Recipe for Disaster

Carving the Cook

This quest begins once you complete Dark Brotherhood Quests: The Cure for Madness.

Astrid mentions there is one more target for you before the strike against the Emperor; she asks if you’ve heard of the “Gourmet,” a chef and author of a realm-famous cookbook. The Gourmet is scheduled to cook for the Emperor. But not after you kill him, steal his Writ of Passage, and assume his role of master chef. Follow Astrid’s advice and talk to Festus Krex for further details. When you visit Krex deeper in the Sanctuary, he tells you the mission is slightly more tricky than a simple slice-and-dice; the Dark Brotherhood don’t actually know who the Gourmet is.

Krex then shows you a cookbook signed by the Gourmet; it is signed to a man named Anton Virane, who has been tracked to the keep in Markarth. Virane is the cook there. You are to find Virane, have him tell you who and where the Gourmet really is, and then tie up any “loose ends”: You’ll be assassinating two cooks for this task. After you kill the Gourmet, Krex hopes that you’ll hide the body so any authorities take longer to reveal the Gourmet’s identity and what you’ve done. You can ask any additional questions you wish (more about the Gourmet, the cookbook, or the Gourmet’s location in Skyrim) before departing.

• Uncommon Taste—Signed

Travel to Markarth, enter the canyon city, and scale the precarious stone steps to the Understone Keep. Head west, between the two guards, and turn left before you reach the stairs to the Jarl’s chamber. Enter the kitchens to the south, where Anton Virane and his two helpers are located. When you speak with Anton (you must pry information from him before the murder), he insists he’s a Breton; he’s been previously accused of being a Reachman—and with the Forsworn activity in this Hold, this isn’t the highest of compliments. But no matter; you’re here to ask Anton who and where the Gourmet is.

After initially refusing to divulge this information, Anton changes his tune after you intimidate him and he realizes who you work for. He reveals the Gourmet is an Orc named Balagog gro-Nolob, who is staying at the Nightgate Inn. Then Anton nervously asks that you let him go. You can lie and tell him he’s safe, or begin the execution right away. The only reason to lie is if you aren’t quite prepared to assassinate Anton or if you want to mess with him.

Draw your blade and plunge it into Anton. Don’t stop until he’s dead. Do this only after he imparts the necessary information. You may use any weapon you wish (including magic or Shouts), and from your previous assassination experience, you should be aware that this attack is going to cause you problems within Markarth’s walls. You can get around this by completing one of the following:

• Kill Anton and then flee the city. Keep going until you outrun the guards. However, your bounty will still be high, and Markarth’s guards will remember you if you return.
• Become Thane of Markarth by completing the Thane Quest at this Capital City (detailed later in this guide). After the murder, you can explain to the guard who you are, and they let you off with a warning.
• Elect to pay off your debts or give yourself up, since killing every guard in Markarth is impossible.
• Or, you can rely on your trusted Sneak, attacking from behind or waiting and attacking him while he sleeps or when he’s on his own.

Needs More Assault

Offering pristine views of Yorgrim Lake to the west of Windhelm, Nightgate Inn is a perfect spot for a reclusive chef to write his books. Or for an assassin to commit murder. Journey to this out-of-the-way spot and search the side of the building for a trapdoor. Open it and drop into the Nightgate Inn Cellar. Balagog gro-Nolob is usually sitting in the bedroom down here, close to the mead barrels.

Frighten him with a flourish of prose or cut him down without conversation. Whatever you choose, your fight ends with Balagog gro-Nolob dying on the stone cellar floor. With no one else about, this murder is far easier to commit than that of Anton Virane. Pocket the Writ of Passage when you search his corpse. Balagog also goes outside and stands by the lake, so you can kill him outside as well. Do that, and the hiding place for the body is the lake.

• Gourmet’s Writ of Passage

Hiding the corpse is an optional but recommended objective to complete, as it is straightforward and nets you a bonus at the end of this quest. Simply grab the corpse and move it to any of the indicated target spots in the cellar: behind a mead barrel or in an alcove. Your objective updates after you place it in a correct spot, of which there are plenty.

Quest Conclusion

Return to Festus Krex at the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, and inform him the deed has been done. Depending on your actions, he is impressed by your competence (if you killed both cooks and hid Balagog’s corpse), and a little less so if Balagog’s body is still lying where you killed him. Festus offers you a reward: gold for completing the quest, and the bonus of a ring if you hid the corpse. Then he suggests you see Astrid to commence the final stage of this grand and glorious operation.

• 300 gold pieces
• Nightweaver’s Band (Bonus only)

Postquest Activities

Dark Brotherhood Quests: To Kill an Empire begins immediately. Your remaining side contracts are also available.