (5pts), Weakness to Poison (5%), Damage Magika (5pts)

Level 5-9

Weight - 3.5

Health - 155

Value - 40

Damage - 8

Effects : Absorb Strength 5secs (5pts), Damage Health (10pts), Damage Magika (10pts), Weakness to Poison (10%)

Level 10 - 14

Untested.

Level 15-19

Untested.

Level 20-24

Weight - 9

Health - 475

Value - 1250

Damage - 18

Effects - Absorb Strength 5secs (12pts), Damage Health (25pts), Damage Magika (25pts), Weakness to Poison (25%)

Level 25+

Weight - 10

Health - 530

Value - 2700

Damage - 20

Effects - Absorb Stength 5secs (15pts), Damage Health (30pts), Damage Magika (30pts), Weakness to Poison (30%)

Raiment of the Crimson Scar

Sorry, but I never got 'round to testing this out. However, I will list the attributes for the level I got it at.

Level 20-24

Weight - 26

Health - 750

Value - ???

Armour Rating - 24

Effects - Fortify Agility, Speed (15pts), Fortify Sneak, Fortify Marksman, Fortify Blade (25pts), Reflect Damage (35%)

Ingredients : The Chokeberry

Normally, I wouldn't have bothered listing this, but it's a bit easy to get mixed up over this item in particular. It will appear under ingredients, but you can't make poisons with it. At master level, you can make a potion used to.. kill yourself (handy, eh). It is used in the same way otherwise as a Poison Apple (like in the Dark Brotherhood quests). You drop it, someone eats it, guess what; they choke and die. You may now loot their corpse. The Chokeberry is worth (1) gold.

Ingredients : Purgeblood Salts

Ok, yeah, technically this may not be an ingredient, but can be used to cure vampirism. They are found in the Purgeblood Crystal Formations near the Font in the Vile Lair. They are mined exactly like Iron Ore and Silver, from veins. The Purgeblood Salts are worth (0) gold.

The Handy-Hints Section

Above the first room, where the Garden of Venomgrowth will appear when purchased, is a bucket. In this bucket is a bunch of gold. Shoot the bucket with arrows and the gold will fall out, scattering on the floor. Yay, free gold! Don't rejoice too much, as you'll have to pick up each piece individually. If you don't pick up the gold, the bucket will reset once you've gone and you can shoot it again.

Above the Shrine of Sithis in the "Unusual Box" is the Crimson Eviscerator, an enchanted dagger (see above). This is a free present and is there when you first enter the Lair.

Search around the place for Jewellery Boxes. These contain nice titbits and costly items, and will respawn every now and again, so keep checking back for more loot. When you level up a bit the items will improve, so you can get some nice stuff.

When you have purchased everything you can for the Vile Lair, you will get something extra added for free. It is Greywyn's Armorie, and is by your Coffin Bed. This is where the Raiment of the Crimson Scar is found (see above, also).

The Storage Area is to your left when you first enter the Lair. Once furnished, you will find Greywyn's Poison Supply hidden at the back of the room. This chest is filled with about twelve random poisons of varying usefulness, but it's free, so who cares. I store my more evil and deadly poisons in this chest, it's useful for keeping things separate.

An extension of the Jewellery Box mention above. Greywyn's Jewellery Caches are scattered throughout Deepscorn and contain a lot of jewellery and gold. Seriously good stuff. You don't need any upgrades purchased for these to spawn. Greywyn's First Cache is in the left corner of the first room you enter in the Lair, behind the Garden (or where the Garden will be, if you haven't purchased it). Greywyn's Second Cache is right next to the Font of Renewal, check under the water. This annoyed me initially but it's pretty easy. Greywyn's Third Cache is in the Cattle Cage near the cell door. The easiest way to locate where the cage if you haven't purchased the upgrade is to search the west side of the Deepscorn Cloister, for a cave-like room. It's right by the entrance. Look around. Greywyn's Fourth Cache (and Final Cache), is on the left of the Shrine of Sithis area. Search behing the glowing blue rock, and presto, there it is. Remember to check back to these areas after you level up a bit, about 3-5 levels normally, as more loot will appear and it will be even better than last time.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

9. Oblivion Leveling Guide

Parts:

1- Armor Levels

2- Creature Levels

  A- Animal Levels

  B- Monster Levels

3- Skill Levels

4- Perks To Skill Levels

5- Speed Leveling Tutorial

 

