Oblivion - Dark Brotherhood Quest 3 - Accidents Happen

The mini-quest to get the next contract from Valtieri is called "Blood of the Damned." Talk to Vicente to complete the mini-quest and learn that your new task is to go to the northern town of Bruma and slay a Wood Elf named Baenlin. It needs to look like an accident if you wish to receive a bonus reward. For the more direct Dark Brothers, sneaking into Baenlin's house and killing him and his manservant Gromm is very easy. However, doing so forfeits the bonus.
Vicente tells you that Baenlin likes to sit in his most comfortable chair every day between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. It just so happens that this chair sits right under a heavy mounted head of a Minotaur. The head is loosely attached to the wall by a set of ropes which you can reach via a crawlspace. The crawlspace is accessed from the bedroom at the south end of the house's second floor; the door is in the southeast corner next to the desk.
Travel to Bruma. Baenlin lives in a house just north of the Eastern Gate. Enter through the basement door at the rear of the house for remotely safe and indirect access. Sneak upstairs into the crawlspace and wait till it is sometime between 8:00pm and 11:00pm. Make sure Baenlin doesn't see you, as he will leave the chair, at which point you have to leave, wait, and try again. It is possible to wait in the room above the chair if you close the door behind you. The game no longer considers you as a trespasser. Once you're in position, loosen the planks and the head will crash to the floor, killing Baenlin in the process.
Sneak out the same way you came and return to Valtieri in Cheydinhal for a level dependent gold reward (up to 600 gold), advancement to Slayer and, if you were worthy, the bonusSufferthorn dagger. If Gromm survives, you can find him in Olav's Tap and Tack, weeping over his dead employer. Baenlin's house is now occupied by the killable nephew Caenlin, who was most likely the Brotherhood's client for the accident.

Skyrim - Main Quest 10 - Alduin's Wall

From the The Ratway in Riften, it is necessary to travel with Esbern back to Riverwood so he can meet with Delphine. Make your way out of the Ratway by the way you came, avoiding or defeating the Thalmor agents and various underworld criminals you may encounter along the way. Once outside, you need to travel to the Sleeping Giant Inn. Whether you go on foot or fast travel, it makes little difference, though fast travel can save you a long walk.

Upon arriving at the inn, you will be greeted by an incredulous Delphine. After a brief reunion between the two former Blades, they move to Delphine's secret cellar, where Esbern announces his intention to journey to Sky Haven Temple, a Blades headquarters built up around an ancient Akaviri military in the Reach. Of particular importance within that location is a structure from the First Era known as Alduin's Wall, which both recounts the history of the Blades and dragons and details a prophecy regarding Alduin and the return of the dragons.

Delphine soon realizes that Esbern's description of the temple's location matches her knowledge of the Karthspire, and the Blades agree to set out for that location. Delphine tells Orgnarthat the Inn is now his and bids him farewell. At this point, you can choose to either travel with the Blades or alone, heading towards the marker Delphine placed on your map. If you're traveling alone, it may be easier to take a carriage to Markarth and then head east, as Delphine recommends, though you can also take the longer route through Falkreath hold, which is generally easier if you have the Blades with you.

Whether you went as a group or solo, when you arrive at the Karthspire you will find yourself up against a horde of Forsworn, as well as a dragon. Though you can stand and fight, if the battle begins to overwhelm you it is simple to retreat into the Karthspire caverns themselves.

You will now need to journey through the interior of the Karthspire, defeating the handful of Forsworn and making your way to the beginning of the Akaviri ruins.

Heading up the stone steps on the right, you will be confronted with a trio of three-sided pillars, each side inscribed with a symbol. According to Esbern, they are of Akaviri origin, but the one that matters most to you is the symbol meaning 'Dragonborn', which resembles two dragon heads facing each other and an arrow pointing down. Once all three pillars are showing this symbol, the bridge to your left will drop, allowing you and the Blades to continue.

