The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Daedric Shrine Quest Guide for the PC Version 1.67 April 10,2006 Written by: WhoGuru Copyright 2006 Karen Hoyt INTRO: This is my first FAQ, so bear with me. I couldn't find one on the Shrines and after much frustration, decided to do it myself. If at any point, you wonder about the order of the Shrines...if there is one, I don't know it. This is simply the order I used. I sometimes use a previous Shrine to reference the location of the next. So, there is method to my madness. If I've missed something you've found, let me know. OR, if Ive made an error somewhere, please let me know and I'll investigate. Good luck and Enjoy. =============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1: Hints,Tips and general info 2: Shrine of Azura 3: Shrine of Namira 4: Shrine of Mephala 5: Shrine of Boethia 6: Shrine of Peryites 7: Shrine of Nocturnal 8: Shrine of Sheogorath 9: Shrine of Molag Bal 10: Shrine of Hircine 11: Shrine of Clavicus Vile #XBOX 360 fixes for the crash. 12: Shrine of Meridia 13: Shrine of Sanguine 14: Shrine of Vaermina 15: Shrine of Malacath 16: Shrine of Hermaeus Mora 17: Frequently Asked Questions 18: Credits 19: Contact Me 20: Copyright Notice =============================================================================== 1: Hints,Tips and general info ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Each Shrine walkthrough is laid out the same way. Requisite Level, Location, Offering, Time of Day, Reward and the Quest. Some of the details about dungeon delving treasure may be a bit sparse. I figure you can explore on your own once you know where you're going. ##I did each Shrine AT THE LEVEL REQUIRED, no more. As the creatures and treasures in Oblivion are to some extent random and level with you, you may find yourself facing something different, or finding different treasure. Don't take what I faced as what you'll find, more as a guide that at that level, you're likely to face something similar. When sneaking, removing your boots is a great idea. It lowers the chances of anyone near hearing the sound of your footsteps. This actually works. When beginning a Shrine quest, go ahead and save at the beginning. Do not however save again until you've completed the quest. ie: recieved your reward from the Daedra. You never know when something you did, or didn't do, could negate your success. The voice of experience here. Feel free to Quicksave. Pay attention to the level requirements, if the level is low, there's probably a reason, as in Namira's Shrine. Low stats are the only way to get the quest. If your stats are too high, you'll have to either skip it, find a potion/spell or use the console codes to lower them. Not that I'm advocating cheating, because that would just be wrong. Of course. Yeah. Anyway. Doing these before you've advanced the main quest too far could be to your benefit. As the main quest progresses, so do the number of Oblivion gates opened across the countryside. Stray too near one and it starts spitting Daedra at you. Depends on how distracted you like to be during a quest. The bad guys really DO level up with you. Again, this goes toward the level requirements. Some of the quests take you into Oblivion, higher level - spunkier bad guys. Your choice. I apologize now for the directions to some of the Shrines. You're going to have to do some wandering. Some of them are a little difficult to give accurate directions to. You'll see and if you think of a better way to give the directions, let me know and I'll update it, with due credit of course. Detect Life spells are your freinds when commencing combat with chameleonic creatures of the night. Clear your inventory before each quest. There's some very good,and expensive treasure to be had here... but only if you can carry it. It is possible to get map markers for atleast some of the Shrines by talking to the people in each town. If you see "Daedra" as a conversation topic, that person will give you one. However, this conversation topic is only activated once you reach a certain point in the main quest. Always watch your compass. When you near a Shrine, or any other landmark on the map, the icon will appear in your compass. The Shrine Icon looks like a little genie lamp, or maybe it's a teapot...or my glasses need a stronger prescription. =============================================================================== 2: Shrine of Azura YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 2 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Almost Due North (NNW) of Cheydinhal Castle, past lake Arrius. I think this is also the only Shrine marked on your map at the beginning. OFFERING: Glow Dust, obtained from the Will O' the Wisp. TIME: Dawn or Dusk 5-7 am or pm REWARD: Azura's Star - reuseable soul gem QUEST: Now, you can A: Run around the countryside hunting for the elusive will o' the wisp or B: Go to the "Main Ingredient" shop in the Imperial City Market District and buy some. It's cheap. At dawn or dusk, offer the glow dust to the Shrine. Azura will speak to you and offer a quest. Travel to the "Gutted Mine" and give the peace of death to five of her followers who were afflicted with Porphyric Hemophelia while cleansing said mine of Vampires. The mine is SW of her Shrine. Follow your map marker. There's a tripwire just inside the door, show off those acrobatic skills and jump over it. You'll run into two of the afflicted brethren in the first room. A detect life spell could come in handy