1. Armor Levels

Level 3- Fur/Iron

Level 5- Leather/Steel

Level 8- Chainmail/Dwarven

Level 12- Mirithril/Orcish

Level 17- Elven/Ebony

Level 22- Glass/Daedric

 

2. Creature Levels

 

2A. Animal Levels ( when you start to see them)

1- Deer, Mudcrab, Rat, Slaughterfish (enemies)

1- Dog, Horse, Sheep (friends)

2- wolf

6- Timber wolf

7- Boar

9- Blackbear

12- Mountain Lion

16- Brown bear

 

2B. Monster levels (when you start to see them)

1- Imp, Goblin, Skeleton, Stunted Scamp

4- Zombie

5- Clannefear Runt

6- Goblin skirmisher, Ghost

7- Scamp

8- Troll, Skeleton Guardian

9- Flame Atronarch

10- Goblin Berserker, Headless Zombie

11- Will-o-Wisp, Ancient Ghost

12- Skeleton Hero

13- Clannefear, Spriggan

14- Minotaur, Faded Wraith

15- Goblin Shaman, Frost Atronarch

16- Dread Zombie, Daedroth

17- Land Drough, Skeleton Champion

18- Ogre, Wraith, Spider Daedra

19- Nether Lich, Storm Atronarch

20- Minotaur Lord, Goblin Warlord

22- Xivaili

23- Gloom Wraith

26- Lich

 

3. Skill Levels

Novice- 0-24

Apprentice- 25- 49

Journeyman- 50-74

Expert- 75-99

Master- 100+

 

4. Perks to skill levels

 

Acrobatics

Novice- Cannot attack while falling through the air

Apprentice- Can make normal attacks while falling

Journeyman- Has the ability to dodge (hold block and dump in any direction)

Expert- Only uses 50% fatigue when jumping

Master- Has the ability to jump off the surface of water in succession

 

Alteration

Novice- Can only cast Novice alteration spells

Apprentice- Can cast Novice and Apprentice level Alteration spells

Journeyman- Can cast Journeyman, Apprentice and Novice level Alteration spells

Expert- Can cast Expert, Journeyman, Apprentice, and Novice level Alteration spells

Master- Can cast all Alteration spells

 

Armorer

Novice- Can only repair basic items

Apprentice- Your repair hammers will last twice as long

Journeyman- Can now repair magic items

Expert- Can now repair items up to 125%

Master- Never breaks his repair hammers

 

Athletics

Novice- Regenerates fatigue slowly while running

Apprentice- Regenerates fatigue 25% faster

Journeyman- Regenerates fatigue 50% faster

Expert- Regenerates fatigue 75% faster when running

Master- Fatigue doesn't decrease when running or swimming

 

Blade

Novice- Does a basic power attack

Apprentice- Gains a standing power attack

Journeyman- Gains left and right power attacks, has a chance to disarm opponents

Expert- Gains backwards power attack, has a chance to knockdown opponents

Master- Gains forward power attack, has a chance to paralyze opponents

 

Block

Novice- fatigued while blocking, and hand-to-hand blocking has no effect

Apprentice- No longer fatigued while blocking

Journeyman- Blocking item isn't damaged, now has the chance to recoil opponent

Expert- Now has the chance to block and counter attack, in which may cause the opponent to stagger

Master- Has the chance of disarming the opponent with counter attack

 

Blunt

Novice- Does a basic power attack

Apprentice- Gains a standing power attack

Journeyman- Gains left and right power attacks, has a chance to disarm opponents

Expert- Gains backwards power attack, has a chance to knockdown opponents

Master- Gains forward power attack, has a chance to paralyze opponents

 

Conjuration

Novice- Can only cast Novice Conjuration spells

Apprentice- Can cast Novice and Apprentice level Conjuration spells

Journeyman- Can cast Journeyman, Apprentice and Novice level Conjuration spells

Expert- Can cast Expert, Journeyman, Apprentice, and Novice level Conjuration spells

Master- Can cast all Conjuration spells

 

Destruction

Novice- Can only cast Novice Destruction spells

Apprentice- Can cast Novice and Apprentice level Destruction spells

Journeyman- Can cast Journeyman, Apprentice and Novice level Destruction spells

Expert- Can cast Expert, Journeyman, Apprentice, and Novice level Destruction spells

Master- Can cast all Destruction spells

 

Hand-to-Hand

Novice- Does a basic power attack

Apprentice- Gains a standing power attack

Journeyman- Gains left and right power attacks, has a chance to disarm opponents

Expert- Gains backwards power attack, has a chance to knockdown opponents. When blocking also has the chance to do a knock-back attack.

