Daggerfall:The Assassin

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to a Merchant or an Innkeeper.
# Find your target in a local residence or store.
# Kill the target.
# Head back to your employer within the time limit and collect your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
thumb|Right|The target is sometimes found at home, as this rogue was
 
A Dark Offer
Speak to a Merchant or Innkeeper, who says one of:

''"My name is unimportant. All you need to know is that I need someone who isn't afraid to spill a little blood, for (random gold) gold. Tell me now if you're not interested. Are you willing to take this job?"
"Shhh! Keep your voice down. Before I say anything else, are you the kind of (player's race) that will kill for gold? How about (random gold) gold?"
"I am looking for someone that won't faint at the sight of blood. Human blood. For (random gold) gold would you kill a man?"

Accept
The merchant or innkeeper goes on:

:"I want (target's name) killed. The problem is that the Dark Brotherhood won't take the job. Something about a favor they owe. I need an independent. Do the job and get back to me within a week and I'll pay you the (random gold) gold. Just ask for (employer's name), I'll be waiting right here for you."

Decline
The merchant or innkeeper replies:

"You never saw me."
"Scram. I don't want anyone to see us talking together."
"Fine. Be that way."''

Assassination
You have a week, which is plenty of time to do the job. Ask around in town until someone points you towards your target's current location, which can be a residence or a shop. The entrance may be locked; if the building is a shop, you can wait until it opens. If the door is locked or you don't want to wait, you need to either do a little lockpicking or have an Open spell at hand. Enter the building and kill your target.

The target will be in most cases a thief class character; they may be a bard, rogue, archer, or spellsword. The target will not initially be hostile to you, but will retaliate if attacked, shouting:

"Help! Murderer! Help!"
"Cur! What kind of assassin are you? To arms! To arms!"
''"I'm hit! (Oath)."
"Coward! You attack me without cause or provocation."

Loot the corpse if you wish, and return to your employer for your payment.

Note: as your employer hinted, the target is an ally of the Dark Brotherhood (if not a full member). If you complete the assassination successfully, your reputation with the Dark Brotherhood will be greatly damaged. Additionally, as you have committed a somewhat public act of murder, your regional reputation will drop significantly (by at least five levels, see below). It is for you to decide if the rewards outweigh these risks.

Reward
Head back to your employer, receive your reward and be told:

:"Revenge is mine! By the way, you had better get out of town. I hear the Brotherhood caught wind of this. Here's your money (player's first name)."

Reputation Gain/Loss
 
Additional Reputation
If you completed the quest successfully you will lose additional reputation according to the table below:



In addition, your Regional Reputation will drop by 75 points.

Enemies
Quest Target.  Any of the following:
Bard
Rogue
Archer
Spellsword

Notes
This is one of only two quests in the game (along with A Fateful Song) in which a Bard type enemy can be encountered.

Additional Dialogue
After you have accepted this quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
''"I hear (employer's name) hates (target's name)."
"(Target's name) is connected to the Dark Brotherhood."
If you successfully complete the quest, NPCs may say when asked for any news:
"Someone slew (target's name), and in public no less!"
"Did you hear about the murder? (Target's name)was slain by an assassin."
"I never did like (target's name). I'm glad someone finally offed (him/her). I hear it was the Dark Brotherhood."
If you successfully complete the quest, the quest giver may later greet you with:
"Keep your voice down. You killed (target's name) for me, and I acknowledge the debt, but I don't want people thinking I had anything to do with it."
If you failed the quest, the quest giver will greet you with:
"I hired you to do a job, but you couldn't. All you had to do was kill (target's name). Now its too late, and the Dark Brotherhood is after me. Just leave me alone."''

Quest Log