here as one or more of them may cast invisibility. Green map markers will show you the location of each of the brethren. They're all nicely spread out so you wont face more than two at a time. Fight your way through and your journal should update after you kill the last one. Return to Azura's Shrine for your reward. She'll thank you for freeing her brethren and gives you Azura's Star, the reusable soul gem you may remember from Morrowind. NOW, go find a church and get a blessing from the altar unless you want to play out the rest of the game as a bloodsucker. You HAVE been infected with Porphyric Hemophelia. Three days of infection will bring on the dream. I suggest a church because a cure disease potion didn't work for me, but it may for you. =============================================================================== 3: Shrine of Namira YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 5 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: ESE of Bruma's East Gate OFFERING: Namira is ONLY interested in speaking to the repulsive. You need a personality score of 20 to get this quest. Buy a few bottles of "Cheap Wine". Each bottle will lower your personality by 10 pts. for 120 secs. Lower your score to 20 and the quest will be yours. TIME: Any REWARD: Ring of Namira - Reflect Damage 12% constant effect Reflect Spell 10% constant effect QUEST: Namira tells of the Forgotten, a group of fanatical worshippers that live in the darkness of Anga. Priests of Arkay are planning to bring light to Anga and "save" the Forgotten ones. You are to use the spell Namira gives you, Namira's shroud, on the priests, and let the Forgotten finish them off. Anga is due south of the Shrine and is an Ayleid ruin. DO NOT use a torch in here. the light hurts the forgotten ones and hurting Namira's fanatics might just hurt your chances of getting a reward. Use Night Eye. The Priests of Arkay are easy pickin's. Simply walk up, cast the spell then stand back and watch the Forgotten work out their frustrations. All the priests are shown on your map with the usual green markers. Once they're all dead, return to the Shrine. Namira thanks you for freeing her Forgotten to wallow in their misery and awards you the Ring of Namira. =============================================================================== 4: Shrine of Mephala YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 15 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Almost due south (SSE) of Namira's Shrine and almost due north (NNE) of Vilverin, about midway between the two. OFFERING: Nightshade. Again, wander the hills or visit the shop. TIME: Between midnight and dawn. REWARD: the Ebony Blade - Silence 10 seconds on strike Absorb Health 8 pts. on strike Charge 3700 / 45 uses QUEST: The Webspinner, as she's also known, asks you to go to Bleaker's Way. There are two families there, Nord and Dunmer. You are to kill the leaders and plant evidence on the bodies incriminating the other families. "Allow no one to see you commit these crimes", which isn't hard. On a side note - This is murder and "forces unseen" will take notice. Follow your map marker to Bleaker's Way. In Hrol Ulfgar's house, he should be alone. Knock him off, he's a pushover. On the second floor, on a table in a side room, you'll find the Ulfgar family ring. Take it. On to your next victim. Nivan Dalvilu. He's home, near as I can tell, between 6pm and 6am. Enter the house and kill him. Plant the Ulfgar family ring on his body. On a table to the right of the door as you entered is the Dalvilu Ceremonial dagger. Take it and return to the scene of your first crime. Plant the dagger on Ulfgar's body. At this point your journal should update. Go back outside and find someone, doesn't matter who, and prompt the carnage. Heh heh. Now, stand back and enjoy the fruits of your labor, a village wide melee. Of course, you'll have to make sure it's 6am if you want to see the fued. Return to the Shrine for your reward. Mephala is pleased with the strife you've caused and awards you her Ebony Blade. =============================================================================== 5: Shrine of Boethia YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 20 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: This is a cross country trek and not an easy find. Two routes: A - (Longer) Start outside the Arcane University and travel due east. You should run straight into the Shrine...eventually. B - (shorter and less clear) Start at Cheydinhal and travel SSE from the city. The Shrine is about halfway up a mountain ridge. OFFERING: A Daedra's heart. I'm sure, by now, you can think of a few hellish places to pick one up. TIME: Any REWARD: Goldbrand - Fire damage 22 pts. on Strike Charge 3000 / 76 uses QUEST: Boethia offers you the chance to participate in the "Tournament of the Ten Bloods". He opens a portal to Oblivion, go through when you're prepared for a series of ten one-on-one battles. You'll arrive in a brood cage. Don't panic. Open the cage and move down the ramp, the first gate is too your right. Boethia's a talkative fellow, enjoy the occasional short monologues on the chosen's dissapointing defeats. Oh, and falling off into the lava would be bad, know where the edge is at all times. Better yet, try not to get caught on the bridges. Some of the Chosen wield magic, all have enchanted weapons. There's some choice loot here. They are also weighed down with health potions, which keeps this from being impossibly hard. At level 20, they're