Oblivion:A Brotherhood Betrayed

It appears that a vampire in town was recently killed by Raynil Dralas, a self-proclaimed vampire hunter. Quest Giver: Carius Runellius in Bruma Location(s): Bruma, Boreal Stone Cave Reward: Phylactery of Litheness Fame/Infamy: Fame +1; Infamy +1 if quest NPC dies prematurely or Raynil escapes ID: MS11

"The culprit of the crime has already been dealt with."

Quick Walkthrough

1. Learn from townspeople about rumors of a vampire killing.
2. Persuade a local investigator and widow to talk to you about the murder of the supposed vampire.
3. Ask around about the whereabouts of the vampire hunter, Raynil Dralas. Many point to Olav's Tap and Tack.
4. After attempting futilely to speak to Dralas, talk to Olav to be given a key to Dralas' room, where you find his diary.
5. Give the diary to Carius, who points you toward Boreal Stone Cave. Travel there quickly, as you only have one day to finish the quest.
6. Kill Raynil, and take his keys to recover the Mundane Amulet from the waterlogged chest.
7. Take the amulet back to Erline to reveal its true nature; you may keep the amulet as your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough

Rumors of a Vampire

There is a rumor in Bruma about Raynil Dralas, who claims that he is a vampire hunter. You also learn that he has already killed an alleged vampire in town, a local man named Bradon Lirrian.

Lirrian's House

Damning evidence, or part of a cover-up?

Head to Lirrian's house behind the right side of the Chapel of Talos. Inside, you will find two guards and Lirrian's wife. After some persuasion (minimum disposition 70), the investigator, Carius Runellius, will tell you that several bodies with bite marks in their necks were found recently. Luckily, a Dunmer vampire hunter, Raynil Dralas, turned up and found the vampire, who turned out to be Bradon Lirrian. The guards investigated his claim, and it seems the townsfolk have only seen Bradon out at night. Furthermore, a murdered beggar was discovered in the basement of his house. After you talk to Carius, a conversation with the widow, Erline Lirrian, reveals that Bradon had to work during the night, which explains why he had to sleep during the day. She also believes that the body was intentionally placed in the basement to frame her husband. Erline implores you to clear his good name.

Olav's Tap & Tack

Speak to the townsfolk again, and they will tell you that Dralas is staying at Olav's Tap and Tack. Speaking with Olav will provide additional information. With a little persuasion, Olav tells you that he knew Bradon and had actually seen him during the daytime, thus lending credence to the fact that he was not a vampire. He then gives you the key to Dralas' room in the hopes you will find something to clear Bradon's name. Alternatively, you can pickpocket the key off of him.

In the room, you find a diary called Gelebourne's Journal behind a chest of drawers, which details how Bradon, Raynil, and a man named Gelebourne were part of an adventuring group. It gives their account of how they explored some ruins and found a magical amulet which they then hid in a cave near Bruma. It becomes obvious that Raynil has been killing off his partners in order to keep the treasure for himself. Take the diary so you can give it to Carius as evidence of Bradon's innocence.

Boreal Stone Cave

Raynil: traitor, bogus vampire hunter, assassin and general troublemaker

Return to Lirrian's house and speak with Carius. He will accept your evidence and tell you to meet him at the Olav's Tap and Tack in one hour, after he talks to the guards about apprehending Dralas. When you meet him again, Carius will tell you that he had Dralas followed. The "vampire hunter" was seen heading west, towards Boreal Stone Cave, which seems to match the description of the cave the amulet was hidden in. Carius then asks you to catch Dralas, stating that you have but one day to do so. He'll mark the location on your map. Travel to the cave quickly, and inside you'll find Raynil, who will refuse to surrender. Dispense justice upon him, take the three keys from his corpse, and recover the artifact, a Mundane Amulet, from the "waterlogged chest" nearby. There are also some other chests nearby and very little else in this cave.

Return to Bruma and speak with Erline to have the mundane amulet's true nature revealed. She tells you that Bradon cast a spell on the amulet to prevent the other two members of the brotherhood from gaining its power should they betray him, because he did not trust them. He told Erline that she should only tell them how to lift the spell if she is on her deathbed, and he is already dead. The events of this quest show that his distrust of Raynil, at least, was justified. Ironically, Erline demonstrates that the spell is lifted by a secret word: "Brotherhood". The mundane amulet is revealed to be the leveled amulet Phylactery of Litheness which fortifies your speed. It is your reward.

Unlike other quests, you actually have a time limit in this quest. If you do not go to the cave within 24 hours after Carius tells you to go there, Raynil will escape to Morrowind and you'll receive no reward.

Notes

• Attempting to activate Bradon's body will inform that "Repeated tampering with Bradon's corpse is a crime and will alert the authorities." Activate it again and you will acquire a bounty of 100 septims, regardless of whether or not you have been seen.
• You can pickpocket the keys from Raynil and open the chest without fighting him. You will receive the subsequent update telling you to take the amulet to Erline. She will reveal the amulet's true nature completing the quest. Raynil will remain in Boreal Stone Cave as a non-hostile NPC with no persuasion or dialogue options.
• If you do not wish to fight Raynil, engage in fighting him and run out of the cave. Try to run by wolves or bandits, as they will attack Raynil. As you reach Bruma, Raynil will die and you just have to go back and search for his body. Retrieve the keys and continue on with the quest. This works well if you are a lower level.

