Skyrim:In the Shadows - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) (2024)

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Quick Walkthrough[edit]

1. Read the Steward's Note.
2. Take the ledger copy at Arcadia's Cauldron.
3. Read the Business Ledger Copy.
4. Investigate the Hall of the Dead.
5. Check the stables.
6. Investigate the Silent Moons Camp.
7. Find the Assassin on the upper floor of Dragonsreach when the Jarl is unoccupied.
8. Retrieve the Bow of Shadows.
9. Speak to the Jarl's Steward.

Detailed Walkthrough[edit]

An Assassination Plot[edit]

Talk to Proventus Avenicci (or Brill if Balgruuf has been exiled) and ask if he has anything for you. He will hand you a note, explaining that he is concerned of an assassination plot on Jarl Balgruuf the Greater from an anonymous informer. He dare not tell it to you out loud due to the Jarl already having plenty of his plate, as well as the fact that he is unsure of its credibility.

Proventus would like you to visit Arcadia's Cauldron and look through their business ledger to spot any suspicious purchases; to this end he has asked Arcadia to leave you a copy to peruse.

Suspicious Purchases[edit]

Head to Arcadia's Cauldron and you will find the business ledger on the counter. Unlike the typical business ledgers, this one you can pick up; do so and look through it to find that two people - a Priest of Arkay and a Nord Stable Boy - have made purchases of poisons. Time to investigate and look at their motives for doing so.

The Hall of the Dead[edit]

Enter the Hall of the Dead and then the Whiterun Catacombs; note that if you have not entered this location before there will be hostile skeletons in this area - either kill or avoid them. Once you enter, descend down the flight of stairs to your left and you will find a dead skeever, a block of cheese, the poison in question and a note, explaining that the poison had been applied to the cheese in an attempt to rid the place of the skeever infestation.

Whiterun Stables[edit]

Exit Whiterun proper and down the path to the stables, where you will find a dead Nord behind a haystack of the leftmost stall. Beside him will be a lunar steel weapon. Loot the Nord and find upon him a note as well as a spell tome of Detect Life; like before, read the note and find that the Nord has been posing as a stable boy. The note also states that he was supposed to meet a Dark Elf at this location instead of at Silent Moons Camp and the spell tome was to help the Nord in locating him as the Dark Elf snuck up on him the last time, though he was apparently unable to get the spell working.

Off to Silent Moons Camp[edit]

Now that you have your next destination, make your way to Silent Moons Camp. Your objective is at the very back, so if you are so inclined you may opt to go around and hop over the wall, but whichever way you choose, a journal of an assassin will be lying on a table just outside the room containing the Lunar Forge. Again, pick it up and read it, finding largely ramblings but an important detail: the author of this book shall be waiting on the second floor of Dragonsreach, waiting for an opportune time to strike and kill the Jarl.

Back Where We Started[edit]

Return to Dragonsreach and head up the stairs on the right of the main hall to the second floor, then turn around and make your way out onto the balcony. The area looks clear, but once you reach the end you will find the Dark Elf assassin in question, who had been hiding under a cloak of invisibility; at this point he will become hostile and attack you. (You may also cast Detect Life to locate him if you have learned it from the spell tome you should have obtained earlier, however as he will cease to be invisible once you get close it is not necessary.) He is quite decently armed and can pose a fatal threat if you're of lower level, but luckily you have allies who will help if you lure him downstairs.

Note: Rather uniquely, the assassin is marked as protected, which means you must land the killing blow.

The assassin will not appear if the Jarl is occupied, and will not appear if you haven't started the quest Bleak Falls Barrow. The Jarl is considered occupied when the following quest stages are active:

• Bleak Falls Barrow - Stage 10: When Jarl Balgruuf is showing you to Farengar.
• Dragon Rising - Stages 10, 12, 13, 15, 20, 110, 120, 130, 150: During the scenes inside Dragonsreach at the beginning of the quest and after the Greybeards summon you to High Hrothgar.
• The Fallen - Stages 25, 27 - When persuading the Jarl about to trap Odahviing in Dragonsreach.
• At any point during Battle for Whiterun, Battle for Solitude, or Battle for Windhelm.