In the next chamber you come to, you will be confronted with a floor of pressure plates, inscribed with the same three symbols as the pillars. Once again, the Dragonborn symbol is the key, and as long as you move across only on these tiles, you can reach the other side. Stepping off of the route will cause a fireball to be launched at you, so moving slowly is advisable. If you prefer, you can use the Whirlwind Sprint shout to move across without triggering the trap.

Once safely across, pull the chain to allow the Blades across, and exit the chamber. You will need to travel across a pair of bridges, and then into the entrance chamber of Sky Haven Temple. Esbern heads for a large stone head built into the far wall, which is according to Esbern the visage of Reman Cyrodiil. In fact, the entire temple is some sort of shrine to him. In front of it is a large carved circle, which Esbern declares to be a "blood seal", requiring the blood of a Dragonborn to function. Activate the circle and you cut your hand, dripping blood on the circle. The stone head then retracts, and an opening is revealed.

Delphine and Esbern take a few moments in the following tunnel to inspect the Akaviri carvings and light the braziers, but you may wish to run ahead and view the temple proper. After arriving behind you, Esbern is immediately attracted to a large relief on the far wall, Alduin's Wall. He moves over to inspect it, taking several moments to fully identify it. Ultimately, he proclaims that the ancient Nords actually used a shout to defeat Alduin, and Delphine turns to you, asking if you know of such a shout. At this point, your best source of information is likely the Greybeards, however much Delphine may dislike them.

Bid farewell to the two Blades, both of them enraptured by Sky Haven Temple, and leave the building. Your next destination is High Hrothgar, home of the Greybeards.

Oblivion - Dark Brotherhood Quest 2 - A Watery Grave

The mini-quest to get the contract from Vicente Valtieri is called "Welcome to the Family". To complete it, you just need to accept the contract from Vicente. He will tell you that the target of your first contract is Gaston Tussaud, the captain of the pirate vessel Marie Elena.
The captain's ship is currently docked in the Imperial City Waterfront District. You now have your shrouded armor, which is very helpful for this mission. In fact, it is possible to kill only the target in this mission. First, when you arrive, you will no doubt notice the pirates loading crates into the ship, overseen by a female Dunmer. If you so much as step on the ship and they see you, they attack. There are a few different strategies which result in a smoother and subtler entry.
You can sneak down to the crates; once near, a prompt should pop up asking you if you want to hide away. Accept and you'll find yourself inside the ship. Sneak along the hallways until you hear two men speaking to one another. After they are finished with their conversation, move out of the way so they don't see you. After it's safe again, resume moving forward until you arrive at a ladder leading upwards. Climb and you'll be in the captain's cabin. Kill him any way you choose.
Alternatively, you can wait until nightfall and jump onto the balcony at the back of the ship, though the lock is Very Hard. (Teinaava hinted at this strategy if you asked him about the assignment beforehand). Tussaud will either be sleeping in his bed or eating dinner in the chair directly in front of you, an ideal target for a sneak attack. Although you will not be able to kill him instantly unless you have extremely high Strength/Blade or a custom weapon, you should be able to finish him off before he has a chance to counterattack. After looting his corpse and chest, leave the way you came in and either dive into the water or Fast Travel to get away unnoticed.

Shortly after you kill the captain, two pirates will barge in to investigate the commotion, so you need to hurry. They will knock on the door shortly before busting it open, so if you're into looting the place, that's your only warning. If the Captain was sleeping, pickpocket his key so you can loot him and his treasure chest prior to his murder, since the two pirates waste no time in coming through the door. It is possible to sneak attack the two pirates if you hide in the shadowy nook next to the door where they enter, or you could escape through the rear door.

However you complete the job, when done return to Vicente for the Black Band, a leveled ring that increases your Light Armor, Security, and Magic Resistance.

There are many ways to kill Captain Gaston Tussaud, and sneak is not required at all.

• Guards: If you board the Marie Elena then the pirates will become hostile. However, they are quickly cut down by any Imperial Guards patrolling nearby. Once they are dead, you can proceed directly to the Captain's room unhindered. After you kill him, you can lead the pirates that come in to investigate outside, and the guards will take care of them as well. You can also lure the Captain to the Imperial Guards on the pier and he will be promptly slain.

