Black Brotherhood Skyrim Elder Knowledge Walkthrough
THE DARK BROTHERHOOD
This secret guild operates as an assassination agency, fulfilling the bloody desires of the inhabitants of Skyrim. In days gone by the Dark Brotherhood was a powerful organization, with heavy influences all over Tamriel, but now it has fallen into disarray. Without a true leader and with the few remaining sanctuaries cut off from each other they are struggling to keep up with public demand.
As a member of the Dark Brotherhood you will gain access to many advantages, these include: exclusive access to a certain Word Wall, various new useful armours, the most powerful dagger in the game, the ability to recruit Dark Brotherhood followers, a unique immortal horse named 'Shadowmere', and access to new merchants and trainers.
The Dark Brotherhood has '13' primary quests, the completion of which will unlock the '3' associated achievements. Depending on your decisions, there may be a few optional side-quests available, but they are not necessary for any achievements.
Remember that all of the Dark Brotherhood achievements are potentially missable, this is because you will be given a choice during the first primary quest; to either kill three innocent people, or turn on a Dark Brotherhood member and destroy the guild. Obviously you must choose the former to join the brotherhood, while choosing the latter will activate an alternative quest to kill the Dark Brotherhood guild members and so make all of the achievements unavailable.
You can, if you wish complete a humorous optional quest before the main quest line begins. The quest is called 'Delayed Burial' and it involves meeting the very quirky, albeit psychotic Dark Brotherhood member 'Cicero' and helping him deliver a wagon to the brotherhood.
> To find Cicero; travel to 'Loreius Farm' to the north of Whiterun and south of 'Blizzard Rest'. Look to the east near the road for a broken down wagon and a jester standing nearby.
> SAVE then talk to the jester, 'Cicero'; he wants you to convince the nearby farmer 'Vantus Loreius' to help fix his wheel so he can be on his way.
> You will be given the option to report Cicero to a nearby patrolling guard, or help Cicero. Either choice holds no significant consequences, but it is not advisable to report Cicero if you wish to join the Dark Brotherhood. Instead head over to the farm and find Vantus, he will help Cicero after you pass an easy speech skill check, SAVE.
> Go back over to Cicero and inform him that the farmer will help him and he will reward you with some gold and his approval.
This quest introduces you to the 'Keeper of the Dark Brotherhood', he may not look important but Cicero has a high status in the Brotherhood and he is transporting something very precious to them.
Innocence Lost
> To initiate the Dark Brotherhood quest line proper, you will have to travel to the city of Windhelm, there you will find a young Nord boy named 'Aventus Aretino' outside his house - to help find him you can talk to people around Windhelm, this may mark his location on your map, otherwise you can find his house; from the main gate immediately turn right and go up the stairs. Continue straight ahead, pass the house on your left, and turn left around its far corner. You should now be heading north, with the house on your left and a crumbling stone wall on your right. The Aretino Residence is a short distance ahead.
> If this is your first visit to the area, a Dunmer woman named 'Idesa Sadri' will be outside Aventus' house trying to dissuade Grimvar Cruel-Sea from playing with him.
> Once you find his house SAVE, you'll have to pick the lock on his door, you will find Aventus inside, performing a ritual known as the 'Dark Sacrament' (intended to contact the Dark Brotherhood and request an assassination using dark forces). Aventus will mistake you for the assassin he was trying to summon and he will explain his situation. In short, he is an orphan from 'Honorhall Orphanage' in Riften, he was treat cruelly by his carer 'Grelod the Kind' and wants her dead. You must accept this contract, and be willing to kill innocent people hence forth during the Dark Brotherhood quest line. If you've already killed Grelod, Aventus will compliment you and the quest will complete here.
Note that anyone you kill, as part of any Dark Brotherhood quests, will have little or no affect on other main quests in the game. However due to the noxious nature of the Dark Brotherhood quest line, you may lose the odd merchant, trainer or potential follower.