Once the assassin is dead, loot his corpse and find the Bow of Shadows. Speak to Proventus (or Brill) again and gain a monetary reward.

Bugs[edit]

• If you finish Bleak Falls Barrow, Dragon Rising, The Fallen, Battle for Whiterun, Battle for Solitude or Battle for Windhelm and the Jarl is not occupied, the assassin does not appear.
  • This can be resolved using console commands to manually advance the quest. Using: prid FExxx82F, kill, setstage ccBGSSSE038_Quest 80, openactorcontainer 1 This will kill the Assassin, update the quest so that he is dead, and allow the player to loot his inventory to take the Bow, which advances the quest once more so that you can talk to the Steward and collect the reward, ending the quest. You can use player.additem FExxx807 1 to get the Bow of Shadows
  • Alternatively, using the console command prid FExxx82f and then enable may allow the assassin to spawn in correctly, letting the player kill them normally and finish the quest as intended.

Notes[edit]

• The foray into Silent Moons Camp is a chance to pick up the six Lunar Iron/Steel weapon variants.
• The deceased Nord in the Stable carries the Detect Life spell tome which is a good chance to pick it up early on. Detect Life can help level Alteration quickly and is otherwise hard to obtain.

Quest Stages[edit]

In the Shadows (ccBGSSSE038_Quest)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
0		With the death of King Torygg, it seems not even the Jarls are safe in Skyrim, and security comes at a premium. Given the need for capable warriors, I should speak with the steward and see if he has any work for me. Objective 10: Speak to the Jarl's Steward
10		In Whiterun, I spoke to the Jarl's steward and asked him if he had any work. He handed me a note with details on a job. Objective 20: Read the Steward's Note
20		In Whiterun, I spoke to the Jarl's steward and asked him if he had any work. He handed me a note with details on a job. Reading the note, it seems there may be a potential assassination plot against the Jarl. The steward wants me to visit the local alchemist and check if anyone has purchased any poisons. Objective 30: Take the ledger copy at Arcadia's Cauldron
30		It seems there may be a potential assassination plot against the Jarl. At the steward's direction, I visited a local alchemist and took a copy of her ledger. I should read it to see if anyone has recently purchased any poisons. Objective 40: Read the Business Ledger Copy
40		It seems there may be a potential assassination plot against the Jarl. At the steward's direction, I visited a local alchemist and took a copy of her ledger. I read it and found two people had purchased poisons. A priest at the Hall of the Dead, and a stable boy. Objective 50: Investigate the Hall of the Dead Objective 60: Check the stables
70		Objective 70: Investigate the Silent Moons Camp
60		At the Silent Moons Camp, I discovered a journal from an assassin who intends on killing the Jarl of Whiterun. He intends to take the shot from somewhere unoccupied, using the Bow of Shadows to conceal himself. It's likely he will only appear when the Jarl is not tending to any other business. I should find him and take him out before he can carry through with the plot. Objective 80: Find the Assassin on the upper floor of Dragonsreach when the Jarl is unoccupied
80		At the Silent Moons Camp, I discovered a journal from an assassin who intends on killing the Jarl of Whiterun. After following his trail, I found him in Dragonsreach and eliminated him. Objective 90: Retrieve the Bow of Shadows
90		At the Silent Moons Camp, I discovered a journal from an assassin who intends on killing the Jarl of Whiterun. After following his trail, I found him in Dragonsreach and eliminated him, taking the Bow of Shadows for myself. Objective 100: Speak to the Jarl's Steward
100		At the Silent Moons Camp, I discovered a journal from an assassin who intends on killing the Jarl of Whiterun. After following his trail, I found him in Dragonsreach and eliminated him, taking the Bow of Shadows for myself. I then returned to the steward and received my reward.

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 25.