Wikia

Death Incarnate

Location	Falkreath Sanctuary
Prerequisite	To Kill An Empire
Next Quest	Hail Sithis
Reward	Blade of Woe
Faction	Dark Brotherhood
Type	Dark Brotherhood Quest
QuestID	DB10

Death Incarnate is a quest for the Dark Brotherhood in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. After what was supposed to be the Dark Brotherhood's greatest contract in centuries, the Dragonborn learns that it was all a setup so that Commander Maro could attack the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. As Listener, they must rescue any surviving members and ensure that the Brotherhood lives on.

This quest begins once the quest To Kill An Empire has been completed.

WalkthroughEdit

Entrance to SanctuaryEdit

Commander Maro’s men have located the Sanctuary and are currently raiding it. When the Dragonborn arrives, several Penitus Oculatus Agents will be encountered at the entrance. Festus can be found pinned by a barrage of arrows to the tree outside the door. Kill or evade the agents and enter the Black Door.

Sanctuary AssaultEdit

Inside the Sanctuary, explosions can be heard from deeper within. Where Astrid would normally be located, there are two Penitus Oculatus Agents. Eavesdropping on their conversation reveals that the Sanctuary is being set alight and an agent named Arcturus has led some other men deeper into the Sanctuary. Kill the agents and move on. Fire magic works well in this area due to the large amounts of oil on the ground. The body of Veezara can be found on the ground here.

Proceed deeper into the Sanctuary, and the death of Arnbjorn will be witnessed; he attacks a group of agents in Beast Form before being slain. His death is pre-scripted, so nothing can be done to save him. Proceed forward, and the dead bodies of Gabriella and Lis will be found. Head into the dining hall where Nazir will be seen battling several agents, along with their leader, Arcturus. Defeat Arcturus and any other agents nearby, then talk to Nazir and follow him, killing any more agents that are encountered.

Embrace the Night MotherEdit

Nazir will run into the Night Mother's room, only to discover that it's a dead end. The Night Mother communicates to the Dragonborn, telling them to embrace her, as it is the only way to survive. Open her sarcophagus and step inside. The screen will go black, and Nazir and Babette will free the Dragonborn some time later, after the fires have died. Just before the coffin doors open, the Night Mother will tell the Dragonborn to speak to Astrid, somewhere inside the Sanctuary.

The Dread Lord BeckonsEdit

Outside the coffin, head out of the grotto and up the stone stairs to Astrid's usual location. Continue into the room on the right, and into a new room beyond that. Astrid is there, burned beyond recognition, lying in the center of a ring of candles in the configuration of the Black Sacrament.

She explains that she betrayed the Dragonborn to the Penitus Oculatus in return for their promise to spare the Dark Brotherhood. She says that her action was unforgivable and that Sithis will judge her accordingly. She asks the Dragonborn to rebuild the Dark Brotherhood, and gives them her Blade of Woe and demands that she be killed, as she has enacted the Black Sacrament on herself.

Regardless of method used, Astrid's death will complete the quest and begin the next, Hail Sithis.

TriviaEdit

Astrid cannot be killed with attacks to head, as they will not connect. Attacks to any other area of the body will work.
Items placed in chests or cupboards near the beds will be lost when this quest begins.
Arnbjorn's body cannot be resurrected.
Using Dead Thrall, it is possible to reanimate Astrid.
Judging by the executioners bag over Krex's head, it is likely the barrage of arrows was done firing squad style.

BugsEdit

Click to show
PC 360 PS3 When the screen fades to black after embracing the Night Mother, the game may lag for several minutes, or freeze entirely. It is recommended to save the game before entering. If one clicks the back button at the black screen and waits for an hour or two, the quest might continue. 360 Solution: press the "Xbox" button to open up the Xbox Guide a few times upon entering the casket. Open and close it until some movement and talking can be heard, which means it worked. If this does not work, disconnect the controller power supply and reconnect it, then press the "Xbox" button. 360 If the Xbox Guide button is pressed and the "open" sound is heard but no guide shows up, it means that the game is loading and is not frozen. The guide will appear when the loading is done. Sometimes upon entering the Sanctuary, the guards will not be doing anything but standing still. They will act hostile if the player approaches, but will not attack. Scripted events such as Arnbjorn being killed by the guards will not happen. Sometimes when the Dragonborn kills the agent fighting Nazir, Nazir disappears. It is best to save before engaging the agent in combat, since once fighting with him starts, there is no way out of the Sanctuary. (Bug confirmed and fixed on PC.) Nazir's attacker may not appear, and the marker may show that he is inside one of the walls. The command `killall` will not solve the problem. PC Solution: in the console, type `player.placeatme 0004D6CA` and kill him. Sometimes Nazir's attacker is immune to any kind of damage. After the fight with Nazir's attacker, if the Dragonborn is carrying too much to run, the Night Mother may not start her conversation. Solution: Drop some equipment and run back to the hall where the fight with Nazir's attacker took place. When opening the door, the Night Mother conversation will start. After this, the equipment can be picked up again. 360 When entering the Night Mother's coffin, it is possible that the she will not talk at all. SOLUTION: Turn off the Xbox and turn it back on, and then reload the save. 360 Upon exiting the Night Mother's coffin, Nazir may remain silent even though he forces the dialogue mode. With enough presses of the B button, one can exit the dialogue, but neither Babette nor Nazir will speak. Astrid is also not in the Sanctuary, despite the quest icon pointing to where she should be. Attempting to exit the Sanctuary, view the map, or rearrange equipped items causes the game to freeze. This bug appears to occur after having become a Vampire Lord. After talking with Astrid, it's possible to pickpocket her. Doing so and failing will make her stand up turn hostile. Nazir may then attack her. Sometimes, Astrid is found standing up. Shadowmere might wander away from the entrance to the Sanctuary or even disappear from the game if left near the Sanctuary during this quest. PS3 Shadowmere may also attack the player upon leaving the Sanctuary. Penitus Oculatus agents may forever spawn outside of the Sanctuary after this quest.

Start a Discussion Discussions about Death Incarnate

Crashes of Embrace
- A Wikia contributor
  
  some people may be experiencing crashes while embracing the night mother. before embracing with her, save, shut your console down, or do what... 2013-03-05T09:00:12Z

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Dark Brotherhood
Main Quests	Innocence Lost • With Friends Like These... • Sanctuary • Mourning Never Comes • Whispers In The Dark The Silence Has Been Broken • Bound Until Death • Breaching Security • The Cure for Madness Recipe for Disaster • To Kill an Empire • Death Incarnate • Hail Sithis
Contracts	Contract: Kill Agnis • Contract: Kill Narfi • Contract: Kill Anoriath • Contract: Kill Beitild • Contract: Kill Deekus Contract: Kill Ennodius Papius • Contract: Kill Hern • Contract: Kill Lurbuk Contract: Kill Ma'randru-jo • Contract: Kill Maluril • Contract: Kill Helvard • Contract: Kill Safia
Others	Destroy the Dark Brotherhood! • Radiant Contracts • Delayed Burial • Where You Hang Your Enemy's Head

Wikia

Death Incarnate

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