8: Whodunit?

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Guide - Dark Brotherhood

8: Whodunit?

This next contract involves killing a whole group of people. The targets are attending a party in the Summitmist Manor in Skingrad; you are to travel there and systematically kill each member of the party. If done in such a way that no one at the party witnesses any of the murders, Ocheeva will have a bonus reward for you upon completion of the contract.

When you're ready to get started, travel to Skingrad, locate Summitmist Manor, and speak to Fafnir, the doorman, to receive the Summitmist Manor Key. The guests, under the false belief that a chest full of Gold is hidden somewhere in the house, have all agreed to remain locked inside until the treasure is found.

There are several ways that one can go about killing each target without being seen. The opportune time to take out a couple of the guests is while they are alone in the upstairs bedroom. Make use of your compass to determine when one of the guests is alone. Initially, while in the main hall, each guest will be marked by a green arrow; if one of the arrows turns red, it means that the target the arrow is pointing to has left the room. Head up the stairs to the Summitmist Manor Living Quarters, ensure that you're alone with the target, and then kill take out your weapon him or her.

Pick off the other guests at the party in Summitmist Manor one by one. The upstairs Living Quarters is a good place to make the first few kills without being witnessed.

Regardless of how you attack, the guest should die with a single strike. Most of the guests will eventually head up to one of the upstairs bedrooms, so you can wait up there for awhile until you have killed at least three of them. Use the Wait feature to pass an hour by, and by then one of the guests may have migrated upstairs. The corpses won't bother them too much, as the guests seem perfectly alright with sleeping in a bedroom where someone was murdered just seconds ago.

Once you have picked off at least three of the guests, locate and speak to Nels the Naughty in the main hall. He tells you that he's going to the basement for a drink. Follow him down to the basement and kill him. With four out of five of the guests out of the way, just run up to the final target and strike him or her dead.

After killing all five targets, you're free to go. Leave Summitmist Manor, return to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, and speak to Ocheeva there. If none of the murders were witnessed, Ocheeva will reward you with the Night Mother's Blessing, which permanently raises your Acrobatics, Blade, Marksman, Sneak, and Security skills by two levels. Accept another contract from Ocheeva to complete 'The Assassin's Gambit' quest.

Killing the other party guests in Summitmist Manor.