Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 2: Innocence Lost
• Part 2 of 2: With Friends Like These…
• Tips
• Warnings

The Dark Brotherhood is a clandestine group of secretive assassins who represent a darker side of Bethesda's Skyrim. The quests of the murderous group usually have a mysterious character. In addition, the game's developers have made it somewhat complex to join the Brotherhood.

To step

Part 1 of 2: Innocence Lost

1. Make sure you get the non-mandatory quest "Talk to Aventus Aretino". This quest will appear in your log when an NPC tells you about Aventus, a boy in Windhelm who is trying to summon the Dark Brotherhood. There are a number of different ways you can start this quest.
   • Always have a conversation with city guards.
   • Talk to innkeepers and tavern owners and inquire about the latest news.
   • Talk to the orphans in Honorhall Orphanage in the town of Riften.
2. Make "Talk to Aventus Aretino" your Active Quest. As you do this, a marker will appear on your compass, making it much easier to find. In the section of your log reserved for the non-mandatory quests, select and mark "Talk to Aventus Aretino" as your active quest.
3. Go to Aventus' house in Windhelm. You will have to crack the door lock, but it is only Novice level. You can get there in a number of ways.
   • Traveling there on foot is the most adventurous and you can find ingredients for alchemy along the way.
   • You can buy a horse just outside most major cities to travel faster.
   • Travel by carriage, which can usually be found near the same place where you can buy a horse.
   • If you have been to Windhelm before, you can also travel there with "fast-travel".
4. Talk to Aventus. He will give you the quest to kill Grelod the Kind in Honorhall Orphanage.
5. Go to Honorhall Orphanage in Riften. You can travel there using the methods given in Step Three.
6. Kill Grelod the Kind.
   • If you kill her in the orphanage, the orphans will cheer you on.
   • As long as you don't attack anyone else in the orphanage, killing Grelod is not counted as a crime.
7. Go back to Aventus' house and tell him the good news. One to 3 days in-game later, a courier will give you a message. It will contain nothing more than, “We know.” Written under a black hand, which is the symbol of the Dark Brotherhood.
8. Sleep in a bed. You can do this in any usable bed in the game. As soon as you wake up you will find yourself in an abandoned cabin with Astrid, the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, and three bound prisoners.
   • If you are not transported to the abandoned cabin you will have to wait in-game for a few days and then go back to sleep.

Part 2 of 2: With Friends Like These…

1. Talk to Astrid, who will order you to kill one of the prisoners. You can kill one or two or kill them all.
   • You can talk to the prisoners and listen to their stories.
   • Kill the one you think deserves it. Your choice has no influence on the further course of the game.
2. Talk to Astrid. She will congratulate you and comment on which prisoner you killed, then she will tell you to meet her at the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.
3. Go to the Sanctuary where you will be made a full member of the Dark Brotherhood.
   • You can now take contracts to kill people for money (usually a few hundred "gold").

Tips

• Start using your "sneak" ability early, as many of the Dark Brotherhood quests require your stealth ability.
• If you've been completing Innocence Lost for some time and still no courier has arrived with the letter from the Brotherhood, you will have to wait in the same place for twenty-four hours.
• Joining the Dark Brotherhood will give you access to a new set of quests and the opportunity to gain unique weapons and minions, so joining is a good idea.

Warnings

• Don't kill Astrid. Killing her will initiate the quest "Destroy the Dark Brotherhood!" And it will no longer be possible to join the Dark Brotherhood.
• There is a certain flaw in the game that prevents you from being able to buy a house in Windhelm, and that flaw sometimes manifests itself when you start with "Innocence Lost". There is a chance that the mistake will be reversed if you kill Grelod, but there is also the possibility that you will never be able to buy the house, making it impossible to become a "thane". Try to become a thane first and visit Aventus later.