Bugs

• Carius will fail to appear at Olav's Tap and Tack if this event is triggered in the last few hours of the last day of the current game month due to a timer bug. If this happens, go straight to Boreal stone Cave and confront Raynil there. The cave is west of Applewatch.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch fixes this bug.
  • If your game crashes to desktop when you're waiting for Carius Runellius, you can skip this part with setstage ms11 90 and continue with the quest.
• Do not enter Olav's to talk to Carius while wearing the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal. Carius will enter the usual Gray Fox challenge dialogue and only give you the option to resist arrest. Upon choosing this, Carius challenges you again, causing an infinite loop. You will have to reload from an earlier save. This will also happen if you go to Boreal Stone Cave and kill Raynil and complete the quest having never met Carius at Olav's (only it will just be regular dialogue, not the Gray Fox challenge).
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch fixes this bug.
• If you first pickpocket Olav's key from him and then persuade him to give it to you, you will receive two keys as the script doesn't check whether or not Olav still has it.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch fixes this bug.

Journal Entries

Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
A Brotherhood Betrayed (MS11)
5		I've entered the house of Bradon Lirrian in Bruma. A guard named Carius Runellius has told me that this was the scene of a crime, and unless I was a guard or someone named Raynil Dralas, I should leave.
10		I've discovered that Bradon Lirrian, a resident here in Bruma, was actually a vampire. He was slain by a vampire hunter who has appeared in town named Raynil Dralas. However, the circumstances of this incident sound sketchy at best. I should make my way to the crime scene at Bradon's house to investigate.
20		I've spoken to Carius Runellius, an investigator for the Bruma city watch, at the crime scene. He says that Raynil slipped into the house undetected and killed the vampire in its sleep around noon. The wife wasn't home, as she works during the day. Also, the body of an unidentified beggar has been found stashed in Bradon's house. I should question Bradon's wife if I want to investigate further.
30		Bradon's wife, Erline, told me her husband is innocent. She says that he simply works at night, and sleeps during the day. She also suspects that someone must have planted the body. She seemed to cast a suspicious light on Raynil, whom she says she recognizes. I think I should locate Raynil and ask him some questions as well. I should start with some of the merchants and innkeepers in town.
40		After asking around Bruma, I've discovered that Raynil has been staying at Olav's Tap and Tack while he's been in town. The inn is located next to the city gates. This should be my next destination if I'm to question Raynil.
50		I've spoken to Olav at Olav's Tap and Tack. I was able to convince him to give me the key to Raynil's room. He told me that it was up the stairs and at the end of the hall. That should be my next destination.
60		I've entered Raynil's room. I should carefully search the place for anything suspicious.
70		I've discovered a small journal in Raynil's room at the inn. It seems he was part of a group of adventurers who uncovered an artifact of some sort from some Ayleid ruins. They all agreed to stash the artifact in a cave until more research could be done about it. Each of them took a key to the chest it was secured in. The two other members of the group were Bradon and someone named Gelebourne. I need to find out more about Gelebourne to confirm my suspicions about Raynil. Olav may be able to help.
80		The innkeeper, Olav, told me that Gelebourne was slain in Skingrad by none other than Raynil. As with Bradon, Raynil claimed Gelebourne was a vampire. I think Raynil is using the vampire as a cover story to get the keys to the chest where they stashed the artifact. I think it's time to speak to Carius Runellius about Raynil. He must be stopped.
85		I've given Gelebourne's journal to Carius. He was shocked at the story contained within, and vowed to bring Raynil to justice. He's gone to inform the guards. He said to meet him back at Olav's Tap and Tack in an hour.
90		Carius told me that Raynil was seen leaving Bruma and heading west. According to the journal, the cave where the artifact is stashed is in that direction. Carius mentioned that the only cave in that direction that matches the journal's description is Boreal Stone Cave. Carius also feels I have only a day before Raynil can make good his escape, so I must get there quickly.
100		I've arrived at Boreal Stone Cave.
110		I've located Raynil in Boreal Stone Cave. He refused to surrender, choosing instead to attack me. I was forced to kill him to defend myself. I can now recover the artifact mentioned in Gelebounre's [sic] journal from the chest.
115		Opening the waterlogged chest with all three keys, I discovered the artifact to be an amulet. It seems fairly unremarkable, and I am unsure of its function. I think I should bring it back to Erline Lirrian and see what she wants me to do with it.
120	Yes	Erline was pleased that I stopped Raynil. She told me that as an extra precaution, Bradon had a command word protection put on the amulet so no one could steal it and use it without his knowledge. Fortunately, Erline was given the command word. After giving it to her, she said the word, and the true nature of the item was revealed: The Phylacetary [sic] of Litheness. She then said I could keep the item, as a token of her thanks.
150		A full day has passed, and I haven't made it to Boreal Stone Cave to stop Raynil. I fear I may be too late. I should hasten there as soon as I can to confirm my theory.
160		I've arrived at Boreal Stone Cave, and have found it to be completely empty. I fear Raynil has made off with the artifact and he has disappeared. I should inform Carius.
170	Yes	Carius mentioned that Raynil has slipped through their grasp and made good his escape from the area. They will keep watch for him, but they doubt he will return. I'm afraid I'll never see him again.
200	Yes	One of the characters needed to complete this quest has died.

Notes

• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in random order.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• It is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage MS11 stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages. See SetStage for more information.