Special Sub-Topic: The Dark Brotherhood Click Here To Play: The Dark Brotherhood

Who initially recruits you into the Dark Brotherhood?

Lucien Lachance. Lucien Lachance appears the first time you sleep after murdering an innocent NPC. Ocheeva and Valtieri are members of the Cheydinhal sanctuary and Arquen does not enter the game until much later.

Who of the following is NOT a member of the Black Hand?

Fafnir. Fafnir is the Dark Brotherhood member who guards the door of Summitmist Manor during Whodunit. All of the others are present at Applewatch just before the "Honor Thy Mother" quest- the last of the Brotherhood questline.

Which cult did the Dark Brotherhood originally branch off from?

Morag Tong. While many in-game myths debate exactly how and when the Brotherhood branched off, the one thing that they agree on is that the Morag Tong was the mother of the Brotherhood. The most reliable myths even state that the Night Mother was the main leader who lead the Brotherhood away from the Morag Tong and introduced the worship of Sithis (supplanting Mephala - the Morag Tong's patron). There are many myths about this in the game however, and all contradict each other. The in-game text "Brothers of Darkness" contains one such myth. Talking to Brotherhood NPCs can give you very different tidbits of the story.

Teinaava and Ocheeva are both *this*, a special rank of assassins in Argonia. Teinaava also asks you to assassinate a "renegade" member of this order early in the Brotherhood quest line. What is their special assassin's rank in Argonia?

Shadowscale. Argonians in Black Marsh who are born under the sign of the Shadow are given to the Brotherhood and trained as Shadowscales - Assassins for the Royal Household of Argonia. Scar-Tail is the "renegade" that Teinaava sends you after in "The Renegade Shadowscale". According to Teinaava and Ocheeva, they had trained with Scar-Tail since they were all hatchlings.

Vicente Valtieri offers you his Dark Gift after you complete which mission?

The Assassinated Man. The Assassinated Man (where you stage the murder of Francois Motierre) is Valtieri's last given quest. He will only offer you Vampirism after completing all of his quests.

Where is Lucien Lachance's stronghold located?

Fort Farragut. Fort Farragut is located just Northeast of Cheydinhal. It is populated with leveled undead that you have to cut your way through to get to Lachance, but that means decent leveled loot as well. Of course, you *could* just enter through the trap door concealed in that hollowed out tree...but what is the fun in that?

Vicente Valtieri complains about whose cooking as a hint to the player that he is allergic to garlic?

Antoinetta Marie. Valtieri has a "Note to Ocheeva" in his desk which divulges all of this information. Also, if you go sneaking around in the chests of the different Cheydinhal Sanctuary members, you will see that Antoinetta Marie has a lot of cooking ingredients stored by her bedside. The specifics are pretty random however, and garlic is not always among her stock when you go looting.

According to rumors among the Dark Brotherhood Murderers, Arquen did what to Lucien Lachance after he had been killed?

Feasted on his entrails. You have to ask for "rumors" of the young Brotherhood Murderers that appear in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary after you complete the whole questline. Eventually they'll tell you what they have heard about Arquen!

Who did the eighth Dead Drop quest ask you to assassinate before Lucien interrupts you and sends you after the traitor instead?

Arquen. Arquen would have been the next hit, but we all know how that turned out... Interestingly, although it tells you to look for her around Chorrol, Arquen has left no trace for you to track her down by (unlike Alval and J'Ghasta). At least the two others have houses in their respective cities. J'Ghasta spawns with his Dead Drop, but Alval is in the game from the beginning. Both also have Speakers robes from the beginning in their houses for you to loot.

Why did Mathieu Bellamont want revenge on the Dark Brotherhood?

Lucien Lachance killed his mother. This is evidenced very clearly in his diary, located near his mother's (not so well) preserved head. Through the muddled and schizophrenic writings, you get the story of how Lucien murdered his mother, and how Bellamont swore his revenge. He spent a long time slowly infiltrating the Brotherhood, befriending his enemies, and working his way through their ranks - all while going not-so-slowly insane. Fun side note if you haven't done it: take the "Mothers Head" from his house and drop it on the floor in Applewatch before talking to him. I won't ruin his reaction for you though!