Fancy yourself some kind of assassin do you? Well if you have your heart set on murder and buying your armour in Hot Topic, this is the information you need. Here’s our guide to join the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim Anniversary Edition.
Skyrim Brotherhood Guide Step One: Find A Contract
You can hardly be a contract killer without a contract. In order to take your first steps into the seedy underworld of murder-for-hire, head to Windhelm. As you walk about the city, you’ll hear mention of Aventus Aretino. He’s a young boy who lived in the city until his mother died, at which point he was sent off to an orphanage in Riften. However, Aventus escaped and has returned to his family home in Windhelm. People have been hearing strange noises from the house, it sounds like the boy is trying to summon something evil.
So, go be summoned you big, evil murderer. Enter the Aretino household and approach young Aventus. He will tell you all about Grelod the Kind; the abusive owner of the Riften’s Honorhall Orphanage. This lady is a real piece of work, and Aventus would really appreciate it if you would go murder her face off. You see, Aventus here is attempting to summon the Dark Brotherhood, a secretive organisation of assassins. They’re not here, though, and you are, so you might as well take the job if you fancy.
Brotherhood Guide Step Two: Do A Murder
Make your way to the Orphanage in Riften. Inside, you’ll find Grelod the Kind living up to her sarcastic moniker. Frankly, this lady is asking for an axe to the face. After addressing the children, she will return to her room. This is a pretty convenient opportunity to un-alive her without anyone seeing you. Make good on your promise to young Aventino, then head back to see him in Windhelm.
When you return, he will thank you for what you did and reward you with a valuable family heirloom. That’s that, the job’s done, so head on out and get back to adventuring!
After twenty-four in-game hours have passed, the next time you enter a city you will be approached by a courier. He will have a note for you, and tell you that some spooky fella in a hood paid him handsomely to get this letter to you. The note has a large handprint on it, and says “We Know”. Well, that’s creepy. You might not want to sleep after reading that but in fact, that is exactly what you want to do to reach step three.
Guide Step Three: Initiation
Going to sleep after reading the note will have you waking up to an unfamiliar ceiling. You’ll find yourself in a shack, confronted by a hooded lady sitting on a wardrobe like an absolute edge lord. Her name is Astrid, and she will reveal to you that she is part of the Dark Brotherhood. She’s impressed by your work with Grelod, but tells you that taking a Dark Brotherhood contract is a problem. You’re not in the Brotherhood, you shouldn’t misrepresent them. So, she offers you a choice.
Behind you are three people, bound and with sacks over their heads. Astrid tells you one of them is a Dark Brotherhood contract, and she wants to see if you can figure out which one. She’s testing you, but luckily for you there is no wrong answer. You can kill any of these people, you could even kill them all, and Astrid will be happy with you. Doing this will get you an invite to the Brotherhood’s headquarters, and entry into the organisation.
Now, there is another option. Perhaps this was all a ruse and in fact, you despise assassins. Well, should you turn your sword on Astrid, you will fail the quest to join the Brotherhood but begin a new quest to destroy the Brotherhood. This quest is little more than a killing spree, but it’s a fun twist.
So that’s our guide on how to go from common thug to contract killer and join the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim Anniversary Edition. If you’d like to learn how to do other, less murder-y things (mostly), check out our guides on how to get married, how to become a farmer and how to make money. Or check out our guides on how to build an effective sneaky murderer, or how to find more weapons for murdering with.
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Featured Image Credit: Bethesda