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Background
You'll receive this quest immediately after completing the quest
Scoundrel's Folly.
Walkthrough
For this quest you'll need to travel to Snow Veil Sanctum, which is located far to the north. Mercer Frey will meet you outside the sanctum, and he'll begin following you. Inside the sanctum, you'll have to deal with lots of draugr and traps, but with Frey helping you out, you shouldn't have too much trouble -- except possibly in the burial chamber (#2) and by the word wall (#5).
Eventually, you'll reach a puzzle door (#6), and Frey will open it for you despite not having a claw. However, just past the door, Karliah will shoot you with a paralytic arrow, and you'll fall down unconscious. When you wake up, you'll witness a short conversation between Frey and Karliah, and you'll discover that Frey wasn't telling you the truth about what happened to Gallus. After the conversation, Karliah will flee and Frey will deliver you a killing blow with his sword.
But not quite. After a while you'll wake up again, and you'll learn that the poison on Karliah's arrow slowed your heart enough to prevent you from bleeding out. You'll then start a conversation with Karliah, and you'll learn that she, Frey, and Gallus were all part of a "splinter" of the Thieves Guild called the Nightingales, and that Frey killed Gallus and framed Karliah in order to gain more power. Karliah will then reveal that she found
Gallus's Encoded Journal in the sanctum, and she'll ask you to take it to Enthir in the College of Winterhold to have it decoded. This request will end the quest and trigger the next quest in the line,
Hard Answers.
1 - Book
On the table here you'll find the book
Three Thieves, which will increase your Sneak skill by 1.
2 - Burial Chamber
You'll have a major battle against draugr here.
3 - Model Ship
In the alcove here you'll find a model ship on a pedestal. However, when you pick it up, you'll trigger a fire trap that will light the oil on the floor. To avoid the trap, just set fire to the oil yourself before entering the alcove. If you deliver the ship to Delvin at the Thieves Guild, then he'll reward you with some gold.
4 - Book
On the table here you'll find the book
Ice and Chitin, which will increase your Light Armor skill by 1.
5 - Word Wall
When you approach the wall, you'll unlock the Word of Power for "Weapon, Disarm."
6 - Puzzle Door
Exits:
- Doorway between the Catacombs and the Sanctum.
- World exit.
