11: The Purification

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Guide - Dark Brotherhood

11: The Purification

A traitor has infiltrated the ranks of the Dark Brotherhood. The traitor is believed to have ties to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, so everyone who resides there must be exterminated. That's right; you're asked to carry out an act known as the 'Purification,' which entails killing Vicente, Ocheeva, and everyone else in the Cheydinhal Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.

Regardless of any reluctance on your part, there is no way around it; you must kill your former allies if you wish to progress in the Dark Brotherhood questline. For this task, Lucien provides you with a single Poisoned Apple and a special Scroll of Summoning. You can acquire 10 additional Poisoned Apples from the locked barrel near Lucien's desk. Be sure to collect these apples before leaving Fort Farragut, as having them will make wiping out the inhabitants of the Sanctuary a considerably easier task.

Once you have everything you need, exit Fort Farragut via the rope ladder in Lucien's room. With 'The Purification' set as your active quest, an arrow for each member of the Dark Brotherhood Cheydinhal Sanctuary will appear on your compass.

Plant Poisoned Apples in the Living Quarters to indirectly kill your comrades.

There are several different ways you can go about completing this quest. Perhaps the most obvious way is to simply attack each target and kill them off one by one. This method is slightly more difficult, as by attacking one member, you are likely to have the entire Sanctuary after you.

An easy way to thin the herd is with the use of Poisoned Apples. To use the Poisoned Apples effectively, enter the Living Quarters and remove every single piece of food there. Then, leave some of the Poisoned Apples on the table. Eventually, one of the targets will pick up an apple, eat it, and eventually succumb to the poison. You can also try planting a Poisoned Apple in any of their inventories. To do this, enter Sneak Mode, approach one of the targets, and pickpocket him or her. Then, switch over to your inventory and place one of the Poisoned Apples in your target's inventory. It may be a few days before the character consumes the apple.

You can purchase additional Poisoned Apples from M'raaj-Dar, but for a relatively steep price. If you've left some Poisoned Apples around for your targets, you can use the wait feature to pass the hours by. When some time has passed, you'll likely come across one or more of your targets dead.

If you pass more hours and the remaining targets refuse to eat one of the apples, you can just kill them off any way you like. The scrolls that Lucien provided you with can be used to summon Rufio's ghost, but they are likely unnecessary. The remaining targets shouldn't be too hard to kill; just make the first strike a sneak attack and then slash away until they fall. Telaendril, the High Elf, is not always in the Sanctuary, but should appear at around 12:00AM.

Kill everyone in the Cheydinhal Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary to complete the Purification.

Once the Cheydinhal Sanctuary has been wiped out, return to Lucien at Fort Farragut and inform him of your success. Your reward for completing this quest is a fair steed named Shadowmere. Shadowmere is unarguably the best horse in the game; she is very fast, and can also take a fair amount of punishment. As well, Lucien will promote you to the Silencer rank.