not too difficult if you're fast on your feet. Simply frag your way through Boethia's champions, making yourself the victor, then exit back through the portal to the Shrine. You are now Boethia's Chosen one. He rewards you with his enchanted sword, the Goldbrand. =============================================================================== 6: Shrine of Peryites YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 10 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Due South of Boethia's Shrine on the opposite side of the river. OFFERING: None TIME: Any REWARD: the Spell Breaker - Reflect spell 30% constant effect QUEST: Five of Peryite's followers have put themselves into a trance, transporting their souls to His Oblivion dimension. Simply click on his Shrine to activate the quest. Your mission: Go to Oblivion, retrieve all 5 souls to reunite them with their bodies. Activate the Shrine a second time when you're ready to go. This place is long but fairly straight forward, not a lot of twists and turns. There are, however, a plethora of Daedra here, heal often. The followers will show up on your map as green markers. Soul 1 - Follow the path around and to your left. You'll find the soul of Ilvel Romayn in front of the Bloodwell Tower. Nothing much in the tower. On the upper floor, you'll find a Dremora Kynmarcher with a nifty "Grand Ring of Strength" - Fortify Strength 10 pts. constant effect. Leave the tower. Soul 2 - Head back up the hill and turn left at the arch. Down this path and on your right, you'll find the soul of Er-Teeus outside the door to "the Sightless Grotto". Soul 3 - Enter the Grotto. Inside, take the path to your left and follow through to the "Oblivion cave to the realm of Peryite". Follow the long, loooong path and find the soul of Kewan. Soul 4 - Keep to the path and keep to your left or you'll find yourself back where you started. Checking the map often is a good thing. You'll find a fork in the path. Head left, jump some rocks over the lava, and find Maren the Seal outside the door to another sightless grotto. Skip the grotto if you're in a hurry. There's nothing of importance, some common soul gems, a bit of gold and a round-a-bout path that will lead you back to where you found Er-Teeus. Soul 5 - Retrace your steps over the lava and back to the fork and go left. Follow this around, whoop some Daedra and you'll find the soul of Mirie. Release her and head back to the Portal where you came in. Peryite thanks you for releasing his idiot followers and rewards you with his shield, the Spell Breaker. =============================================================================== 7: Shrine of Nocturnal YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 10 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Start in Leyawiin. Leave by the North East gate and follow the road north. You'll pass the Ayleid citadel of Veyond, Blanken March and find a dirt path on your right leading to the Shrine. OFFERING: None TIME: Any REWARD: Skeleton Key - Unlimited Uses, Fortify Security 40 pts. QUEST: The Daedra's "Eye of Nocturnal" has been stolen, She believes by two Argonian thieves hiding out in Leyawiin. She asks you to find them, retrieve her eye and return it. Quick travel back to Leyawiin's North East gate and talk to the guard just inside. He'll point you to Weebam-Na and Bejeen. They were recently boasting about a valuable jewel they had found. Check your map and you'll find a map marker for Weebam-Na's house. Weebam-Na and Bejeen both play dumb when you ask them. Go back around the corner by the door and listen in on their conversation. They've stashed the jewel in Tidewater cave. Your journal will update at this point and give you a map marker. They also comment on the place being overrun with Trolls. Make your way to the cave. As you may have guessed from the name, this one requires a little swim. When you enter, there should be a couple bears waiting for you just inside. The path to your left is the one you want. It curves around and you'll have to take a quick dive in the dead end to reach the jewel. No worries. Now, if you're up for some useful treasure, assuming it wasn't random, head back to where you came in and take the paths that curve around to the right. There's an underwater tunnel leading to a small chamber, don't worry, there is air here, also a couple slaughterfish. There's a chest floating at the top. Inside, you'll find a "Greater Soul Trap Ring" - Soul Trap 30 seconds and a "Ring of Wizardry" - fortifies all your magical skills by 10 points, constant effect. As for Trolls, I only found three, and a bunch of bears and mountain lions. Return to the Shrine and claim your reward. The Skeleton Key makes this quest worth a little swimming, for all those aspiring thieves out there. =============================================================================== 8: Shrine of Sheogorath YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 2 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Leave Leyawiin by the West Gate and follow the road North. Stay on this side of the river. You'll pass "White Stallion Lodge". Keep heading North and you'll come to "Waters Edge", turn due NNW. You'll pass "Rockmilk Cave" and should run into the Shrine a little ways later. It's slightly further from Waters Edge as that is to White Stallion Lodge OFFERING: A lesser soul gem, a head of lettuce and yarn. TIME: Any REWARD: Wabbajack Staff - Wabbajack on target Charge 3000 / 10 uses QUEST: Let the wierdness