The Forsworn Conspiracy opens the moment you first walk into Markarth in the Reach: a man screams that the Reach belongs to the Forsworn and knifes a woman in the market. A local named Eltrys slips you a note, and soon you are digging into a conspiracy that runs from the slums to the richest family in the city. Investigations in Markarth rarely end well for the investigators.
How to start
Enter Markarth for the first time. Weylin attacks Margret in the market and the guards kill him. Afterwards Eltrys approaches and hands you a note asking you to meet him at the Shrine of Talos. Reading it starts the quest.
You can save Margret by killing Weylin before his stabbing animation triggers (doing so carries no bounty). The Disarm shout also works: he drops his dagger and turns on you with Flames instead. A surviving Margret rewards you with a silver emerald necklace. The plot continues the same way either way.
Walkthrough
Go to the Shrine of Talos
Eltrys explains the Forsworn killed his father and he has spent years trying to learn why. He asks you to look into Margret at the Silver-Blood Inn and Weylin’s room in the Warrens.
Margret’s room at the Silver-Blood Inn
If Margret died, her room key is on her body. Otherwise ask the innkeeper Kleppr; you can rent the room for 10 gold, bribe, persuade or intimidate him, talk to his daughter Frabbi, or pickpocket the key. Picking the lock works too. Margret’s Journal lies in the end table beside the bed and points to Thonar Silver-Blood.
If Margret is alive, she sits by the fire. Persuade or intimidate her and she admits she is an Imperial agent reporting to General Tullius, which also leads you to Thonar. When you leave the inn, a guard warns you to mind your own business.
Weylin’s room in the Warrens
Get the key from Garvey by bribery, persuasion, intimidation or theft, or pick the lock. Weylin’s room is the last on the right. His chest holds a note signed only ‘N’. As you leave the Warrens, the mercenary Dryston picks a brawl. Win and he confesses he was sent by Nepos the Nose. Lose, and he goes to sit in Weylin’s room, where his note can be pickpocketed or taken from his body.
Report back to Eltrys after the first two leads: he pays a leveled sum for each. If you uncover Thonar or Nepos before collecting, you lose those payments.
Find evidence about Thonar
Thonar Silver-Blood is in the Treasury House. Get past Rhiada with persuasion, a bribe or intimidation, or pick the lock. Thonar tells you to leave, and right then Nana Ildene and Donnel, undercover Forsworn, murder his wife Betrid. Kill them, then talk to the furious Thonar: he admits the Silver-Bloods keep Madanach, the King in Rags, imprisoned and use him. To spare Betrid, pickpocket Thonar’s Journal instead of speaking to him; once you talk, her death is scripted.
Find evidence about Nepos
At Nepos’s house, Uaile tries to send you away until Nepos lets you in. He openly admits his Forsworn ties and Madanach’s plan, then has the whole household attack you. Alternatively, pickpocket Nepos’s Journal and slip out unseen to avoid the fight. The house has decent loot, including silver ingots.
Return to Eltrys
At the Shrine of Talos you find Eltrys dead and guards waiting. They intend to pin everything on you. Surrender, or fight; either way any Markarth guard you talk to afterwards will haul you off, leading to No One Escapes Cidhna Mine. The usual bribes and Thieves Guild tricks do not work here.
Choices and consequences
- Saving or losing Margret only changes how you gather her evidence and earns you the necklace.
- Stealing Thonar’s and Nepos’s journals keeps Betrid, Nana Ildene, Donnel, Nepos and his servants alive.
- Killing all the guards in the shrine before they speak leaves you with no bounty; talk to a city guard later to continue.
Rewards
- Leveled gold from Eltrys for each of the first two pieces of evidence
- Silver emerald necklace if Margret survives
- Eltrys’s body carries over 800 gold if you fight the guards and loot it
Tips and notes
- A high Speech skill or the Amulet of Articulation makes the many persuasion checks trivial.
- Pickpocketing Thonar’s Journal early lets you skip most of the investigation, but the bugs note that doing so before meeting Eltrys can leave him dead at the shrine.
- Completing the Stormcloak liberation of the Reach, or giving the Reach to the Stormcloaks in Season Unending, can complete this quest automatically.
- Leave followers outside the shrine at the end; they can get stuck when you are jailed.
- Any bounty racked up in the shrine is wiped by the end of the next quest.