> Once you have accepted the quest, travel down to Riften, SAVE and find the orphanage in the northeast of the town.
> You must not kill or attack anyone but your target during any Dark Brotherhood quest - it will not only be counted as murder, but after you join the guild you will forfeit any special bonus rewards if you do so. Grelod is your only target There are some interesting ways to kill her, but the easiest is to simply wait for night and sneak into her room, she only has 1 point of health so absolutely any method of killing her will work. Her murder, even if witnessed will not count as a crime, but you will cause some people to panic. Once she is dead SAVE.
> Go back to Windhelm and find Aventus in his house, he will be very pleased and reward you with a family heirloom, this completes the quest, SAVE.
With Friends Like These...
> Your actions during the previous quest were somehow known to the Dark Brotherhood. Leaving Windhelm and carrying on with your daily business will soon prompt a courier to deliver a letter to you. This simply says 'We know'. After you have received this message the next time you sleep you will be kidnapped and awaken in a mysterious cabin in mysterious circumstances, SAVE. If it's taking too long to receive the message, try sleeping anyway to prompt the quest.
> You will find a Dark Brotherhood member called 'Astrid' when you awake, she will be pleased with your performance in killing Grelod but she will inform you that you unwittingly stole a contract from them. To repay your debt you will have to kill somebody else. DO NOT KILL ASTRID! This will fail the quest and make you unable to complete any further Dark Brotherhood quests and miss three achievements. Instead you must kill the three bound captives in the room.
NOTE: These captives can be exploited for Pickpocket skill training. Even after successful detection, you will still be able to pickpocket them. (See Miscellaneous achievements page: Pickpocketing section for more information).
> You can question the captives if you like, but ultimately it doesn't matter who you kill, kill them one by one until Astrid gives you the password to the 'Dark Brotherhood's Sanctuary' and the key to the cabin so you can leave, SAVE. Due to a possible bug Astrid may not give you the password or key, reloading a previous save is the only known fix for this.
> Now you need to find the Sanctuary, it's located to the west of Falkreath, northeast of 'Cracked Tusk Keep', travel there.
> Once at the door SAVE, the door will ask 'What is the music of life?' You must reply 'Silence, my brother' to enter.
> Find Astrid, she will welcome you to the Dark Brotherhood family as a full member and award you some 'Shrouded Armour'. Astrid will ask you to complete some lesser assassination contracts as she prepares a very important major contract for you. After talking with Astrid you will unlock the first Dark Brotherhood achievement:
Turn back and search the shelves for a copy of the Alteration Skill Book 'Sithis'. Now head into the sanctuary, descend the stairs to the north that lead to a large chamber where you will meet the rest of your 'family', they are gathered together talking when you enter, you may want to talk to all the members of the brotherhood to get a better idea of how they operate.
You'll also find the 'Marked For Death' 'Word Wall' here to the north, make sure you learn the word from it and SAVE.
> Find a Redguard named 'Nazir' in the sanctuary, talk to him, and after he mocks you he will give you three relatively easy assassination contracts. You can do each one at a time and return for payment, or you can do all three and return to Nazir once completed. The three contracts are for 'Narfi', 'Ennodius Papius' and 'Beitild'. You should talk to the other Dark Brotherhood members about the contracts to gain valuable knowledge and tactics about them before leaving.
Kill Narfi
> Narfi is a male Nord beggar who walks around Ivarstead, to the south of the Throat of the world, head out to Ivarstead and SAVE.
> He is weak and can be killed by any means you see fit, the best method, and to avoid the attention of the guards, is to wait until 4am when he goes to bed across the creek and kill him in his sleep. Once he's dead SAVE.
> Either return to the sanctuary for your reward, or carry on to the next contract, if you return now you will trigger the next quest 'Mourning Never Comes', but it's best to complete all three Sanctuary hits first.
Kill Ennodius Papius
> This male Imperial runaway lives in a small camp to the west of 'Anga's Mill', he is isolated, so they'll be no witnesses and he is relatively powerless. Dispose of him in any way you like and SAVE.