Master- Gains forward power attack, has a chance to paralyze opponents. When blocking also has the chance to disarm during a knock-back attack.

 

Heavy Armor

Novice- Degrades at a rate of 150% the normal rate

Apprentice- Degrades normally

Journeyman- Degrades at 50% the normal rate

Expert- The armor encumbers you only 50%

Master- The armor doesn't encumber you at all

 

Illusion

Novice- Can only cast Novice Illusion spells

Apprentice- Can cast Novice and Apprentice level Illusion spells

Journeyman- Can cast Journeyman, Apprentice and Novice level Illusion spells

Expert- Can cast Expert, Journeyman, Apprentice, and Novice level Illusion spells

Master- Can cast all Illusion spells

 

Light Armor

Novice- Degrades at a rate of 150% the normal rate

Apprentice- Degrades normally

Journeyman- Degrades at 50% the normal rate

Expert- Your armor doesn't encumber you at all

Master- You get a 50% armor bounus to the armor you're wearing

 

Marksman

Novice- Normal fatigue loss when drawing the bow

Apprentice- No fatigue loss when drawing the bow

Journeyman- Can now zoom-in on the target by holding block with arrow drawn

Expert- Now has a chance to knockdown opponents

Master- Now has a chance to paralyze opponents

 

Mercantile

Novice- Gold is reduced because of wear

Apprentice- No longer has prices reduced because of wear

Journeyman- Can sell all types of goods to any vendor (except for stolen items)

Expert- Can invest 500 gold in shops permanently

Master- All shops have 500 more gold to barter, and can sell/buy items at a 100/100 ratio

 

Mysticism

Novice- Can only cast Novice Mysticism spells

Apprentice- Can cast Novice and Apprentice level Mysticism spells

Journeyman- Can cast Journeyman, Apprentice and Novice level Mysticism spells

Expert- Can cast Expert, Journeyman, Apprentice, and Novice level Mysticism spells

Master- Can cast all Mysticism spells

 

Restoration

Novice- Can only cast Novice Restoration spells

Apprentice- Can cast Novice and Apprentice level Restoration spells

Journeyman- Can cast Journeyman, Apprentice and Novice level Restoration spells

Expert- Can cast Expert, Journeyman, Apprentice, and Novice level Restoration spells

Master- Can cast all Restoration spells

 

Security

Novice- Drops up to four tumblers

Apprentice- Drops up to three tumblers

Journeyman- Drops up to two tumblers

Expert- Drops one tumbler

Master- Drops no tumblers

 

Sneak

Novice- 4x damage for weapon attacks, 2x for bow attacks (when in sneak mode)

Apprentice- 6x for weapon attacks, 3x for bow attacks (when in sneak mode)

Journeyman- Weight of boots don't penalize detection

Expert- No penalty for running while sneaking

Master- As long as you are undetected you can attack through someones armor

 

Speechcraft

Novice- Can offer bribes to increase deposition

Apprentice- Can rotate the persuasion minigames wheel once for free

Journeyman- Disposition falls 50% slower in the minigame

Expert- "Hate it" results in the minigame are lowered from 150% to 100%

Master- Bribes cost half as much

 

5. Speed Leveling Tutorial

Acrobatics: In the little pond in Anvil, stand under the dock and keep tapping the "y" button. Remember to keep moving forward or you may get thrown back. You can also go into many inns (inn of ill omen) and do this trick from the top of chairs/counters.

Alchemy: You can either dupe ingredients, or just find ingredients and eat them. The best places to find great amounts of ingredients are farms and guilds.

Alteration: Get the spell protect, or create a small shield spell and keep spamming the RB until you reach level 100.

Athletics: Get a water breathing enchantment on one of your items and then get your guy swimming. Make sure he's wedged in between two rocks or two items. Now tape your left toggle down, and leave the system running. Make sure you check on the system every once and awhile to save.

Armorer: Make a disintegrate armor/weapon spell on self and than repair those items. Once you reach expert level, go to a store and buy all the armor/weapons and repair them to 125%. You can than sell those items back.

Blade: If you have the Vile lair, go down and keep attacking your prisoner (make sure the item isn't enchanted). He will not die, and you will get to level 100 extremely fast. Or you can do the whom gods annoy quest and keep killing the scamps until you level up.

