Black Book is a small radiant quest from the Dragonborn add-on that starts with one of the strangest encounters on Solstheim. A wild-eyed madman stumbles up to you, convinced that forbidden secrets are crawling around inside his skull, and after a bit of incoherent ranting he tries to punch you. Whatever drove him over the edge is still out there: a Black Book of Hermaeus Mora, waiting in a dungeon somewhere on the island.
How to start
The quest is a random encounter. While travelling across Solstheim you may be approached by the madman. Let him talk, or cut him off, and he turns hostile as soon as the conversation ends. If he gets to finish his rambling he points out the book’s location himself; if the dialogue ends early, the quest starts instead from a note you find on his body once he is dead.
Walkthrough
Deal with the madman
The madman is no real threat. He fights with bare fists and wears no armor at all, so he goes down quickly. Killing him does not give you a bounty, since he attacked first. Loot his corpse for the note that marks where the Black Book is hidden.
Find the Black Book
The note sends you to one of the dungeons that hold a Black Book. According to the source, the possible destinations are:
Travel there, work your way through the location and find the book on its shrine to Hermaeus Mora. Taking the book completes the quest. Reading it is a separate matter: each Black Book pulls you into its own corner of Apocrypha and has its own quest, such as Black Book: The Winds of Change, Black Book: Untold Legends, Black Book: The Hidden Twilight, Black Book: The Sallow Regent and Black Book: Filament and Filigree.
Rewards
- The Black Book itself, which opens up its own Apocrypha adventure
Tips and notes
- The quest is radiant, so the madman can turn up again for other Black Books you have not collected yet.
- He becomes hostile the moment the conversation is over, so have a weapon ready, even if he is armed only with his knuckles.
- If you already own the Black Book the madman points to, avoid letting the quest start for it; see the known bug below.
- The madman’s poor state is a fair warning of what Hermaeus Mora’s books can do to an unprepared reader.
