Diplomatic Immunity Diplomatic Immunity is a quest available in . Walkthrough . Meeting Malborn . Delphine thinks that the Thalmor know something about , or are even responsible for , the dragons ' return to Skyrim . She has a plan to get the Dragonborn into the Thalmor Embassy , to gain access to their secret documents in an attempt to find out more about the situation at hand . She will acquire a legitimate invitation to a reception being held by the Thalmor ambassador , Elenwen . Find the Bosmer servant and spy for the Blades , Malborn , at the Winking Skeever tavern in Solitude . When arriving , Malborn will agree to smuggle some equipment into the back - rooms . Malborn can bring an unlimited amount of gear with him , while the only gear the Dragonborn will have during the beginning of the mission will be what has been given to Malborn . There is " only one " chance to give him gear . Nothing else can be given to him once the trade dialogue closes , and remember " nothing " else can be taken inside ; give it to Malborn . Give him some lockpicks , since there will be locks to pick . Afterwards , the Dragonborn will meet with Delphine at the Solitude Stables at Katla ' s Farm to pick up the invitation and party disguise , and then drop off everything else on hand with Delphine ; everything given to her will be stored safely until reclaimed after the mission . Delphine will store the inventory in a chest in her hidden office in the Sleeping Giant Inn , in Riverwood . Once at the party , the Dragonborn will be approached by ambassador Elenwen and will become engaged in conversation . Malborn interrupts the conversation , causing the ambassador to walk off . The Dragonborn then has the opportunity to speak with Malborn and ask him for a drink . Distract the Party Guests . Ambassador Elenwen greets the Dragonborn upon entering the Thalmor Embassy . After speaking with her , the Dragonborn will need to create an opening to slip out of the party ; tell Malborn when ready , and he ' ll wait by the door behind the bar for the Dragonborn ' s next move : Once there ' s an opening , go to the door behind the bar and follow Malborn . Go through the kitchen to a pantry , retrieve the smuggled equipment from a chest , and go through a door into the next hallway . Malborn will lock the door behind the Dragonborn , completing this phase of the mission . Thalmor espionage . As Malborn locks the door , look through a doorway to the left and overhear two Thalmor agents chatting at a bar . Behind the bar are stairs leading up to a Thalmor Wizard . Kill them ( or wait for them to move out of the way and sneak past them ) , and then either go through the ground floor exit or turn left at the top of the stairs . Kill or sneak around the mage , and then turn left again to enter a room with access to a second floor exit . This will open to an exterior area with more enemies to kill or avoid . The two guards can be avoided , but a mage guards the door and will alert the guards if he is attacked . It is , however , possible to go through the door with a sufficiently high Sneak level without alerting the wizard , by sneaking as close to them as possible ( within Pickpocket range ) , targeting the door and activating it . If a general alarm is raised , additional guards will come from the barracks . Once clear , enter the only door into the ambassador ' s offices ( Elenwen ' s Solar ) . A Dragonborn that is an Altmer and is wearing hooded Thalmor robes may walk past all the guards without incident . Walking is essential , as running , even as an Altmer and wearing Thalmor robes will cause the guards to become hostile . Even if the Dragonborn is an Altmer , the Thalmor wizard at the door to the Solar will ask why they are not at their post . At this point , the option to persuade the wizard that Elenwen wants to see them inside becomes available . If this persuasion is successful , the wizard will say to " take his post " and say not to let anyone in , at which point he should leave the area but appears to stay where he is . Either way , once inside the Solar , any disguise will no longer work and everyone inside will become hostile on sight . Inside , either kill everyone or sneak over to the chest the quest arrow is pointing to , and grab the needed items . Read the documents taken to activate the next arrow . If Rulindil and / or Gissur are not killed , they will have to be fought later ( when exiting the Embassy , and in a follow - up quest in the Ratway , respectively ) . There is a locked display case in Rulindil ' s office , containing two elven daggers , a gold and ruby circlet , and a gold and emerald circlet . There is also a Gold Ingot in one of the upper rooms , along with more loot . After recovering the quest items from the office , the quest arrow will lead down into the dungeon , where Etienne Rarnis is being kept captive . If Rulindil was killed in his office , the only other person in the dungeon will be a guard patrolling outside the cells . If Rulindil was allowed to walk down the stairs , he will also be there , sitting at a desk ( taking notes ) while the guard tortures the prisoner . Information about Esbern is needed to proceed . This can be done in three ways : Whichever method is used , learning about Esbern triggers a scripted event leading to the next stage of the quest . The Escape . After the Dragonborn learns about Esbern , two Thalmor guards will enter the dungeon with Malborn in custody ; his cover blown . The guards hold the key to the trapdoor , so they have to be killed . If the Dragonborn is an Altmer dressed in full Elven Armor the guards will not be hostile , allowing them to get close enough for melee weapons to be effective . Once through the trapdoor , a frost troll will be waiting , as well as any followers that might have been left before entering the party . Under the stone ledge is a necromancer ' s body , an Illusion Skill Book " Before the Ages of Man " , a Stone of Barenziah , and some loot . Exiting the cave will allow seeing off anyone that was saved . Return to Riverwood to reclaim any gear from Delphine ' s chest . If Etienne survived , he can later be found in Riften among the Thieves Guild . If Malborn survived , he can be found in the New Gnisis Cornerclub in Windhelm , and he will give you another quest to find and kill a Thalmor assassin who is keeping him from leaving Windhelm and Skyrim .