> Either return to the sanctuary for your reward, or carry on to the next contract, if you return now you will trigger the next quest 'Mourning Never Comes', but it's best to complete all three Sanctuary hits first.
Kill Beitild
> Beitild is a female Nord miner living in Dawnstar, by the 'Ironbreaker Mine', attacking her during the daytime will most likely cause guards or Dawnstar residents to attack you and incur a bounty. The best way to kill Beitild is to pickpocket the key to her house from her, then wait until around midnight and sneak into her house to kill her in her sleep. Once she is dead SAVE.
> After all the contracts are complete return to Nazir for your reward, this completes the quest.
Mourning Never Comes
> Talking to Astrid after completing at least one of Nazir's contracts will prompt your first real quest for the Dark Brotherhood; to kill a male Breton called 'Alain Dufont', and as an optional bonus you can kill a female Nord named 'Nilsine Shatter-Shield'.
> Head out to the city of Markarth, if it is daytime go up the stairs and enter 'The Hag's Cure', if it's night enter the 'Silver Blood Inn' to the left, SAVE.
> Find the female Breton apothecary named 'Muiri' who requested the contract, talking to her will reveal information about your prime target, he is now to be found with his fellow bandits in a Dwarven ruin called 'Raldbthar', she will also tell you about Nilsine, she lives in Windhelm, you can kill them in any order, or you can just kill Alain to complete the quest. After talking with Muiri, SAVE, and head out to your first target.
NOTE: If you already killed Alain Dufont, Muiri will simply thank you and the quest will be complete, forfeiting the Nilsine bonus. Also if you have completed the side-quest 'Blood on the Ice' in Windhelm, it is most likely Nilsine will already be dead awarding you the bonus automatically.
Nilsine Shatter-Shield
> She can be found wandering around Windhelm markets in the mornings, and standing near her sister's abandoned house, Hjerim, in the afternoon, she spends her evenings inside the 'Hall of the Dead' on weekdays and in the 'Temple of Talos' on weekends. It is not possible to trigger her anger during conversation, so a stealthy kill when she is alone in the evening is your best course of action.
> Once she is dead SAVE, you can return to Muiri for your reward or go straight for your prime target.
Alain Dufont
> Raldbthar is a Dwemer ruin located to the west southwest of Windhelm, east of 'Korvanjund', past 'Shearpoint', head out there and SAVE.
> Alain can be found in the first area of the ruin, there will be no guards or other witnesses around so you can kill him loudly if you wish, there will be other bandits here so you'll want to take them out as well, although it is not mandatory for the quest.
> For a chance of a surprise attack, take the eastern tunnel and kill a few bandits along the way. Down the last set of stairs is where Alain Dufont resides, so consider entering sneak mode as you descend. There's a group of three bandits in the chamber and a fourth bandit hidden behind the southern gate. There is an oil slick on the ground that you may take advantage of by using a fire spell to roast the opposition, the unarmoured Alain included. Fighting them normally is also an option, but beware of Alain's weapon of choice, the unique and enchanted warhammer 'Aegisbane'. When Alain is dead, SAVE.
> Return to Muiri in Markarth or go kill Nilsine now if you wish. Muiri will reward you with gold, and if you killed Nilsine you will gain a special alchemy boosting ring and you'll be able to marry her, SAVE.
> Return to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary and speak to Astrid, this completes this quest and triggers the next quest.
Whispers in the Dark
> Talk to Astrid in the Sanctuary, she will ask for your help concerning a fellow Dark Brotherhood member 'Cicero', she believes he may be conspiring with someone and wants you to eavesdrop on him. Unfortunately the method Astrid wants you use is not altogether desirable, she wants you to sneak into Cicero's room and hide in the Night Mother's coffin. SAVE.
