With so many new games to keep up with, I don’t often replay old favorites anymore. But once upon a time, I would start a new Skyrim save just about once a year and vanish into Tamriel for hours at a time. Like many RPG lovers, I’ve spent more time in Bethesda’s iconic entry in The Elder Scrolls franchise than I care to admit. So even if it’s been a while since I last booted up the game, I still think about it (and irritate my friends with references) on a regular basis. And lately, I’ve been thinking about my last playthrough.
Videos by ComicBook.com
When you’ve played a game as many times as I’ve played Skyrim, you often find new ways to make it interesting. With Skyrim, that can mean promising you’ll create a build other than a stealth archer or setting unique challenges like never using healing potions or stealing every wheel of cheese. For me, my last Skyrim playthrough meant doing every single quest I’d never done before. And as it turns out, accepting every side quest and seeing it through leads you down some dark roads. Here are the 3 Skyrim side quests that still haunt me to this day.
3) The House of Horrors
Markarth is one of my least favorite cities in Skyrim, so it’s not really a surprise it houses one of my least favorite quests. The House of Horrors kicks off innocently enough, by speaking to Vigilant Tyranus or asking the Markarth inkeeper for rumors. Due to my habit of talking to everyone so I can collect side quests, this one had been in my log many times. But I never completed it until my “do all the quests” challenge. And sometimes, I wish I still hadn’t.
This quest finds you trying to remove a Daedra from one of Markarth’s abandoned houses. And that Daedra turns out to be the terrifying and very evil Molag Bal. This Daedra will trap and torment you, forcing you to do his bidding. No matter which responses you choose, you will ultimately be more or less forced to help him torture and kill a priest if you want to check this quest off your log. From the scary voice of Molag Bal to the sense that you aren’t really in control of the situation, down to breaking the will of and then ultimately killing a semi-innocent man. It’s certainly one of the darker quests in Skyrim, and one I will only be completing that one time.
2) Boethiah’s Calling
I’m the kind of gamer who feels bad picking anything but the nicest dialogue option when speaking to NPCs. So, it’s natural that Boethiah’s Calling was one of the toughest quests for me to complete in Skyrim. This quest begins when you read a copy of Boethiah’s Proving, either by plucking it from a dead follower or randomly finding it. Or, you can chance upon it randomly by stumbling upon the Scellum of Boethiah like I did.
This quest finds you working with the cult of Boethiah. They ask for your help to find a sacrifice to complete a ritual, and that means finding an NPC who will become your willing follower. Then, you betray them to make your sacrifice. Even if you try to kill all the followers of Boethiah instead, you’ll ultimately be visited by the Daedra themself and asked to make the sacrifice. Luring a trusting NPC to the sacrifice point is one thing, but the actual ritual itself is pretty disturbing as they will beg for their life until you kill them. And your reward for doing so? More bloodshed, as you’ll then need to win a fight against every other cultist there. This quest does, at least, offer some nice Ebony Mail as your reward. Whether you can sleep at night after betraying an innocent NPC is another matter entirely.
1) The Taste of Death
Remember how I said I challenged myself to complete every quest I’d never done in Skyrim? Well, that mission remains unfulfilled to this day, and it’s all because of one quest that’s still a bridge too far… until I return to Tamriel to finish that playthrough, at least. That mission is The Taste of Death, and if you’ve done this one, you probably already know why.
Another quest obtained in Markarth, The Taste of Death begins when you learn that the Hall of the Dead has been closed. When you speak to Brother Verulus, you learn he closed it up because bodies were being defiled. Once you convince him to let you investigate, you will meet Eola, who reveals what happened to the bodies. Namely, she’s been eating them. And she wants you to help her set up a feast to honor Namira, the Daedra she worships. This will, eventually, result in her asking you to lure Verulus to the cave so that she, along with the Dragonborn, can eat him. Doing so will earn you a ring that lets you regain health by eating dead bodies, which may be useful but is also kind of horrifying. The combo of betraying an innocent NPC and then eating them makes this one of the more horrifying quests in Skyrim, and it’s one I won’t soon forget, even if I’ve yet to see it all the way through to its bitter end.
What is the most memorable Skyrim side quest you’ve done? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of ABC -
A screenshot from Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, showing a match. -
Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