begin. There are several faithful around the Shrine, they're all in their undies and all mad as hatters. Ravel is the one you want, he'll give you the absurd list of offerings you need. Buy or borrow what you need. The imperial city market has everything on your list, either in a shop or stashed in the street crates. Now that you have all your goodies, approach the Shrine. Sheogorath is a real fruit bat with too much time on his hands. He asks you to visit the settlement of "Borderwatch", where they are "dull, dull, dull". He wants you to bring one of their darker prophecies to life, simulating the events, and providing him with amusement. You are to find the Shaman and ask him about the K'Sharra prophecies. You should have a map marker for the village now. The Shaman's name is Ri'Bassa, he's probably hanging out by the cookfire. If he likes you enough, he'll tell you about the prophecy. It has three plagues: a vermin infestation, all of the sheep mysteriously dying and the third, which he wont talk about. He'll tell how thier cooking fire can be smelled across the countryside and suggest you go to the Inn and ask the barmaid about her cheese collection. Helpful, isn't he. The barmaid is a stinky cheese collector. In fact, she has, in a locked case by the bar, the stinkiest cheese ever made, the Olroy cheese. She'll tell you if it was ever left out, it would bring rats from miles around. Show off your sneaking skills, unlock the case, steal the cheese and go back outside. As a point of interest, there's a "Nirnroot" in a pot on the shelf behind her. Outside, the cooking fire is to the left of the Inn, drop in your cheese. Be patient, if you cook it, they will come. A swarm of rats will shortly make their way into the village. Chaos ensues and your journal will update. Your buddy, Ri'Bassa is dropping rat poison around the square to kill them. Now for the second plague. Grab one of the rat poison piles and head over to the sheep pen. It's just to the left of the Inn. Drop the rat poison into the feed trough. The sheep will gravitate to their deaths like...well...lambs to the slaughter. Heh. Once the last sheep drops dead, Sheogorath will speak to you again, congratulating your victory and ask you to go to the center of town for the final plague. You know, the one Ri'Bassa wouldn't talk about. The center of town is the area between the two main stairs. Get comfy and look up. Sheogorath outdoes himself and I'm not going to spoil it. Once the fun is over, return to the Shrine for your reward. =============================================================================== 9: Shrine of Molag Bal YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 17 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: From "Weynon Priory", head East along the road until you come to "Odiil Farm". Turn South just after the farm. You'll find "Narfinsel", an Ayleid ruin. The Shrine is just South of the ruin. OFFERING: The Pelt of a Lion. TIME: Any REWARD: Mace of Molag Bal - Absorb Strength 5 pts. on Strike Absorb Magicka 5 pts. on strike Charge 2200 / 44 uses QUEST: Molag Bal will give you a cursed Mace and send you to "Brindle Home". There you must find Melus Petilius and drive him to kill you with the Mace. Molag Bal promises to save you before you die. Probably. Melus Petilius is a good man and a Paladin. Molag despises him of course. Follow your map marker to "Brindle Home". It's a short walk. Once there, ask one of the villagers about Melus. They'll tell you his wife died while he was away fighting and he hasn't lifted a weapon since. He goes to his wife's grave every day to mourne her. I found him there around one in the afternoon. Follow him to the grave. Drop the Mace in front of him and throw a fireball at him, or some other minor attack that wont kill him. You MUST be at the grave or he will not fight. I recommend removing all your armor, as well as any enchanted items that reflect magic. If Melus dies, you lose. Now, go get a drink. Have a wee. This is going to take a bit. As you die, Molag Bal transports you back to the Shrine, true to his word, alive and well. He thanks you for corrupting the Paladin and creating another ruined soul. As a reward he gives you his Mace. =============================================================================== 10: Shrine of Hircine YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 17 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Start outside the south wall of the "Arcane University". Travel South. Just before you cross the water, you'll find "Fatback Cave". On the other side, you'll find "Sardavar Leed", an Ayleid ruin. As you pass on its East side, a Shrine icon should appear in your compass. Follow this to the Shrine, just South and a little East of the ruin. OFFERING: A Bear pelt or a Wolf pelt TIME: Any REWARD: Savior's Hide Cuirass - Resist Magic 25% constant effect QUEST: Hircine is the great white hunter type. and he demands proof of your skills. You're to go to the "Harcane Grove", slay a Unicorn and bring the horn back to Hircine as a trophy. Follow your map marker. There are three Guardians of the Grove. Minotaurs with Elven Warhammers. Try to only attract the attention of one at a time. They're alot easier to take on that way. Once you've dealt with the Guardians, go after the Unicorn. He'll just stand there as long as your weapon is sheathed. Almost seems a shame to kill him as you can ride him. Unfortunately, if you do take him, when you get off, he'll return to the Grove. You can't