• The silent killer method: Purchase a poisoned apple from M'raaj-Dar in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. Leap onto the balcony at the stern of the ship (back end for you land-lubbers) and unlock the door. If you do this at around 1:00 AM, the captain will be asleep. Reverse pickpocket the captain and place a poisoned apple into his inventory. Remove all food from the table and any containers in the captain's stateroom. Leave. When the captain wakes up and eats, he will eat the poisoned apple - killing him. The guards aren't alerted by using this method. In fact, nobody is. You can re-enter the stateroom after he's dead and clean him out of everything if you didn't loot before when you were placing the apple.

• Sniper: Another stealthy method is to sneak to the ship and shoot down the pirates and the first mate. Then you can enter the Captain's cabin, preferably when he's sleeping, and fire away. Remember, the two pirates who check on their Captain will still come, so get out of there as soon as possible. You can escape easily by stealing the Captain's Key and slipping out of the back door, onto the balcony, and off the ship.

• If you approach the Captain while he is sleeping, it is possible to pickpocket his sword from him, forcing him to fight unarmed. This can be useful if you are having difficulty fighting him.

Skyrim - Main Quest 9 - A Cornered Rat

After infiltrating the Thalmor Embassy, return to Riverwood and inform Delphine of what you learned from the Thalmor records. Now, you must retrieve the archivist Esbern from his hiding place in Riften, and you're given a code phrase to say to him.

The journal will direct you to talk to Brynjolf. You may speak to him, Dirge, or Vekel the Man inside The Ragged Flagon. All three give an option to persuade or bribe them for information on Esbern's location, although this is not necessary if the player has already joined the Thieves Guild. They will tell you that Esbern is located in the Ratway Warrens. As the location is accessible before this, you have to the option to proceed directly to Esbern without talking to them. Speaking with Keerava, the Riften innkeeper, also advances the quest. The quest continues as normal and will update with both finding Esbern and talking to Brynjolf. Thalmor are still present in the Ratway regardless.

The sewers and tunnels beneath Riften are inhabited by a number of thugs and three or four Thalmor warriors searching for Esbern. When you reach the door to Esbern's room, he is very wary of Thalmor agents and initially refuses entry. You may persuade him by saying Delphine sent you, you can tell him the password "Where were you on the 30th of Frostfall?", or you may explain that you are the Dragonborn.

Once Esbern is convinced that Delphine sent you, he tells you what he knows: Alduin the World-Eater's return has apocalyptic implications, and Esbern's warnings of this threat have been consistently ignored. He agrees to follow you to Delphine's base in Riverwood.

As soon as Esbern leaves his hovel, more Thalmor agents show up and attack. Esbern is a capable mage, summoning atronachs whenever engaged in battle. In the Warrens, the retired soldier Salvianus will attack the first Thalmor that appear, shouting "No, you cant be here! You're all dead! I already killed you over and over!" Exit back to Riften through the Warrens. While escorting Esbern through Riften, watch out for Gissur and Shavari (hired informants for the Thalmor), who will likely attack.

Leave Riften for the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood. You can fast travel if he is following you. Note that if you asked him to show you the way out via the "Do you know the way out?" dialog option, he is not actually following you and you must have him wait and re-follow; otherwise, he will potentially get stuck on the way out and will not automatically show up with fast travel.

Once he is reunited with Delphine, the next quest begins.

Oblivion - Dark Brotherhood Quest 1 - A Knife in the Dark

According to the rumor mills around Cyrodiil, the Dark Brotherhood comes to you in your sleep after you murder someone to recruit you. This is, in fact, true. To be invited to the Brotherhood, you must murder someone in cold blood. In other words, you must murder an innocent without provocation (note that Bandits and the like do not count as the required murder). Once the deed is done, regardless of who is there, the cryptic message "Your killing has been observed by forces unknown..." will appear in the corner of your screen, indicating you will be visited the next time you sleep. For suggestions on who exactly to murder, consult this guide.

