Elder Scrolls Online continues to expand its downloadable content, and the Dark Brotherhood is one of my favorite expansions. Work toward becoming a master assassin through this progression of quests. To find out how to start, see Part 1 of this guide.
Questions of Faith
When you decide to continue the main quest line, it resumes with Questions of Faith. Kor has left you a note that Hildegard (his friendly werewolf companion) has not returned from a trip to the Chapel in Anvil. Find Kor and speak to him and then accompany him to the Great Chapel of Dibella in Anvil.
When you arrive in Anvil, you will need to interview the worshipers to see if anyone noticed Hildegard in the temple recently. One of them did see her and reveals that she was speaking with Chanter Nemus. Hildegard has been troubled by her werewolf side and struggles with adjusting to civilization. After speaking with the Chanter, she has fled back to the Jerall Mountains of Skyrim where the Silver Dawn hunts werewolves. Follow Hildegard by speaking to the Caravan Master outside the city for transport.
The Jerall Mountains
Once you reach the mountains, you will have to crouch and search the forests for signs of Hildegard's passage. As you creep through the woods, an occasional plant will glow. Stay alert because these are tough to track, and I circled the entire map several times before I was able to find the correct route. You will encounter other signs of Hildegard's passage, and soon find yourself at the campsite of the Silver Dawn. Clear out the camp and continue searching for your friend.
While I thought that Hildegard would be found at the far edge of the map, she actually is near the entrance to this area. However, you still have to go through the search and the fight with the Silver Dawn before she will be there. Hildegard reveals that Chanter Nemus knew she was a member of the Dark Brotherhood and tricked her into fleeing into the hunting grounds of the Silver Dawn. This is unacceptable, so your next task is to kill the Chanter.
Nemus isn't tough to track down. He can be found in the temple office. Take him out and then return to the Sanctuary and check in with Astara. You will be rewarded with another item from the Sithis' Touch set and a skill point.
Advance Your Skills
As you play through the main quest, you will find that Astara no longer provides you with the next quest immediately. You will need to advance to a higher level in the guild before you can move on. This can be accomplished by completing contracts and sacraments. When you advance to the next level in the guild, check to see if Astara has something new for you to do.
Don't forget to work on the murders outlined in The Litany of Blood (see Part 1). While these don't advance your standing in the guild, you will earn an achievement and unlock the Cadaverous Assassin polymorph on completion.
A Special Request
Astara requires your services for an unusual contract. This time, the client wants to meet the assassin before paying the Brotherhood's fee, and it turns out that the client is the Governor of Anvil - Pirate Queen Fortunata ap Dugal.
The Order of the Hour has expanded their religious operations, threatening the Pirate Queen's dominion. She blames this upon Count Carolus and needs you to kill Commander Marcus Scipio, the Count's loyal vassal. Additionally, she asks you to taunt the Count after murdering his man, to make sure that he knows who truly holds the power in the region.
Head to Castle Kvatch and talk to the Gate Officer. He will give you a lead on how to obtain a scroll with the seal of the Primate of Akatosh that grants you entry. Track down one of Akatosh's Chanters to get a scroll, and then enter the gatehouse.
Navigate the map and complete the contract by murdering Commander Scipio. When you speak with Count Carolus, however, he has a surprise for you. It turns out that he has just completed the ritual to hire a Dark Brotherhood assassin. Not only does he want to hire you to kill Pirate Queen Fortunata, but he also claims to know who has been killing your fellow assassins. Speaker Terenus conveniently arrives in response to the ritual and officially assigns you the contract for Governor Fortunata.
Return to Anvil to start plotting against Governor Fortunata. You will first be directed to meet with Mirabelle Motierre, an associate of the Dark Brotherhood. She directs you to poison the wine in your target's private pantry. However, to get there, you will need to sneak up to the top floor of the castle while avoiding the notice of the Red Sails guards. Mirabelle suggests that you use secret passages which can be found behind pairs of red drapes.
Whatever route you decide to take, once you reach the wine decanter and drop your poison in, find Governor Fortunata to report your success in killing Commander Scipio. She will ask to share a drink on the balcony. Stand quietly and watch your poison do its work, then return to Astara for a skill point, a new title, a piece of Sithis' Touch equipment, and a little gold.
Dark Revelations
I began the next section by speaking to Grazda beside the Gold Coast wayshrine, however, you may be able to simply start this by talking with Astara once you have advanced high enough in the guild. You have unfinished business with Count Carolus, so Astara directs you to meet with him at the ruins of Daske Moor. He has promised to give the guild information on the Black Dragon, the mysterious figure who has been killing your fellow assassins. Before you leave, you will be directed to speak with Mirabelle. She reveals that she has been hunting for the Black Dragon on her own and has personal reasons for searching her out.
