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If there’s one thing you should always do before joining theThieves' Guildand Dark Brotherhood inThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, it’s the Nocturnal side quest, as it rewards you with one of the best Daedric Artifacts in the game —the Skeleton Key. And unlike in Skyrim, you don’t have to give it back.
But before you’re able to begin the quest,you need to reach level ten, otherwise, you’ll get a pop-up box telling you that “Nocturnal demands a more powerful champion.” Once you’re ready, though, it’s a pretty simple quest for such a game-breaking item.
Where To Find Nocturnal’s Shrine
To reach Nocturnal’s shrine,fast travel to Leyawiinandfollow the eastern roadout of town.
Eventually, you’ll come across a branching dirt path that leads straight to the statue.
You’ll get a map marker if you ask Alves Uvenim in the Leyawiin Mages Guild about “Daedra shrines” (so long as you’ve read Modern Heretics).
How To Find The Eye Of Nocturnal
Once you’ve arrived at the shrine, walk up to the statue and interact with it to speak to the Night Mistress. She’ll give youa new quest to retrieve the Eye of Nocturnal.
But first, we need to find who stole it and where it’s being kept, soreturn to Leyawiinto begin your search.
The easiest way to figure out who took the artefact is byspeaking to a Leyawiin cityguard. When you do, you’ll see a new prompt, ‘Eye of Nocturnal’, but ignore it. They’ll have no idea what you’re talking about.
Instead,choose the ‘Leyawiin’ optionand they’ll tell you aboutWeebam-Na and Bejeen, who have “been bragging about some big score they made recently.“Visit the two in their homeand ask them about the artefact to progress the quest. They won’t tell you anything, but if you leave and return, you caneavesdrop on their conversation.
If you’d rather get the quest over and done with, you’re able to skip the eavesdropping and head straight to the cave.
So long as youdon’t get caught, they’ll mention that they’vestashed the Eye of Nocturnal in Tidewater Cave, adding it to your map with a new quest objective.
Where To Find Tidewater Cave
Tidewater Cave can be foundsouth of Leyawiinon the coast of Topal Bay. It’s a pretty small dungeon, filled withtrolls, bears, wolves, and silverfish, and the only notable loot is the Eye of Nocturnal. Though you can explore the rest of the cave for a couple of chests if you want.
Once you’re inside,take the first left,follow the tunnelto the end, andturn left againinto a large pool of water.Jump in and swim through an underwater doorwayto find the Eye of Nocturnal.
Grab itand thenleave the caveso that you canfast travel back to Nocturnal’s shrine.
Speak To Nocturnal To Unlock The Skeleton Key
Back at the shrine, interact with the statue again to speak with Nocturnal.She’ll reward you for returning the eye with the Skeleton Key, an unbreakable lockpick.
you may also use this artefact in Blood of the Daedra, but it’s a bit of a waste.
What’s even better about the Skeleton Key is that itboosts your Security stat by 40 pointsso long as it’s in your inventory, making it a perfect complement to anystealth build. And since it’s unbreakable, you’re able to skip the lockpicking minigame altogether by spamming the ‘Auto Attempt’ button, making even the hardest locks a cakewalk.