> Go to Cicero's room and pick the novice lock on the coffin, get in and await a dark scene involving Cicero and an unknown second party. The Night Mother will not speak to Cicero, but she will speak to you, she will give you the honored title of 'Listener' and request you find 'Amaund Motierre', also, to convince Cicero that you are indeed the new Listener, she gives you a secret phrase to tell him; 'Darkness rises when silence dies'.
> Now step out of the coffin and talk to Cicero, convince him that you are the new Listener by using the phrase, he will pleased and then Astrid will enter the room, she is not so pleased and she commands that you leave the task of finding Amaund Motierre until she makes a decision. In the meantime she directs you back to Nazir for another two minor contracts, SAVE.
> Find Nazir; if you've completed the previous three contracts for him he gives you the next two; to kill 'Hern' and to kill 'Lurbuk'. This completes the quest.
Kill Hern
> Hern is a Nord vampire who lives with his wife 'Hert' near 'Half-Moon Mill', it's located to the north of Falkreath, on the shore of Lake Ilinalta, just west of the Lady Stone. Head out there and SAVE.
> You may want to visit the Lady Standing Stone for the Standing Stone achievement, if you haven't already, otherwise head over to find Hern, you'll usually find him at home with his wife. You can kill Hert to avoid a bounty but you'll get no bonus reward for it.
> Kill Hern by your preferred means, and SAVE.
You can then go back to see Nazir at the Sanctuary for your reward or go straight on to the next contract.
Kill Lurbuk
NOTE: If you have started, but not yet completed, the quest 'Laid to Rest', Lurbuk may still be standing outside of 'Movarth's Lair'. For this reason, it is recommended that you either dismiss the townspeople or finish Laid to Rest. Otherwise, you will be spotted when killing Lurbuk and incur a bounty.
> This Orc bard spends his time playing his lute at the 'Moorside Inn' in Morthal, head there and SAVE.
> You can kill Lurbuk silently by using a strategic arrow while sneaking, or you can wait until he's in his room at night and take him out, either way, once he's dead SAVE.
> Return to Nazir at the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary for your reward and your next quest.
The Silence Has Been Broken
> When returning to the Sanctuary after completing Nazir's contracts Astrid will approach you and give you your next assignment. She wants you to obey the Night Mother's order and find 'Amaund Motierre'- Amaund is a mysterious Breton nobleman, who, at the time of this quest, is waiting for you in the old abandoned Nordic tomb of 'Volunruud'.
> Volunruud is located north of Whiterun, to the northwest of Loreius Farm, head out there, and SAVE.
> Take care of the skeleton at the entrance and proceed inside, if you want the word from the 'Aura Whisper' Shout while you are here, pick up 'Heddic Volunruud's' notes by the skeleton, this initiates a small side-quest inside the tomb but it is not necessary for this Dark Brotherhood quest.
> You'll find three paths ahead, you want the leftmost one. Open the door and you'll find Amaund waiting there with his Imperial Bodyguard 'Rexus', SAVE.
>Talk to Amaund, he wants you to carry out a set of contracts, with the final one being the Emperor of Tamriel, Titus Mede II himself. Amaund also asks you to deliver a letter to Astrid, SAVE.
> At this point you can either continue into the tomb and complete the Volunruud side-quest and learn a word of the 'Aura Whisper' Shout, or return now to the Sanctuary.
If you decide to go for the Word Wall, you'll come to a room with a throne in it, to the right of the throne is a chest with leveled loot and around the stone platform are various potions, exit this room through the southwest passage where you will find the 'Aura Whisper' 'Word Wall', SAVE.
> Return the Sanctuary, SAVE, and speak to Astrid to deliver the letter to her, she is excited about this contract, and she wants to study the letter further. In the meantime, she asks you to take an amulet to 'Delvin Mallory', he is a Thieves Guild member who you'll find in the 'Ragged Flagon' in the sewers underneath Riften known as the 'Ratway'.