keep him. Once you've killed him, assuming you're not riding in style now, take the Unicorn's horn back to Hircine and recieve your reward. =============================================================================== 11: Shrine of Clavicus Vile YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 20 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Leave the Imperial City from "Talos Plaza" and cross the bridge into "Weye". Take the first left on the road and follow it South, staying along the waterfront. You'll find "Fanacasecul", an Ayleid ruin. Pass it by and keep following the road, well, more of a path now, South until you find "Fort Virtue". From here, turn to face SW and you should see a Shrine icon appear in your compass. OFFERING: 500 gold TIME: Any REWARD: Mask of Clavicus Vile - Fortify Personality 20 pts. constant effect OR Umbra Sword - Soul Trap for 120 seconds QUEST: Clavicus Vile has a deal for you. He wants you to go after the Umbra Sword. It holds the soul of a hero he had dealings with. In return, he'll give you his mask. He tells you to start in "Pell's Gate". You now have a map marker. You also recieve a statuette of a dog. His name is Barbas, the Hound of Clavicus Vile. Once you reach "Pell's Gate", Barbas tells you returning Umbra to Clavicus would be a big mistake, things always end badly with that sword. Like we're going to listen to that. Onward we go. In "Pell's Gate". speak with Irroke the Wide and he'll tell you about Umbra. His apprentice, Lenwin, found the sword, became bloodthirsty, joined up with mercenaries and began calling herself Umbra. She was last seen near the Ayleid ruin, "Vindasel". Follow your new map marker. Enter "Vindasel". Keep alert for traps, there are a couple in here of the near instant death variety. In the first large chamber is a drop away section of floor with, you geussed it, spikes. Kill the rats, try not to be impaled. In the next large Chamber, stay away from the center of the room. It spews poison gas. More rats, no loot. Head down the passage. In the next, small room, another rat and a small coffer with a strong potion of healing. Go through the gate and down the hall. Here you'll find Umbra; the sword and the person. She offers you a choice: Stay and die or leave and live your life. Barbas the dog pipes up at this point, trying to convince you to go back to the Shrine and take your chances with a dissapointed Clavicus. We're not going to listen. She's tough, but not that tough. Once you've killed her, pick up the sword. The dog tries to talk you out of giving it to Clavicus one more time, saying it will ruin him. Back to the Shrine, avoiding traps on your way out. Now you have a choice. Give back the sword or keep it. If you keep it, Clavicus is mad and swears to watch you from now on, the sword also goes from weighing nothing to 45 lbs. It's also one of the most powerful swords in the game, not too mention handy for enchanters. If you give him the sword, you'll recieve the Mask of Clavicus Vile. If you found this in Morrowind, you'll know it's a sweet piece of armor. Either way, Barbas the dog will leave you once you've made your choice and return to his masters side. If you notice your magicka not regenerating, you've been cursed with "Astral Vapors". Just go to the nearest church and get a blessing from the altar. ###On the XBOX 360, there is a now infamous glitch. If you go to the Shrine and get this quest, you're given the statue of the dog. The Dog WILL crash your game when you bring the sword back to the Shrine, as soon as he leaves your inventory to return to Vile. The only real solution for this is to go get the sword BEFORE recieving the quest. Go to Vindasel, Kill Umbra and take the sword. At some point, your journal will update telling you to go to the Shrine. Go to the Shrine, talk first to the Khajiit priest, then the Shrine. If you don't talk to the priest first, the dog statue will STILL appear in your inventory, causing the glitch. Once you've spoken to the Khajiit, talk to the Shrine and either return the sword or keep it. This way you can finish the quest without ever having the dog in your inventory. ###If you can't go back to a save before you took the quest, try this. Talk to the Shrine and give back the sword or keep it, whichever. AS SOON as you're done talking to the shrine, hit your journal button, go to your map and quick travel to Bruma. If you get there and start to hear the dog begin to speak, go into your map and quick travel somewhere else, fast as you can. It's the dog that's crashing your game. Keeping him from speaking is your only way to avoid the crash. You may have to do this several times and it doesn't always work, timing is everything. Good luck. =============================================================================== 12: Shrine of Meridia YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 10 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Start at Castle Skingrad. Leave by the West Gate. Follow the road west until it turns south. GO offroad here, still heading west and you'll find the "Cursed Mine". The Shrine is just a short hop West of this atop a small hill. OFFERING: Mort Flesh, Ectoplasm or Bonemeal TIME: Any REWARD: Ring of Khajiiti - Chameleon 35% Fortify speed 10 pts. Constant Effect QUEST: Once you make the correct offering, Meridia will speak. She despises the undead and wants you to take care of a group of necromancers for her. You're to go to "Howling Cave". It's on the other side of Skingrad, follow