Block: Get into a cave which has a high concentration of goblins/rats. Get as many as you can to follow you and than let them attack you while holding block (make sure you have a lot of health potions or spells).

Blunt: If you have the Vile lair, go down and keep attacking your prisoner (make sure the item isn't enchanted). He will not die, and you will get to level 100 extremely fast. Or you can do the whom gods annoy quest and keep killing the scamps until you level up.

Conjuration: This is one of the easiest skills to level up. Buy/create an extremely low level spell and keep on casting it until you level up to 100.

Destruction: Keep casting a weakness to fire spell on self. It is best to just keep doing this while doing quests, because this is one of the spells that takes longer.

Hand To Hand: If you have the Vile lair, go down and keep attacking your prisoner. He will not die, and you will get to level 100 extremely fast. Or you can do the whom gods annoy quest and keep killing the scamps until you level up.

Heavy Armor: Get into a cave which has a high concentration of goblins/rats. Get as many as you can to follow you and than let them attack you while holding block (make sure you have a lot of health potions or spells). You can also go to a daedric shrine and let them attack you. It is also a good idea to wear half heavy and half light armor so the both level up equally.

Illusion: Cast a low level light spell on self. Keep casting untill you reach the desired level.

Light Armor: Get into a cave which has a high concentration of goblins/rats. Get as many as you can to follow you and than let them attack you while holding block (make sure you have alot of health potions or spells). You can also go to a daedric shrine and let them attack you. It is also a good idea to wear half heavy and half light armor so the both level up equally.

Marksman: Dupe or buy thousands of arrows, than fire at the vile lair prisoner or the scamps from the whom gods annoy quest.

Mercantile: Buy 20 cheap arrows from a shop keeper at a time, than sell them back one at a time (repeat). Or go to the mages guild halls and take large amounts of items and sell them to the halls merchant.

Mysticism: Buy a cheap Detect Life spell or create your own and keep casting until you reach level 100.

Restoration: This is the hardest skill to level up. Have a minor heal spell or a custom made fortify spell. Keep casting it until you reach the desired level. Also like Destruction, it is best to keep casting while doing a quest, because it will take a long time.

Security: Join the fighter guild or mages guild and auto pick their very hard locks. Once picked wait a few days and their locks will reset. Also in the thieves den there is a training chest in which you can keep picking forever. You can purchase lockpicks from various members of the thieves guild or check my sig to get an unbreakable lockpick.

Sneak: Like athletics you get your self stuck behind something that can't see you and tape down the left thumbstick. There are NPC's who will never detect you: Rufio, and the Vile lair prisoner are two examples.

Speechcraft: Go to the speech game and keep twirling the thumbstick while continually pressing "A" to level this.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

10. Vampirism FAQ

 

How did I contract Vampirism?
There are multiple ways you got it. The first way is that you fought a vampire and contracted it that way. The second way is that you slept near a vampire and didnt know it.


Is being a vampire a good thing?
Yes and no. Being a vampire can be very difficult at times. Even though it does add some points onto your stats it can get in your way if your daily activities. If you dont feed for awhile you become sensitive to light and people begin to fear you. You have a few added powers when you become a vampire, such as night eye (night vision).


How can I get rid of Vampirism?
Well if your lucky you can cure yourself before you get the full blown effect. Find a "cure disease" potion and take that or find a temple and receive a blessing. That should regenerate your stats and cure your vampirism.


I'm now having dreams, is this a bad thing?
This is the signal that you have now become a vampire. A potion or a temple will not heal you, you have to find the cure for yourself. The dreams do not hurt your stats but are just there to let you know your still a vampire.


Ok, I can't get rid of it. What do I do?
You have a few options. If you contracted vampirism early in the game you can simply start a new game. If you dont want to do that, you will have to go on a quest to find a cure for vampirism. Please be advised, that this quest is not an easy one. It will take time and patience.


What is the quest?
You first need to speak to a chapel priest about finding a cure for vampirism. He will tell you to visit Raminus Polus, who is located at Arcane University in the Imperial City. He will then send you off to visit Count Hassildor of Skingrad. You should find his steward at Castle Skingrad. When you arrange a meeting with the Count he will tell you to find a woman by the name of Melisande, in the wilderness along the Corbolo River, east of the Imperial City and South of Cheydinhal.


