The Taste of Death

The Taste of Death is a quest available in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in which the Dragonborn must assist a cult of Namira worshipers for their cannibalistic feast.

Background

Objectives

1. Speak to Verulus about the Hall of Dead
2. Investigate the Hall of the Dead
3. Tell Verulus the Hall of the Dead is safe
4. Clear the Draugr from Reachcliff Cave
5. Speak to Eola
6. Convince Verulus to follow you
7. Lead Verulus to the Shrine of Namira
8. Kill Verulus
9. Feast on Verulus

Walkthrough

Rumors in Markarth say that the Hall of the Dead has been closed, preventing the people from visiting their dead. Brother Verulus, a Priest of Arkay, closed the hall because some of the bodies were defiled.

Rumors about the hall closing can be heard from Kleppr at the Silver-Blood Inn. He will say that after closing the hall, Verulus has become rather unpopular around town, mostly with the Nord citizens who fear they are being purposely kept from their honored dead. If Kleppr refuses to divulge information, you can instead find Verulus yourself directly and he will update you about the circumstances.

Hall of the Dead

On the way to the hall, Thongvor Silver-Blood and Brother Verulus are accosting each other rather intensely. After the argument, both men will return to their normal routines and Verulus can be confronted. He will deny entrance to the Hall of the Dead but can be bribed, persuaded or intimidated to explain the situation. He will explain that dead bodies in the hall have been found desecrated, and will permit the Dragonborn to enter and investigate.

Inside, an unknown woman's voice will be heard talking to the Dragonborn, believing they have eaten flesh. Soon after, Eola will reveal herself. She reveals that she worships Namira, Lady of Decay, and is the one who has been eating the dead.

The Dragonborn can listen to what she has to say or confront and kill her. Listening to her and allowing her to leave will start the quest. Eola will become invisible, leave the Hall of the Dead and go to Reachcliff Cave, where she will wait for the Dragonborn. Alternatively, killing her will fail the quest immediately.

Either way, the Dragonborn can report back to Brother Verulus and tell him that the Hall of the Dead is safe; Verulus will give the Dragonborn an Amulet of Arkay as a reward.

Reachcliff Cave

If allowed to live, Eola will be waiting for the Dragonborn outside Reachcliff Cave, where she asks the Dragonborn to defeat the Draugr inside. She will follow the Dragonborn in combat if asked.

After the cave is cleared, Eola will thank the Dragonborn and propose a feast to celebrate the victory. She will ask the Dragonborn to lure Verulus into Reachcliff Cave to be eaten, as part of an initiation ritual. She will give 100 to cover expenses.

Once back in the Hall of the Dead, Verulus must be convinced to follow the Dragonborn to the cave through dialogue. Note that he cannot be asked to follow the Dragonborn if they already have a follower.

The Feast

When the Dragonborn returns with Verulus, there will be a feast laid out in the final chamber, with other cannibals – Sanyon, Lisbet, Banning, Nimphaneth and Hogni Red-Arm – seated around the large table. Eola talks to Verulus and convinces him to lay on the altar "to rest" before dinner starts.

Eola asks the Dragonborn to kill Verulus and feast on his flesh. After killing him and eating, the voice of Namira will sound, telling the Dragonborn she is pleased with them. She will grant them the Ring of Namira, which allows them to feed on dead human bodies, conferring +50 stamina and +50 health, and health regeneration that lasts for five minutes.

At any time before eating Verulus, it is possible to betray the members of The Coven of Namira during the feast. This will cause the quest to fail; however, if Verulus survives, he will give the Dragonborn a leveled amount of gold and head back to Markarth. The dead coven members can also be looted for gold, keys, and other items.

Alternate walkthrough: kill Eola

Instead of siding with Eola, the Dragonborn can simply kill her in the Hall of the Dead. Since she turns invisible immediately after the dialogue ends, it is easier to escape out of the dialog windows and attack immediately. A unique dialog option will then appear with Verulus: instead of saying "The Hall of the Dead is safe," the Dragonborn will be able to say "The cannibal has been dealt with." Verulus will thank the Dragonborn, but request they spare him the grisly details. This is also the only way to betray Namira's Coven without them becoming hostile, though obviously the Ring of Namira cannot be obtained this way. The Dragonborn will get an Amulet of Arkay from Verulus as a reward.

Journal

Trivia

• Betraying the cannibals will cause several important characters, including shopkeepers, to turn hostile. The reward given may not be worth the lost ring and merchants.
• An alternative is to wipe out the coven after gaining the ring, allowing the Dragonborn to keep it.
  • Killing Eola upon entering the cave the first time (to clear it) will not turn the shopkeepers hostile.
  • Killing Lisbet will result in Imedhnain taking over her shop, however Banning and Hogni will not have replacements. As Hogni is only a butcher, it is not a big loss, but Banning sells the war dog Vigilance. It is recommended to buy Vigilance before killing Banning.
    • Instead of having to pay for Vigilance, it is also possible to have a free dog, like Meeko, or to trigger a random world encounter with a stray dog. The player can also delay "A Daedra's Best Friend" for as long as desired. This allows Barbas to be an extremely useful companion, as he possesses massive damage output and infinite health.
  • Killing Lisbet and Banning will make Imedhnain and Cedran's disposition drop by 2. Killing Hogni is safe, as no one will comment on his death.
• After completing this quest by feeding on Verulus, Sigar may be encountered in the wilderness. He will greet the Dragonborn and ask them to feed on the corpse of an Altmer lying next to him.
  • If Eola is killed instead of Verulus, he will turn hostile to the Dragonborn.
• Feasting on Verulus in werewolf form or as a vampire will not update the quest.
• Brother Verulus is a useful second follower, as he is a competent mage. Therefore, it may be beneficial to delay completing the quest.
• Killing Verulus will count as a charge towards the Ebony Blade, as he is considered a follower.
  • This quest in particular provides a number of kills to restore the Ebony Blade's enchantment. The player can first side with Eola at Reachcliff Cave and clear the zone, then agree to recruit Verulus. Bring him back to the feast, and slay him, then turn on the cannibals. This provides almost 4 kills in total, along with the ring of Namira and the gold Eola provides to cover your expenses for recruiting Verulus.
• Killing Brother Verulus whilst he rests for the feast is not counted as a murder.
• The placeholder for Namira's voice is a Bosmer female called Voice of Namira, placed behind the wall. She can be found with the Alteration spell Detect Life or Console Commands.
• Voice of Namira character model is also identical to the Dealer of Redwater Den, who reused this exact character model.
• Even if the Dragonborn is an Argonian, Khajiit, or Mer, Eola will still state that they are a cannibal for eating human flesh.

Bugs

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim