The Taste of Death
Overview
Quest Giver	Eola
Location	Hall of the Dead, Markarth Reachcliff Cave
Prerequisite	None
Reward	Amulet of Arkay Ring of Namira (Skyrim)
Type	Daedric Quests (Skyrim)

The Taste of Death is a quest available in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Contents 1 Background 2 Walkthrough 2.1 Hall of the Dead 2.2 Reachcliff Cave 2.3 The Feast 3 Trivia 4 Gallery 5 Bugs

BackgroundEdit

Finding Verulus may be difficult. To avoid searching for him, travel to Silver-Blood Inn (at the entrance of Markarth, to your left) and speak to Kleppr . Ask him about local rumors and that should start the quest line.

Verulus can also be found at the entrance of the Hall of the Dead, within Understone Keep.

When going to Silver-Blood Inn to speak to Kleppr, he may keep talking about the same rumor over and over instead of changing rumors, this can prove annoying when trying to get the rumor for the quest. To prevent this, simply exit and go back in after a couple of minutes.

WalkthroughEdit

Hall of the DeadEdit

After being told that the Hall of the Dead is closed because many bodies have been eaten by an unknown intruder, the Dragonborn can accept a task from Brother Verulus to investigate the problem. He will give you the key to enter the crypt.

Once inside, an unknown woman's voice will be heard talking about cannibalism. Soon after, Eola will reveal herself. She worships Namira, Lady of Decay, and seems to believe that the Dragonborn, like her, desires to feed from dead human bodies. The dialogue remains the same even if the player is not a Werewolf and has not eaten Human Flesh to see its Alchemy effect.

Through dialogue, the player can listen to what she has to say or to confront and kill her. Listening to her will activate The Taste of Death quest. Eola will become invisible and leave the Hall of the Dead and go to Reachcliff Cave, where she will wait for the Dragonborn.

Regardless of whether the Dragonborn chooses to kill Eola or to listen to her, the Dragonborn can report back to Brother Verulus and tell him that the Hall of the Dead is safe; Verulus will give the Dragonborn an Amulet of Arkay.

Reachcliff CaveEdit

Eola will be waiting for the Dragonborn outside Reachcliff Cave, where she asks the player to defeat the Draugr inside. She will follow the Dragonborn in combat if asked.

After the dungeon is cleared, Eola will propose a feast to celebrate the victory. She will ask the Dragonborn to lure Brother Verulus into Reachcliff Cave to be eaten, as part of an initiation ritual.

Back in the Hall of the Dead, Brother Verulus can be convinced to follow the Dragonborn through dialogue options (persuade, bribe or intimidate). Note that convincing Verulus to follow you without payment seems to be extremely difficult unless wearing the Amulet of Articulation. (Tested Xbox with 100 speech skill he could not be persuaded.)

The FeastEdit

When the Dragonborn arrives at Reachcliff Cave with Verulus, there will be a feast laid out in the final chamber, with other cannibals seated around the large table. Eola talks to Verulus and convinces him to lay on the altar ("to rest", while he waits for the dinner).

Eola then asks the Dragonborn to kill Brother Verulus and feast on his flesh. After killing him, the Dragonborn can activate his body, and a dialogue box will appear with the options to eat or to leave Verulus' body alone. If the Dragonborn chooses to eat, the voice of Namira herself will sound, telling the Dragonborn she's pleased with them. She gives the Ring of Namira, which allows the Dragonborn to feed from dead human bodies.

At any moment before eating Verulus, it's possible to fight Eola and the members of The Coven of Namira during the feast. This will cause Eola's quest to fail; however, if Verulus survives, he will give the Dragonborn a level-indexed cash reward and head back to Markarth. You can also loot the dead coven members for gold, keys, and other items.

If the Dragonborn had bribed Verulus to follow, the bribe can be looted from Verulus' corpse after he is killed.

TriviaEdit

• Turning on the Cannibals will force several important NPCs, including the shopkeep and hound trainer to turn hostile to you. The reward given may not be worth the lost ring and merchants, so it's advised to either kill the priest or use Console Commands to remove the merchants' hostility. If you do kill Lisbet, owner of Arnleif and Sons Trading Company in Markarth, Imedhain will take over as the Goods Merchant inside.
  • Killing Eola as you enter the cave the first time (to clear it) will not turn the shopkeepers hostile.
• If you complete the quest by killing Verulus, you can leave the cave then re-enter to find Hogni, Lisbet and Banning have all returned to Markarth. Hogni, Lisbet and Banning will remain friendly since they didn't witness the killing.
• Killing Eola before you reach the Shrine causes you to fail the quest; if this happens, you won't be able to receive a reward.
• Nimphaneth is a Necromancer, and will resurrect dead bodies.
• After completing this quest (by feeding on Verulus) you may encounter Sigar in the wilderness - he will greet you and ask you to feed on the corpse of a High Elf lying next to him.
  • This may also happen if you betrayed Eola before feasting on Verulus, thus not obtaining the Ring of Namira - therefore it is impossible to feed on the corpse
• If you feast on Verulus in werewolf form the quest will not be updated - you must feast on him in human form.
• Brother Verulus is a useful second follower, as he is a competent mage. Therefore, it may be beneficial to delay completing the quest.
• It is impossible to kill Verulus with a bow while he lays on the altar. This may be because you are asked to "carve" Verulus.
• Verulus will NOT count toward a charge toward the Ebony Blade, even though he is considered a follower.
• If you leave the Halls of the Dead before Eola can talk to you, Eola will disappear and reappear if you talk to her upon re-entry. It will say you have already talked to her, but the quest will not progress unless she leaves the halls on her own terms.
• After speaking with Eola in the hall of the dead, the game may say that the next step is to speak to Verulus, but doing so does not allow the quest to advance. Talking to Eola at Reachcliff Cave clears this condition.

GalleryEdit

BugsEdit

Click to show

PS3  If Eola is killed after successfully completing this quest and receiving the ring, the quest will erroneously change to being failed. The journal states: "I killed Eola. Whatever she could have offered me was lost when she died.", even though the artifact is already in the Dragonborn's possession. If Eola is killed within Reachcliff Cave after accepting "Convince Verulus to follow you" some citizens of Markarth will speak to the Dragonborn as if they are a member of their cannibal cult. Sometimes when Eola approaches the Dragonborn in the hall of the Dead and starts talking, the disembodied voice will keep on talking over her, making it difficult to understand what she is saying. After bribing Brother Verulus to follow, he may not and the quest will be uncompletable, and by that time, he becomes invincible. If Eola is killed upon entering the cave, the shopkeepers will not be hostile yet dialogue options will appear "You were at Namira's feast, weren't you?". There was no feast since she lays dead at the entrance. The quest marks as failed this way.  360   PS3  If the Dragonborn elects to kill Eola the first time she is encountered in the Hall of the Dead, Brother Verulus may glitch, never leave Understone Keep, and constantly stop the player for conversation while he is in the keep. If Lisbet is killed before returning her statue of Dibella, it will be impossible to drop. This quest can never be completed. On the other hand, if she is killed after returning the statue and it is looted from her corpse, it will be impossible to drop as well.  PS3  Brother Verulus may not follow you if you ask him to come with you before you tell him you've cleared the Hall of the Dead. The only known fix is to reload a previous save and tell him you cleared the Hall of the Dead first. Entering the Cave will sometimes cause the game to freeze.  PC   360   After acquiring the misc. mission, "Speak to Verlius about the Hall of the Dead" or "Tell Verulus the Hall of the Dead is safe" if the Dragonborn does not report the information to him before later on sacrificing him on Namira's altar, the mission will remain incomplete and will not be removed from the quest's log. If Verulus is killed with a specific Daedra bow acquired from a merchant in Thieves Guild, when he's laying on the altar, he will fall through the altar. He can still be searched and eaten from the right side of the altar.  PC   Verulus will sometimes stand still and not move when told to lay down by Eola. Only known fix for this is to leave the dungeon and then re-enter (Confirmed on PC). If you bring Velerus back with you and then go to kill the group of cultists, Hogni cannot be struck while he can strike you.

Daedric Quests

The Black Star (Azura) • Boethiah's Calling (Boethiah) • A Daedra's Best Friend (Clavicus Vile) • Discerning the Transmundane (Hermaeus Mora) • Ill Met By Moonlight (Hircine) • The Cursed Tribe (Malacath) • Pieces of the Past (Mehrunes Dagon) • The Whispering Door (Mephala) • The Break of Dawn (Meridia) • The House of Horrors (Molag Bal) • The Taste of Death (Namira) • Blindsighted (Nocturnal) • The Only Cure (Peryite) • A Night to Remember (Sanguine) • The Mind of Madness (Sheogorath) • Waking Nightmare (Vaermina)