Once your murderous actions have been "observed by forces unknown," sleep at any rest area to be contacted by a Dark Brotherhood's Speaker, Lucien Lachance. To prove your worth before you join the Brotherhood, you must kill Rufio, an old man attempting to hide from his past at the Inn of Ill Omen, located north of Bravil on the Green Road. Upon accepting the quest Lachance will give you a dagger known as Blade of Woe, an unenchanted dagger that remains a quest item until the final Dark Brotherhood quest.

Speak with the Innkeeper at the Inn to discover that Rufio lives in the basement of the Inn and is quite the recluse, never emerging. Entering his room is easy enough; enter through the hatch to the basement. Rufio's room is on the left at the very end of the corridor and the door is not locked. Killing him is quite easy; if he is sleeping, punching him once will do the trick. It is advisable to not use magic, as someone may hear the blast and come rushing downstairs.

If you speak with him before you kill him, he makes vague references to a horrific event in his past, and it is implied that he was part of an attempted rape that resulted in the death of the victim. This is later confirmed if you investigate the backstory of Claudius Arcadia, who arranged Rufio's assassination as retribution for killing his wife or daughter.

After you kill Rufio, you can actually just sleep in the (now dead) man's bed, although any bed will do. Regardless of where you sleep, Lucien will reappear and welcome you into the "family".

He will send you to the Brotherhood's main safe-haven, hidden in an abandoned house in the eastern part of Cheydinhal. When you come across the 'Abandoned House' (there is an easy lock on the boarded-up door) and make your way through the basement, you will see a door with red light emitting out of it. Activate the door, and when it asks for a password, answer 'Sanguine, my brother' just as Lucien instructed.

Once inside the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, you meet your new family led by the Argonian, Ocheeva. Ocheeva will give you your reward for joining the Dark Brotherhood, a Shrouded Hood and Shrouded Armor, two pieces of armor with benefits to stealth-based skills. Since you are a new family member, you must start out with "less important" contracts until you prove yourself. Your new brother who is responsible for handing these contracts out, Vicente Valtieri, just happens to be a vampire. He offers you a chance to become a vampire, or "hunter of the night" as he puts it, if you can prove yourself worthy to be one.

You will now be given a series of missions that involve assassinating people, in the form of 'Contracts'. Once Vicente gives you the first it will conclude this Quest, and begin the first chapter in your long, shadowed, twisted descent into the void with A Watery Grave.

Skyrim - Main Quest 8 - Diplomatic Immunity

The quest entry in your journal states that you should meet Delphine in Riverwood. She will be found in the Sleeping Giant Inn, where you follow her back into her secret room.

Talking to her will reveal she has a plan to get into the Thalmor Embassy. She can arrange to get you into a party thrown by Elenwen, and that will be your chance to get some secret documents. You will need to speak with a Bosmer spy, Malborn, who will offer you assistance.

Meet Malborn in The Winking Skeever in Solitude. When you meet him, make sure to bring everything you want or need smuggled into the embassy, including amulets, rings, weapons, potions, etc. There are locked doors and display cases in the Embassy, so you may wish to bring lockpicks. You have only one opportunity to hand over equipment for use in the Embassy, everything you don't give to Malborn will be taken from you by Delphine to be stored in a chest in the Sleeping Giant Inn's secret room.

Following the meeting with Malborn, rendezvous with Delphine at the stables outside the city. She will make grave comments about your attire regardless of what you are wearing and give you Party Clothes that you must wear. When ready, Delphine will take all your remaining items and you will automatically board the carriage.