your map marker. Inside, you'll find rats, a zombie and a skeleton on your way to the back of the cave. No loot out here. When you enter the necromancer's lair, watch for the tripwire just inside the door. The necromancers are spread out and all of them have few undead freinds. Watch your health as they just seem to keep coming. Nothing in here is hard to kill, they just try to overwhelm you with numbers. Go for the necromancers first, some of the horde trying to kill you are summons and will dissappear with the necros death. When the last one dies, your journal will update. Return to the Shrine and Meridia will award you the Ring of Khajiiti. Very handy. =============================================================================== 13: Shrine of Sanguine YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 8 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: From Skingrad's west gate, travel west along the road until it turns south. Leave the road at that point, continuing west until you find the "Cursed Mine". The Shrine is due North of the mine, just over a small hill. OFFERING: Cyrodilic Brandy TIME: Any REWARD: Sanguine Rose staff - Sanguine Rose on Target Charge 3000 / 10 Uses QUEST: You can find a couple bottles of Cyrodilic Brandy at the Gilded Carafe in the Imperial Market. Once you have your offering, speak to Sanguine. He wants you to go to Leyawiin and liven up the Countess's dinner party with the spell he provides you; Stark Reality. He suggest you be insconspicuous and says you'll need to find a way into the party, as it's invite only. Head over to Castle Leyawiin. ##NOTE: The Countess is out of town on the 15, 16 and 17 of every month. If you've gotten to the party, and she wont show up, check the date. One of her maids will give you this information if you ask. What you need here is a set of exquisite clothes, ot atleast high end clothing. You should be able to find what you need upstairs in the family's private quarters. Don your new outfit and head back to the throne room. You can't open the door. Speak to the guard in front of it, you must be wearing your new threads. If he likes you enough, you'll be able to bribe him to let you into the room. The spell must hit ALL the dinner guests and the Countess. The spell also has a range of 300 ft. so it's going to get you to. Every item in your inventory is going to vanish. Don't panic. It's been transported to a chest next to Sanguine's shrine. Now, you have to choices. You ARE going to be caught. After several hours of trying to find a way to throw the spell without being caught, I couldn't find one. Your choices are: Go to jail - because all your belongings are now in the chest at Sanguine's Shrine, you wont lose any items, however, jailtime does mean a drop in all your skills. You can use this a learning experience, it'll give you the chance to train your skills up again. You could drop a lockpick before you cast the spell, pick it up afterward, and use it escape the prison, avoiding the skill drop, but the guards will still catch you, so I go with option two if you're a member of the Thieves Guild... Resist Arrest - Don't bother fighting, there's no point really. Run. That's it. Pick up your feet and flee the guards. You wont take much damage if you're fast on your feet. Run to the west gate and steal a horse from the stables. Your faster on horseback than on foot and you'll be able to outrun the guards. Once you're far enough away from them, you'll be able to quick travel back to the Shrine. Get your reward from Sanguine, your loot from the chest and then head for the Imperial city. At the waterfront have Armand, your local Thieves Guild rep, remove the bounty from your head. NYEKOBUG says: "I found a way to do the quest without ticking the guards off. I did it with one chameleon and one invisibility potion and a decent sneak skill. Talk to the guard, get him to open the door for you and back all the way out across the castle hall. You should still be able to see into the dining hall. Drink the chameleon potion and go into sneak mode. When noone can detect you, save and fire off the stark reality spell into the room. As the spell leaves your hand, drink an invisibility potion. When the spell hits the room, all of your items will still dissappear but the guards wont know who did it :)" SERRAPPHYM SAYS: "I can add something about the Sanguine quest. To escape the room, all you have to do is cast a 100 power charm spell for 4 sec on a guard, yield and he will pay your bounty." This really does work beautifully! =============================================================================== 14: Shrine of Vaermina YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 5 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Start at Black waterside stables outside Cheydinhal. Turn so you are facing directly between S and SW on your compass. Keep that bearing as you travel. The Shrine is located on the NE shore of Lake Poppad. OFFERING: Black Soul Gem - To get this you need an empty grand soul gem and a soul trap spell. Travel Due East from the Shrine until you find "Dark Fissure" cave. Outside the door is an altar. Once a week, at night, a light will shine down on the altar until midnight. Place your gem inside the altar and cast soul trap on the altar. Instant Black Soul Gem. TIME: Any REWARD: Skull of Corruption - Corruption 30 secs. on target Charge 3000 / 20 uses QUEST: Vaermina has had an orb stolen by the wizard, Arkved. Follow the map marker to his