Finding the Count is straight-forward. I had feared a trap, but there is no danger here. He reveals that the Black Dragon is also the First Sword of the Order of the Hour. This religious organization is gathering an army nearby, and the Count hopes that you can aid him in defeating a mutual danger, fearing that the Order threatens Kvatch, as well as the Dark Brotherhood. Explore the nearby Enclave where the Order has gathered and sabotage their operations.
Travel to the nearby Enclave and explore. This quest has several optional sections, so pay attention to your surroundings. You can stop in the courtyard to burn the Order's siege engines before entering the building. Mirabelle has also shown up to help in her own way. Speak with her before continuing your explorations. Inside the Enclave, the Red Sails pirate captains are meeting with the Order to discuss joining their forces. Stop the negotiations and continue to explore.
Battle your way past Waarash, a giant lizard, and then meet Lyra, a stranger who offers you help. She leads you further into the Enclave and into the Black Dragon's private chambers. Read the journal there but watch out - the woman using the name Lyra is actually the Black Dragon in disguise! Mirabelle arrives and challenges her, but is killed. You won't be able to stop it or to act against the Black Dragon at this point. She escapes, but you have discovered valuable information in her journal. Report in to Astara to receive a skill point, a piece of Sithis' Touch equipment, and a some gold.
A Ghost From the Past
This quest can also start by speaking to Grazda or Astara. Green-Venom-Tongue has been studying the journal of the Black Dragon, but has been acting strangely. Find him at the Sanctuary. He reveals that Lyra was once a highly-skilled member of the Dark Brotherhood from his home sanctuary but was killed when that base was "purified." The journal contradicts this, claiming that Lyra was slain directly by the Black Dragon. Green-Venom-Tongue needs you to accompany him to his former sanctuary to investigate the past.
Travel to Anvil to meet Green-Venom-Tongue for departure. He has arranged a private wagon to take you there. Once you arrive in this gorgeous instanced area, find your way through the jungles to the actual Sanctuary building. Green-Venom-Tongue lights a concoction of resin and invites you to breath the fumes so that you can see into the past. Explore the sanctuary and watch the story unfold through several ghostly conversations. You will discover that Lyra was not killed in the purge but rather carried it out. She was assigned a final contract to kill Primate Jonas in Kvatch.
Retrace your steps and leave the Sanctuary, and then meet Green-Venom-Tongue in Kvatch. He provides you with his last dose of resin. Watch another ghostly scene to discover that Lyra did betray and murder the members of her Sanctuary to become the Black Dragon. Report this to Astara to receive a skill point, a piece of Sithis' Touch equipment, and a little gold.
The Wrath of Sithis
Once you reach rank 7 in the Dark Brotherhood, you will be able to continue the main quest. Start this by speaking with Astara and follow Green-Venom-Tongue to Knightsgrave in the northwestern region of the Gold Coast. He has been tasked with killing the Black Dragon, and you are there to make sure he completes his mission. Examine the sealed doors and solve a puzzle by lighting torches in the correct order to reach the depths of this ruin.
As you proceed further, you will be separated from Green-Venom-Tongue as two minotaurs attack. By the time you defeat these enemies, Green-Venom-Tongue will already have confronted the Black Dragon and lost. Keep going past his body until you reach a large chamber where you finally get to fight the Black Dragon. She summons several "shadows" that you much defeat quickly before you become overwhelmed. Continue onward to a chamber dominated by a dragon statue for your final confrontation with the enemy. Once you vanquish your opponent, return to Astara for another reward.
Filling the Void
Primate Artorius knows the location of the Sanctuary and Astara fears that he will send the Order of the Hour against the Brotherhood shortly. Your last quest is to travel to Kvatch to kill Artorius as your brothers and sisters clear your path. Meet Tanek in the city and sneak into the cathedral catacombs. Fight your way past monsters and Artorius' minions until you reach the Primate. This will be one of the toughest fights in the Dark Brotherhood questline. Artorius has a continuous supply of soldiers on his side, but you have friends as well.
The Primate periodically freezes time for everyone, except the two of you, and then teleports to your side before unleashing a devastating attack. The best strategy is to keep moving, use a summoned creature to distract him if you can, and throw everything you've got at him when you don't have to worry about his other soldiers coming after you. Once he is defeated, you get to use a special execution skill for the final blow.
When you get back to the Sanctuary and report in to Astara, you will finally receive the Black Hand Robe costume (one of my favorites in the game so far), the title of Silencer, a skill point, another piece of equipment, and some gold. You probably won't have reached rank 10 in the guild yet, but you can still work toward this by finishing the Litany of Blood, contracts, and sacraments.
Crafting
The Dark Brotherhood DLC includes a new crafting style - the Assassin's League. As you work your way through the quests and contracts you will inevitably find some style books. Save these and work toward finding the entire set.
All together, learning the trade of a master assassin was a lot of fun, and well worth playing through. At the very least, you can unlock the Blade of Woe, earn more skill points, and wear the Black Hand Robe costume. Your Blade of Woe can be used throughout the game anytime that you can sneak up behind an enemy, for quicker kills. The guild skills are all passives and come in handy as well.