> Head out to Riften, SAVE, if you've started the Thieves Guild quest line it should be no bother finding Delvin in the Ragged Flagon, otherwise you may have look around the lower platforms near the water in Riften, the door is located below 'The Scorched Hammer', and the nearest stairs down are beside the Honorhall Orphanage.
> Once inside SAVE, find Delvin and give him the amulet, he will give you some information about the amulet and buy it from you with a letter of credit.
> Return now back to the Sanctuary, SAVE and find Astrid, she make some conclusions about the mystery behind Amaund Motierre and then give you some details about your next assignment; you'll be attending a wedding, and assassinating the bride. This completes the quest, SAVE.
Bound Until Death
> Before heading out to the wedding, you should talk to some fellow Dark Brotherhood members for some strategies in this quest. The safest, and possibly easiest, way to kill the target is to drop a gargoyle on the bride's head during the ceremony, talking to the little vampire girl 'Babette' will reveal more details for this.
> Another way is to use the special bow that 'Gabriella' will give you, and fire a shot from the parapet position across from the target.
There are numerous other ways to accomplish this task, such as; reverse pickpocketing a strong Frenzy potion into the groom's pocket while the bride addresses the crowd, dropping down from the highest point above the balcony and killing them both as a werewolf (or Vampire Lord with the Dawnguard DLC installed), or just using melee weapons to take them both out.
Any way you use, you will most likely cause an incredible upheaval of guards and other citizens to attack you. Do your best to avoid detection and do not kill any named NPC's, especially not innocent civilians as you may glitch numerous future quests.
> With a plan in mind, head out to Solitude, you may want to SAVE outside the city and keep this save until the quest is completed to a satisfactory level. Your target is the bride of the wedding; a female Imperial named 'Vittoria Vici'. The reception will begin the moment you enter the city and the event will have timed stages.
> Firstly Vittoria will talk to her guests outside, then she will go through the lower door and walk up the stairs to the lower balcony and address the crowd, this is the time to strike, if you want the bonus.
NOTE: There are various negligible glitches that can occur during this quest, things like; certain NPC's that have previously died in the game appearing at the ceremony in there underwear, Veezara not appearing and other glitches involving the body of Vittoria becoming stuck in various ways. Most of these have been fixed with patches and none of them should affect the outcome of this quest or affect any other achievements. However if something happens that you think may affect future quests reload your previous save to be safe.
> Position yourself in your preferred area as early as possible, and SAVE.
> Wait for the right moment and then execute Vittoria in your preferred manner. If all does not go well just reload your save and try again. In most cases, even if you are very stealthy and avoid detection, you will still be attacked by certain members of the crowd or by the guards. A good way to get out of there quickly, is to immediately fast-travel back to the Sanctuary as soon as Vittoria is dead. Bear in mind however that a friend from the Brotherhood; an Argonian named 'Veezara' will show up once Vittoria is dead and attack the guards, this will provide a distraction while you escape. It will serve you better to use Veezara, then escape quickly by using a stairwell under the Castle Dour tower bridge, near the market.
> Return back to Sanctuary and talk to Astrid, she will be very pleased and award you with a special summoning spell, (a spell that summons the ghost of a memorable Dark Brotherhood character from the previous Elder Scrolls game). She will then ask you to see Gabriella there in the Sanctuary, this concludes this quest and unlocks the achievement:
SAVE.
Breaching Security
> Gabriella wants you to prepare for the Emperor's arrival in Skyrim. The Emperor's private security force, the 'Penitus Oculatus' will be preparing for his arrival also, you must disrupt their plans. Specifically, Gabriella wants you to murder 'Gaius Maro'- the son of the leader of the Penitus Oculatus and plant an incriminating letter on his father 'Commander Maro'.
> Travel out to the hamlet of 'Dragon Bridge', southwest of Solitude and SAVE. Sneak into the building marked on your map, avoid detection and steal the Gaius' travel schedule, go back outside and SAVE.