Once you have arrived, show the guard the invitation and head inside to be greeted by Elenwen. There is no rush, so you can take your time to converse with the party guests if you wish. The guests who attend depend on your travels in Skyrim. If you have completed any quests for them, they and their dialogue will match accordingly. However, in order to slip out and investigate the embassy, you'll need to create a distraction. Many of the guests are willing to cause a distraction:

Guest	Interactions	Parameters for appearance
Aquillius Aeresius
Balgruuf the Greater		Must have finished the siege on Whiterun.
Elisif the Fair
Erikur	Talk to him and encourage him to solicit Brelas.	Talk to him in the Blue Palace.
General Tullius	No distraction option, but will express his disdain for the Thalmor and a rare bit of sympathy for Ulfric's cause.	Must have finished Message to Whiterun and must not have a civil war attack going on.
Idgrod Ravencrone	If you have completed Laid to Rest, there is an option to ask her to make a scene.	Talk to her in Highmoon Hall.
Igmund
Maven Black-Briar	Will offer distraction if she likes you. Otherwise she will only tell you not to talk to her.	Appears unless you are on the quest Dampened Spirits.
Ondolemar	If you have completed Search and Seizure, there is an option to ask him to make a scene.	Talk to him in Understone Keep.
Orthus Endario	If you have completed Rise in the East, there is an option to ask him to make a scene.	Only appears if you have completed the quest.
Proventus Avenicci		Must have finished The Whispering Door and must not be on the questMessage to Whiterun.
Razelan	Ask Brelas or Malborn for a drink, give him the Colovian Brandy and you can ask him to make a scene.	Always.
Siddgeir
Vittoria Vici		Appears unless you are on the quest Bound Until Death.

Go behind the bar and follow Malborn through the door. He will lead you through the kitchen to a chest with your smuggled belongings, but it is not required to take them. Leave the room through the next door that Malborn opens; he will lock it behind you.

You must now locate and retrieve documents with information on dragons. Approach with stealth and avoid detection, or charge in with combat and kill anyone who stands in the way—whichever you choose, the quest resolves in the same way. If you wish to use stealth, see the Notes section below. Proceed through the door on the left - you can either wait until thesoldiers finish their conversation and move away, or kill them. Once inside, go up the staircase. A Thalmor Wizard will be standing guard ahead, facing the wall. Either kill him or sneak behind him. Head left down the hallway and left again to find the door leading outside. There are two guards patrolling outside, which can be evaded. However, a wizard stands guard at the door to Elenwen's Solar and will not move away. Either create a distraction to move him away and quickly dash in, or kill him. If you are seen, the guards will sometimes not follow you into the Solar.

Inside the Solar, there is a soldier immediately ahead who will head upstairs. Head to the left side of the room and search the chest behind the desk. Grab the dragon report and the two dossiers. There is an Unusual Gem upstairs in the bedroom to the left, which is required for a certain Thieves Guild quest, although if you have installed version 1.4 of the Official Skyrim Patch, the gem can instead be found in Reeking Cave. There is a safe in a small room next to the bedroom with high level loot.

Go down the nearby stairs to the Interrogation Chamber. Rulindil and a Thalmor Soldier will be torturing a prisoner, Etienne Rarnis, in one of the cells. You can sneak behind Rulindil and grab the dossier, or kill both him and the guard. You can also speak to the prisoner, who will tell you to escape via a locked trapdoor. You may free him if you so choose. If you caused Brelas to get arrested earlier, she will be in the cell at the far end and can be freed as well. She will assist you in taking out any hostile guards before escaping.

Once the prisoner has been spoken to or the document has been retrieved and read, two soldiers will enter the room with Malborn and begin to search for you. Either kill them and loot the key to the trapdoor, or pickpocket it from them; the latter option is difficult since they are constantly alert, but this is the only way to get through this quest without directly killing anybody (Etienne Rarnis' and Malborn's fates due to you not helping them notwithstanding). If you are inactive too long, they will attack and kill Malborn, though this does not affect the quest at all. If you wish to save Malborn, act quickly, as he is weak and defends only with his fists. If you collect the dossier without reading it or talking to Etienne, you can go back upstairs to the door you entered through and then read it, which will update the quest and trigger the two guards to appear with Malborn; if you are hiding next to the door they will appear in front of you and can be easily ambushed. Once the guards are dealt with, go through the trapdoor.