tower, retrieve the orb and return it to the Shrine. I strongly reccomend having a night eye spell. There's an area in the tower where a torch does you little good, you'll want to be able to see more than three feet in front of you, sheer drop offs, certain death, that kind of thing. Once at the tower, you can explore the outside, not much here, corpses and a few potions. Inside the tower, the first two rooms are vacant. Couple chests and some potions, not much in the way of loot. The last room before Arkved's Void will find you duking it out with a Flame Atronach and a Clanfear Runt. Quicksaving before you enter the void is a good thing. Arkved's void is near pitch black. There are thin walkway's you must traverse. Watch your step, it's a long way down and a torch wont give you enough light to see where you're going until it's too late. Follow the straight path across to the other side and the entrance to Arkved's Lost Halls. The first large chamber has three Clanfear Runts for you to deal with. Straight across is a short hall leading to Arkved's Oasis. Go check it out for the view and watch out for a Scamp who'll try and knock you off the ledge. It's a loooong way down. Back in the first room, take the flight of stairs. On the other side of the door are a couple of Flame Atronachs. You'll find what looks like a Giant's bedroom. There's a trapdoor to Arkved's Oasis, nothing interesting except for the splatted body of the Scamp I knocked off the observation deck. Go back to the bedroom and take the door to Arkved's Hall of Changes. Aside from the Clanfear Runts, there's a pillar in the center of the room that lobs the magical equivalent of a grenade at you every five seconds. There are two doors. You want the door across from you. The next room looks like a Zombie morgue. They're dead and a Flame Atronach is standing guard. The trap door in the floor goes to Arkved's Retreat, a creepy room with dozens of bodies dangling from the ceiling and a chest. The door to your right is where you're headed. This leads to another room with another annoying pillar, lightning this time. You want the door to the left as you enter. Down a short hall and a trap door to Arkved's Rending Halls. Through a long set of halls populated by clanfears, scamps, and Flame Atronachs and littered with corpses to the entrance to Arkved's Death Quarters. In here, you'll find Vaermina's Orb on a table to your right. Arkved is unconcious in his bed. This is a good place to up your sneak skill as he wont wake up. Find a comfy corner, sneak and hit auto walk. You'll get about a level a minute. Across the room is a door leading straight out to Nibenay Basin. Before you wonder, no, the trap door you come out of isn't there before you go in. That would have been too easy. Return to the Shrine and collect your reward from a grateful Daedra. =============================================================================== 15: Shrine of Malacath YOU MUST BE ATLEAST LEVEL 10 FOR THIS QUEST ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Start from Horse Whisperer Stables outside Anvil. Follow the road until you get to the point where it starts to curve eastward. Leave the road here and head Due North. You'll pass Atrene Camp on your right, keep heading North. Just past the camp, you'll see the Shrine marker appear in your compass follow that North and you can't miss it. OFFERING: Troll Fat TIME: Any REWARD: Volendrung - Paralyze 3 secs. on Strike Drain Health 5 pts. for 20 secs. on Strike Charge 2500 / 16 uses QUEST: You're at a disadvantage here if you're not an Orc. You'll have to max out Shobo Gro-Rugdush's disposition before he'll tell you what you need. Malacath likes Ogres. An uppity Lord Drad has enslaved some of his Ogres to work in his mine and Malacath's mad. Head to Lord Drad's estate. When you speak to Lord Drad, he gets angry, he thinks using Ogres for slaves is a good thing. After he tells you off, speak to his wife and she'll tell you the Ogres are working in the Bleak Mine. It's not far and you'll have to go free the Ogres. VERY IMPORTANT: If even one of the Ogres dies, your quest is over. You lose. Once inside the Mine, I suggest killing all the guards before you release the Ogres. Seems this doesn't count as murder since you don't gain a bounty for slaying them. Be warned, these guys are heavily armored but they also didn't come to each others aide, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. If you let them live, they will attack the Ogres as they try to leave and you could lose one. Hence the aforementioned pre-freedom slaughter. Once all the guards have been dealt with, free the Ogres and go back to Lord Drad's estate. You'll see Lord and Lady Drad working the fields under the careful supervision of the Ogres. Feel free to raid the house for any goodies you may want, it's empty. Return to the Shrine for your reward. =============================================================================== 16: Shrine of Hermaeus Mora NO LEVEL REQUIREMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION: Due West of Cloud Ruler Temple. It's a hell of a trek. You'll find a trail west of Cloud Ruler Temple. As long as your traveling uphill and west, you'll find it. Keep an eye on your compass. The Shrine is near the top of the mountain. Follow the Shrine icon when it appears in your compass and you wont get lost. OFFERING: You MUST have completed all the other Shrine quests successfully, obtained the Mysterium Xarxes as part of the Main Quest and received