> The schedule will reveal Gaius' location on each day of the week, press 
to find out which day it is. It is best to kill him without any witnesses around, you can, if you want, wait until Turdas evening when he stays at the 'Bannered Mare' in Whiterun. He will go to sleep in a room alone around midnight, allowing for an easy sneak attack. Alternatively, you can speak to Gaius and provoke him into attacking you, this allows you to kill him in self-defense without a crime being registered. He might also be alone while he's eating in the Windhelm barracks on Tirdas. When and wherever you decide to kill him make sure you plant the letter on his body afterwards and SAVE.
> Return to Gabriella for your reward, this completes the quest.
The Cure For Madness
> After your last quest Gabriella will tell about an incident in the Sanctuary involving Cicero, and she directs you to Astrid. Astrid will tell of how Cicero tried to kill her and the other members of the Brotherhood, he was then pursued out of the Sanctuary by Arnbjorn. Astrid wants you to search his room for clues of his location.
> Go to Cicero's room where his five journals will be scattered around, upon reading the final journal you will discover that he has fled to the old abandoned Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary near Dawnstar. Tell Astrid where Cicero has went and she'll request you find him, she gives you her immortal horse 'Shadowmere', he will emerge from the water when you exit the Sanctuary, SAVE.
> Head out to the Dawnstar Sanctuary, SAVE, you'll find Arnbjorn lying wounded outside the entrance. You'll need the password to enter, it's in the final journal of Cicero; say 'Innocence my brother', enter and SAVE.
> To help you with the story I advise you use the 'Summon Spectral Assassin' spell now; an old Dark Brotherhood friend will advise you not to kill Cicero. You'll find ghosts in the Sanctuary as you search for Cicero, you can kill them by your preferred means but watch out for the powerful frost troll known as the 'Udefrykte' in the cave area.
> After you cross the bridge at the foot of the stairs, you will find the One-Handed Skill Book 'Fire and Darkness' and the Archery Skill Book 'The Marksmanship Lesson', SAVE.
> Eventually, in the final room, you'll find Cicero lying, apparently wounded, you have a choice whether to kill Cicero or not.
The consequences of your actions here are minimal, the quest line ultimately ends up the same, if you allow Cicero to live however, he will later continue to serve the Brotherhood and become available as a quirky follower.
If you decide attack him he will spring to his feet claiming he feigned his injury and you'll fight a fully fit imperial combat assassin.
> Whatever you choose, SAVE and then return to the Sanctuary and find Astrid to complete the quest.
Recipe For Disaster
> Astrid has an interesting plan on how to take out the Emperor, you are to kill and impersonate his chef, and then poison his food. Astrid will direct you to your dark brother 'Festus Krex', Festus is an Elder mage who specializes in poisons, go and speak to him.
> Festus has a book that has been personally signed by the emperor's chef, known as the 'Gourmet', he got the book from a Breton in Markarth named 'Anton Virane', Festus suggests that Virane may know where to find the Gourmet.
> Head out to Markarth and enter the Understone Keep, SAVE and find Virane in the kitchen area. He will not give you the information you need without some persuasion, a successful speech challenge will reveal that the Gourmet is an Orc named 'Balagog gro-Nolob' and can be found in the 'Nightgate Inn'. Don't scare Virane or he will exit dialogue and run around attracting the guards, remain silent and then kill him sneakily to prevent any compromise of the assassination.
> Now to find Balagog, the Nightgate Inn can be found to the far west of Windhelm, north of Irkingthand, head out there and SAVE.
> During the afternoon, Balagog stands at the dock outside the inn, this is the easiest place to kill him. After he is dead, SAVE, take the 'Writ of Passage' from his body, and drag him into the water for the bonus objective. At night he can be found in the Nightgate Inn Cellar, which can be entered either from inside the inn or via a small hatch near the north exterior wall. He'll be asleep most of the time but it doesn't really matter, as long as you take the writ and hide his body. Just make sure not to kill him in the chair that he sits in because his body may get trapped in the chair. To hide the body in the cellar, drag him behind the haystack or drop him into the large barrel at the end of the cellar next to the ladder. If you kill him while he cowers behind the wine barrels, this will automatically count as hiding the body.