When you find her she agrees to help you cure yourself. Your first task is to find 5 Empty Grand Soul Gems. You should first look in the Mages Guilds in the major cities. They usually cost somewhere between 300-400 gold, so be prepared to spend some gold. Once when you have collected the Grand Sould Gems, take them back to Melisande. She will then give you another task.


Melisande will now send you out to find five ingredients to complete the cure. Here is a list:
1.) 6 cloves of garlic
2.) 5 nightshade leaves
3.) 2 shoots of bloodgrass
4.) Argonian Blood
5.) Vampire Ashes of Hindaril


The garlic and nightshade leaves can be found in some of the Mages Guilds. Look in some of the ingredient and magic shops also to find what you need. The bloodgrass can be found in Oblivion. Enter through a gate and you should see some around the entrance. Melisande will also give you a dagger to stab an argonian with. Any argonian will do. He does not have to be killed, but beware that you will most likely receive a bounty for this crime.


You can go back to Melisande and return those 4 ingredients or wait and find the Vampire Ashes of Hindaril. Hindaril can be found in Redwater Slough, which is near the North Panther River. Beware that there are a lot of enemies between you and Hindaril so come prepared.


After you aquire the ashes head back to Melisande so she can whip up a potion for you. It will take her 24 hours to make the potion. When she is done, she will hand you two doses. One of them is for you and the other is for the Count. Take the 2nd dose back to Hal-Liurz in the Skingrad Castle. Follow what she says, and the quest will come to an end. You do get a small reward also.


What happens if I get it again?
You should immediately find a "cure disease" potion or temple to heal yourself. After that long quest, you should've learned your lesson. Return to Melisande to see if she has another dose if you "forgot".

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.

11. Soul Gems and Enchanting

 

What are Soul Gems and why would I need them?

- Soul Gems are capable of holding souls, captured from creatures you kill, for use in recharging magic items you already have or making magic items of your own. Grand Soul Gems are also needed in the vampire cure quest.

How do I capture souls in a soul gem?

- Souls are captured by use of the Soul Trap spell. This is a mysticism base spell. Cast the spell on a creature and they'll begin to glow a faint purple for the duration of the spell, if they are killed while the effect is working on them their soul will be placed in an empty soul gem in your inventory.

Where can I find the Soul Trap Spell?

- Unforunatly I purchased this spell some time ago and do not remember from which Mage's Guild location I did so. But read any of the Mage's Guild charters found all over the guild halls, flip to the last mage and it lists the specialty of each Mage's Guild, go to the one that specializes in Mysticism and they should have it there.

Do I need to be in the Mage's Guild to buy spells from them?

- No, anyone may be spells from them.

What do the different types of soul gems mean? Petty, Lesser, etc?

- Souls come in different sizes, so to do the soul gems. The sizes, in ascending order are: Petty, Lesser, Common, Greater, Grand. If you get a message after a creature has been killed that says you had no soul gem larger enough to hold the soul, it means the soul was larger than any of your empty gems or that you had no empty gems left. Azura's Star is a special soul gem, it is a reusable grand soul gem that does not go away after it has recharged or made a magic item.

Where can I find Azura's Star?

- Azura's Star is a reward from a Daedric Shrine quest. Her Shrine can be found directly north of Cheydinhal's West Gate in the mountains. Approach her shrine and speak to her worshippers (you may need to raise their disposition to get them to answer questions) and they'll tell you to leave an offering of Glow Dust to speak to her at a certain time. Do so and Azura's will send you on a quest to a nearby cave to kill some vampires, after doing so return and she'll reward you with Azura's Star.

Where can I find Glow Dust?

- Glow Dust comes from Wil-o-Wisps, small balls of light. These can be found near water and bridges most of the time, but tend to be rather rare. An easier way may be checking various alchemist shops. The Main Ingredient in the Market District of the Imperial City often sells Glow Dust.

Why am I getting the 'soul too large' error when I have an empty grand soul gem in my inventory? (Or Azura's Star)

- Humanoid souls cannot be captured by 'normal' soul gems, they can though be captured! But doing so enters into the realm of Necromancy. To capture humanoid souls you'll need Black Soul Gems, which are grand soul gems at their heart, but able to hold humanoid souls. An easy way to tell if something is considered humanoid is whether or not it can wear the same armor as you are! If they drop armor and clothing pieces that are equiped, they are humanoid (so the Dreamora = humanoid).

Where do I get Black Soul Gems?