the Daedric Artifact quest from Martin. Once you've achieved all this, sleep and a servant of Hermaeus Mora will come to you, demanding your presence at his Shrine. TIME: Any REWARD: Oghma Infinium - see below for details. QUEST: Hermaeus Mora is impressed with the deeds you've done for the other Daedra and wants you to serve him now. He needs you to collect the souls of the ten races. He will give you his soul gem and a spell, Mora's Soul Trap. Make sure you only hit one person at a time with this spell. I'm told hitting two or more will cause some kind of glitch that prevents you from finishing the quest. The best way to harvest these souls without racking up a sizeable bounty is to pick your victims from the faithful at the Shrines you've already visited. If you only kill one per Shrine, the other faithful don't take much notice. Because there are no guards around, you shouldn't get a bounty or be attacked by the others if you leave fast. You will need: Khajiit, Argonian, Breton, Nord, Imperial, Dunmer, Altmer, Bosmer, Orc and RedGuard. Each time you gain a soul on your hit list, your journal will update. Once you have them all, return to Mora's Shrine for your reward, the Oghma Infinium. A rather nifty book. Read the book and you're given a choice of three paths. Each one will raise three skills ten points each, hopefully bumping one of those to the next level of mastery, and two attributes. Once you use the book, it will dissapear. PATH OF STEEL: Strength, Speed, Blade, Blunt, and Heavy Armor. PATH OF SHADOW: Speed, Acrobatics, Sneak, Security, Light Armor PATH OF SPIRIT: Intelligence, Alteration, Destruction, Conjuration, Restoration =============================================================================== 17: Frequently Asked Questions =============================================================================== Q: What are Wabbajack, Sanguine Rose, and Corruption? What do they do? A: Use Wabbajack on a non-human npc and it randomly changes them into another creature. Use Sanguine Rose on a non-human npc and it will summon a random daedra. Whether the daedra will fight for you or fight for the creature you summoned it on also seems to be random. Try standing at a distance when you use it. Corruption creates what we'll call an evil twin of whatever you use it on. The twin will begin attacking whatever you summoned it on. Q: In the Shrine of Sanguine quest i have got into the dinner party but the countess is not there! i have looked everywhere in the castle but i can not find her. A: The dinner party happens in the evening so try to be in the dining room after six pm. If she isn't there, try leaving the castle and coming back in forcing the castle to reload. Jump ahead an hour at a time from 6. She'll be there eventually. I think she likes to be fashionable late. Q: Hey, regarding the Sanguine shrine quest, I can't seem to hit all the people with my spell. Do I have to hit them all with ONE cast? If so, is there a good spot to aim to do this? A: How I managed it, from the door, I aimed at the guy to the right of the Countess, on the other side of the table. Hitting him from the door was how I finally got the update that I'd hit everyone. Tried it four times to be sure, worked every time. Q: I somehow managed to get a 1,040 bounty and a one point bump to infamy collecting souls for Hermaeous Mora at the other Shrines. How, when there weren't any guards around? A: I had the same thing happen. Turns out there was an Imperial Forrester somehwere nearby. A good sneak skill or a decent frenzy spell is the best way to avoid being seen by a passing forrester. Though I simply went and paid mine off with the Thieves Guild. =============================================================================== 18: Credits =============================================================================== Many thanks to my Husband who beta tested all my directions so I didn't walk anyone off a cliff. Thanks to Deathbyfate on the ElderScrolls forums for telling me how to get a black soul gem. I was at a loss, he saved my FAQ. Thanks to the ElderScrolls forums. A great bunch of ES addicts that can answer just about any question, no matter how stupid. Thank you GameFaqs for posting my little contribution and solving many a gaming riddle for me. Thanks to nyekobug and Kama_returns for finding a way to complete the Sanguine quest without getting caught. Thanks Plethorex and Spartacus_prime for pointing out a mistake with the Skeleton key. Thanks to the puppetmaster for correcting me about the Umbra sword and Clavicus Vile - you don't have to give it back. Thanks to Dave for pointing out a glaring error in the directions for Mephala's Shrine: Got my Shrines confused, heh. Thanks to Nathan for pointing out that I forgot to mention the Countess being out of town on the Sanguine quest. Thanks to Serrapphym on Nirnroot for a wonderful Sanguine solution. =============================================================================== 19: Contact Me =============================================================================== Please contact me at whoguru@hotmail.com with any questions, corrections, suggestions, additions, etc... When you send an email, please put "Shrine FAQ" in the heading so I'll know it's not spam. =============================================================================== 20: Copyright Notice =============================================================================== This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.