> With the famous gourmet chef Balagog gro-Nolob deceased return to the Sanctuary for your reward and complete the quest, SAVE.
To Kill an Empire
> After speaking to Festus and then obtaining the poisonous herb from Astrid you are finally ready to assassinate the Emperor.
NOTE: You should conclude any business you may have with all members of the Dark Brotherhood now, and make sure to loot everything inside, including the 'Stone of Barenziah'.
> Head out to Solitude, once inside the city SAVE, go to the Castle Dour, find Commander Maro and show him your Writ of Passage, proceed inside and find the castle's chef- a female Imperial named 'Gianna', she will pleased and nervous to meet you. You will have to wear a chef's hat to proceed, there is one on the shelf in the kitchen.
> With the appropriate attire you are ready to cook, she will witness you making your signature dish 'the Potage le Magnifique'. Begin by selecting any of available ingredients, it doesn't ultimately matter what you select, but you must add your 'special' ingredient at the end.
> With the dish complete, SAVE, Gianna will take it to the table for you and you must follow her. Right before you go into the dining room don't forget to read the Enchanting Skill Book 'Catalogue of Weapon Enchantments' on the table to your left.
> In the dining room the Emperor will be talking to his guests, he will begin eating your signature dish and he will soon die as a result. Don't loot the Emperor's dead body, it may cause a glitch where the world incorrectly loads and you travel on the land under the buildings' foundations, this will cause the quest to become stuck.
The guards will immediately attack you and Gianna, Gianna will flee and you can fight for a bit if you like but you should just exit through the door opposite where you entered upstairs and SAVE.
> Things take an unexpected turn as you flee across the bridge, Commander Maro and his agents will be waiting for you. He will reveal that the man you killed wasn't the Emperor, but a mere decoy. Maro also explains that someone from the Dark Brotherhood betrayed you and because you killed his son he intends to go back on his word and wipe out the entire Dark Brotherhood. Also your bounty in Haafingar will be set to 1500 gold and all the guards in the Hold will be looking for you.
> Escape by following the tower's stairs to the very bottom and rush back to the Falkreath Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, you will be unable to fast travel there.
NOTE: If you are part of the Thieves Guild and have completed 'The Dainty Sload' quest, you can buy your way out of the city for 750 gold, paying off your bounty and allowing you to fast travel.
> Travel to Falkreath and SAVE, then make your way west along the road to the Sanctuary to complete this quest.
Death Incarnate
> When you return to the Sanctuary it will be under attack, kill all the guards outside, you'll find Festus dead- pinned to a tree outside the entrance, head inside.
> Once inside SAVE, you'll find two more guards talking near to Veezara's dead body. Kill the two guards in your preferred style. Head down into the main room where Arnbjorn will be fighting in werewolf form, he will be killed no matter what you do, kill his attackers and SAVE.
> You'll find the bodies of Gabriella and Lis in the next room, proceed through to find Nazir fighting, help him and talk to him when his attacker is dead. He is now convinced that you were not the traitor and suggests you follow him, SAVE.
> You'll pass the room where the Night Mother is kept and you should hear her call to you. The place is about to be consumed in flames, the only safe place is inside the Night Mother's coffin, so hop in.
> Things will go dark, listen as explosions wreck the Sanctuary, you'll soon hear Nazir and Babette outside who'll help you out of the coffin. It seems that an explosion knocked you through the window and safely into the pool below, SAVE.
> The Night Mother will talk to you again and tell you that Astrid is still alive, inform Nazir and Babette who'll follow you up to Astrid's old room.