The trapdoor in the dungeon leads to Reeking Cave. There is a troll inside the tunnel who will attack both you and the prisoners, but you can simply run for the exit to avoid it. If you have any followers at this point they will be at the tunnel exit already fighting the troll. There is a dead necromancer, an Unusual Gem, and a copy of the Illusion skill book Before the Ages of Man beneath the ledge that you walk out on when you exit the tunnel.

Return to Delphine in Riverwood with the information you have obtained, and retrieve your gear from the marked chest.

Oblivion - Arena - (faction)

The Arena is located in the east district of the Imperial City, where people of Cyrodiil attend to watch brave warriors fight to the death for fame and gold. This faction was established by the first Blademaster, Gaiden Shinji, of the Order of Diagna. It was to be a place where warriors could prove their worth. Though he died shortly after its completion, the Arena owes its existence to him.
To join the gladiatorial ranks of the Arena, speak to Owyn, the Blademaster in the Bloodworks. You will automatically become a member of the Blue Team.

• For each match won, the participant is paid according to their rank within the Arena, a range of 50 gold to 500 gold. This gold is level-independent, with virtually no affiliations with other quests, making it a good starting questline for low-level characters.

• After each fight, the Arena combatants can use the Basin of Renewal found inside the "Red Room" (so named because blood from the arena floor above is said to drip down the walls) to restore themselves.

• When you become the Blue Team Champion, you will receive a title of your choice, one that will stretch across all of Cyrodiil.

• After you defeat The Gray Prince and become the Grand Champion, you will be approached by an Adoring Fan who will want to be your "side kick," offering to carry your weapon or give you a back rub and other things of the sort (none of which is doable).
  • See his page for the potential benefits and detriments he offers.

• Once you achieve the prestigious title of Grand Champion, you will also get a Raiment of Valor. Be sure to take Agronak's Raiment from the Gray Prince when you beat him. Once you give it to Ysabel Andronicus, she will give you your own in return - Heavy or Light.
  • Alternatively, if you decide not to hand over the armor, you can keep Agronak's Raiment, which (unlike your own raiment) is a quest item and therefore effectively has no weight. However, this is advised against, as the armor you receive from Ysabel will have the same enchantments, and you will be unable to receive the benefits of being the Grand Champion.

• Afterwards, when you manage to make it to the Grand Champion matches, you can start looting creatures. This is quite beneficial once you start fighting Minotaurs, who carry Blunt weapons and naturally hold their Minotaur Horns, which are useful in Alchemy.
  • The maximum reward you can get for each creature is 40+(player level-1)×50 gold. The actual amount is somewhat random as it is taken from a leveled list, thus at level 30 you can get anywhere between 40 and 1,490 gold although higher values are more likely. The gold is calculated for each creature you fight, so the maximum reward that can ever be obtained is 4,470 gold.

• Beyond the gold, you will gain 31 fame points for completing the entire Arena quest. You get 10 fame points for defeating The Gray Prince alone.

• You must wear your Heavy or Light Raiment issued to you by Owyn. This rule does not apply to the Grand Champion match.
  • In the two cabinets there are replacement suits of armor (5 light and 5 heavy in each), so you don't have to worry about repair.
  • You may wear any helms, shields, or jewelry.

• You cannot scavenge the corpses of your foes. This rule does not apply to the Grand Champion match.
  • This prohibition extends to weapons and shields that are knocked out of an opponent's hands. The sole exception to the rule are arrows which have missed: they can be recovered during or after a match. Trying to scavenge from a corpse will not result in a penalty but a message will appear telling you that this act is not permitted.

• You can only fight from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M.
  • This is the time you request a fight. You may wait until any time to actually begin your fight.
  • The Grand Champion is not bound by the time.

• The rules of the arena are "anything goes." You can use any weapon or cast any spell in your matches, and may freely use potions, poisons, scrolls, or sneak attacks.

If you remove your armor during your match, the fight will end and you will be disqualified for it (also, prompting a scold from Owyn). This is the only way you can get out of a fight without killing or getting killed yourself. If you happen to do so a second time, you will be expelled from the Arena. There is no way to get back into the Arena after being expelled.