Dampened Spirits Dampened Spirits is a quest available in . After completing the quest " Loud and Clear , " Brynjolf will say that Maven Black - Briar wishes to speak to the Dragonborn . Walkthrough . The first step in the quest is to speak with Maven Black - Briar . She will be waiting upstairs in The Bee and Barb , wandering around town during daylight , or in the Black - Briar Meadery in Riften . She asks the Dragonborn to shut down a competitor , the newly opened Honningbrew Meadery , and to find out how its owner Sabjorn has managed so quickly to fund its opening . Next , it is necessary to find and speak with Mallus Maccius . He will be waiting in The Bannered Mare in Whiterun . He tells the Dragonborn to ask Sabjorn for work clearing out pests that Mallus has lured into the meadery . The Dragonborn is to fulfill this job , poisoning the meadery vat in the process . Sabjorn will give the Dragonborn a key to the meadery ' s basement with instructions to kill all the pests and to poison their nest . This presents the opportunity to poison the vats as well . Getting to the nest is straightforward , but there are quite a few skeevers , Venomfang Skeever s , and some frostbite spiders along the way . However , the real challenge is dealing with Hamelyn ; a mage living next to the nest . He uses a fairly powerful magic attack ( which appears to be random , but may vary depending on the Dragonborn ' s level ) . If the Dragonborn is a werewolf , transforming may be a good option : roaring will cause him to enter a state of fear , offering an excellent chance to kill him . One can also paralyze him ( via the Ice Form Dragon shout , the Paralyze spell , or paralysis - enchanted weapons ) to prevent him from attacking , them retaliating or sneaking past . He can also be killed with a sneak attack from behind if one ' s Sneak and one or two - handed skill is high enough . After Hamelyn is dealt with , the nest can be poisoned , and then the Dragonborn can then enter the tunnel . The area to poison the nest is the pile of hay to the right of the alchemy lab . The area where poison can be used is fairly small . Going through the tunnel to the Honningbrew Boilery , it is possible to go up the stairs and pour the poison into the vat . The door ' s key hangs right next to it . Afterwards , Sabjorn needs to be told that the job is done . Now it is time to attend the tasting ceremony . Commander Caius or Sinmir tastes the mead ( depending on the Dragonborn ' s Civil War allegiance ) and is unhappy with it . He puts Mallus in charge and drags Sabjorn off to Dragonsreach Dungeon . At this point , Mallus will help locate the books that identify Sabjorn ' s " silent partner . " Upstairs , a promissory note is in Sabjorn ' s dresser . Behind the door to the right of the dresser is the Honningbrew Decanter ( a larceny target ) , which can be sold to Delvin Mallory . Upon returning to Riften , Maven Black - Briar can be given the note . She tells the Dragonborn to take the information to Brynjolf , who acknowledges the findings and sends the Dragonborn to Mercer Frey ( who he feels will be able to identify the symbol on the note and shed some light on the Thieves Guild ' s anonymous adversary ) . The quest " Scoundrel ' s Folly " then begins . Rewards . Upon returning to Maven Black - Briar , the Dragonborn is given either a leveled enchanted dagger , sword , or mace and Mallus will become available as a fence .