> Find Astrid laying on the floor amid the candles in a horrifically burned state. She will reveal that she was the traitor- she was jealous of you as the Listener and she wanted the Brotherhood to return to normal. With her last action she performed the Black Sacrament on herself, pleading to the Night Mother for a merciful death to escape the pain. You must pick up the 'Blade of Woe' on the floor near Astird and kill her with it, with her dying words she thanks you, SAVE.
> You must now return to the Night Mother's coffin and speak to her, she wants you to make good on your contract and kill the real Emperor. She suggests finding Amaund Motierre again for the next step. Be sure to tell Nazir and Babette what you're planning and SAVE, this concludes the penultimate Dark Brotherhood quest.
Hail Sithis!
> Travel out to Whiterun, SAVE, go inside the Bannered Mare Inn and find Amaund in his room. Speaking to Amaund will reveal that the real Emperor is on board his ship, 'The Katariah', which is currently anchored in 'Solitude Inlet'.
> Fast-Travel out to Solitude's docks, SAVE. At this point you have the option to kill Commander Maro on the docks, killing him will not incur a bounty but this action is entirely optional and wields no after effects of any kind.
> The only way to reach the ship is to simply swim out to it, find the anchor on the side of the ship and select it to enter. SAVE, and proceed to sneak through the ship towards the Emperor's room. There are several Penitus Oculatus patrolling the lower decks, you can kill them loudly, stealthily or just sneak past them all if you wish, there will be no bounties for killing them.
> You can visit the main deck, where there are a lot of guards, to read the Two-handed Skill Book 'King', on the highest part of the ship's deck, next to the throne. SAVE.
> You will also find 'Captain Avidius' and 'Lieutenant Salvarus' aboard the ship, both will be in their private quarters, they carry a 'Katariah Master Key', which will open all doors on the ship, including the Emperor's Quarters. Failing this there is another master key on a hook in the Captain's quarters, just to the side of the door.
> SAVE before entering the Emperor's quarters. The Emperor will greet you, he has been expecting you, but he won't attack; he believes that it is his destiny to die by your hand. You can kill the Emperor instantly if you like, or hear what he has to say first.
> After killing the Emperor, be sure to take a good look around his quarters, there are some rare books and expensive loot here behind a locked door, which can be opened with the key the Emperor holds. SAVE.
> Exit the ship using the Emperor's key and return to Whiterun, SAVE. Visit Amaund in the Bannered Mare and inform him of the Emperor's death. You have the option to fulfil the Emperor's wish and kill Amaund, otherwise you can pickpocket his wealth of gems from him without killing him. Amaund has left your reward in a dead drop in Volunruud, SAVE.
> Travel out to Volunruud, SAVE, find the chest that should contain 20,000 Septims.
> Return to Nazir and Babette at the Dawnstar Sanctuary, tell them about your reward and Nazir will advise you to speak to Delvin Mallory at the Thieves Guild's Ragged Flagon in Riften to restore the Sanctuary to it's previous state, SAVE.
This completes the final quest required for the Dark Brotherhood, and unlocks the last achievement:
You can still serve the Dark Brotherhood, however; firstly by restoring the Dawnstar Sanctuary. Visit Delvin Mallory and you can buy various improvements for the Sanctuary; 1,000 gold for 'New Banners', 5,000 gold for the 'Poisoner's Nook' which will add an Alchemy lab, and seven very rare ingredients that respawn, 5,000 gold for a 'Torture Chamber' which will add four live prisoners that you can torture for information about secret treasure locations, 5,000 gold for the 'Secret Entrance', and 3,000 gold for a 'Master Bedroom' which will add storage dressers, weapon racks, a bed, and a mannequin.
If you didn't previously kill Cicero he will be in the Sanctuary and available as a follower.
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A big thank you to The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages with permission for use of content granted under the Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License with due acknowledgement and thanks.
Thank you also to the guys from Bethesda Softworks LLC for providing additional information and writing the Official Elder Scrolls VI Skyrim Game Guide.
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Black Brotherhood Skyrim Elder Knowledge Walkthrough
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