- Several can be found in the natural course of the Mage's Guild quest line. Also during this quest line you'll find altars that will allow you to make your own. These gems are single use.

How do I use the altar, and where is it, to make Black Soul Gems?

- The altar is found outside the cave known as Dark Fissure, which if you have not done or progressed far enough in the Mage's Guild is east of the Reed River (SouthEast of Cheydinhal). Approach the shrine at certain times and you'll see a red beam of light (or just light, it fades over time) coming down upon the altar. It may be surrounded by hostile enemies, if so kill them and there will likely already be a black soul gem inside. Place an empty Grand Soul Gem inside the altar, and then cast Soul Trap upon the altar, and it'll transform into a Black Soul Gem. The beam of Light seems to come down in the hour or two before midnight on various days. I've found it on Tirdas personally, many others have reported Sundas as the only day they've seen it. (Hit wait to see which day it is.)

I've heard of a Black Azura's Star? Can this be made?

- There have been some reports of this, but they are untrue. Placing the Azura's Star in the altar and casting soul trap gives an effect which would imply it was transformed, but no change takes place. Confusion stems from the fact that the graphic for Azura's Star is black by default, and some thought this happened only after placing it in the altar. Azura's cannot hold humanoid souls.

How do I recharge weapons with a soul gem?

- Select the gem you wish to use and equip it, a list will come up of your various magic items as well as how much of a charge they have remaining, select which one you want to recharge. The soul gem will be consumed in this process unless it is Azura's Star.

How do I create magical weapons/armor with a soul gem? How do I enchant?

- You will need to be in the mage's guild for this! After finishing all the recommendations you'll be directed to the Arcane University and advanced to the 2nd rank. You can now enter the University. A building known as the Chironasium on the left side of the university back area houses Altar's of Enchanting (they look a bit like ornate gold music stands). Clicking on these Altars will bring up the item enchant screen.

At this screen pick the item you wish to enchant and the soul gem you wish to use. The bigger the soul the stronger the effects you can place on the item. The soul gem is consumed in the process, unless it is Azura's Star.

You can now select from the Applicable Effects section and pick which effects you wish to place on the item. The list of spells avaliable here is based on which spells you can cast yourself! As such, its a good idea to pick up all the basic spells you can find, even if you do not plan on using them, so they will be amoung your options for enchanting.

For armor pieces you can only pick on effect, and it will be constant as long as you wear the item. Oddly enough, you can place negative effects on armor pieces and they'll hurt you, so do not do so.

On weapons you can pick as many effects as you have room for! The limiting factors for this are the Maximum Uses and Magika Cost, larger soul gems give you more room in this section. All effects on weapons are "on strike" and effect the target. You cannot place constant effects on weapons, and though you can place positive effects on them, you'll only be helping out your enemy by doing so.

Is there any other method to enchant items?

- You can use the sigil stones found from closing Oblivion Gates as well. Each stone has two effects, one positive and one negative, selecting the stone will bring up a menu of items, pick one and if its armor, the postive effect is applied, if a weapon, the negative is applied. The sigil stone is consumed in the process.

Which creatures have Grand Souls?

- Stronger enemies have larger souls. The Blue Skinned Dreamora (Xivilai) have grand souls (notice they wear no armor, hence, not humanoid!) and are easy to find in Oblivion Gates past level 20. Under level 20 you may find Goblin Warlords and Minotaurs that have grand souls. Many other creatures that show up after level 20 do as well, such as the more powerful wraiths and liches. Some enemies get stronger with level and eventually become grand souls, such as ogres.

Can Summoned Creatures Soul's be captured??

- Yes they can! This is very useful, especially with Azura's Star and if you're able to summon powerful creatures. Cast Soul Trap and kill your own summons to get their soul, very useful as eventually you can summon creatures with Grand Souls. This can be done for making many good items, or for charing your weapons up at your own convinence.

Where do I buy the various Soul Gems? Where can I find Grand Soul Gems?

- Most mage's guild and magic shops sell them in massive quanaties. Check all of them and you'll have plenty. Many mages guilds also have them lying all over the place and won't mind if you pick them up so long as you are a memember. The quality and number of grand soul gems avaliable increases as you level. They'll also sell full soul gems at times.

Is there any other way to recharge weapons?

- Yes, you can pay many Mage's Guild members to do so for you, but at a cost of 1 gold per 1 charge, so it gets very expensive. Soul gems are a far cheaper alternative.

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This post is provided "as-is" and confers no rights.