Skyrim:Thalmor Embassy

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Settlement: Thalmor Embassy (view on map) (lore page)
# of Zones	5
Respawn Time	10 days
Level	Min: 2
Important Treasure
Before the Ages of Man Unusual Gem
Console Location Code(s)
ThalmorEmbassy01, ThalmorEmbassy02, ThalmorEmbassy03, ThalmorEmbassy04, ThalmorEmbassy05
Region
Haafingar
Location
Northwest of Solitude East of Ironback Hideout

Thalmor Embassy

Thalmor Embassy is the Aldmeri Dominion's diplomatic mission to Skyrim northwest of Solitude. It contains five zones: Thalmor Embassy, Thalmor Embassy, Barracks, Thalmor Embassy, Elenwen's Solar, Thalmor Embassy, Dungeon, and Reeking Cave.

The embassy is a gated complex serving as the center of Thalmor activity in Skyrim. Elenwen is the resident ambassador, known for hosting the province's most powerful men and mer at lavish ambassadorial parties. You infiltrate the building via an ill-gotten invitation as part of the main quest.

The party

Residents

Name	Job
Elenwen	Emissary
Rulindil	Third Emissary
Tsavani	Cook
Brelas	Servant
Malborn	Servant
Thalmor Archer	Guard
Thalmor Soldier	Guard
Thalmor Wizard	Guard

Related Quests

• Diplomatic Immunity: Infiltrate a party at the Thalmor Embassy.
• No Stone Unturned: Find the 24 gems to restore the Crown of Barenziah.

Walkthrough

Exterior: Front Courtyard

The front courtyard

You will arrive inside the courtyard after speaking with Delphine during the quest Diplomatic Immunity. There are two sets of double metal gates leading into the courtyard from the outside, and a separate building nearby containing the barracks; the door to the barracks is locked and requires a key to enter. In the courtyard is the carriage you arrived on and Razelan, a fellow party guest. There are also two Thalmor guards and a Thalmor wizard standing in the courtyard: one of the guards patrols the courtyard, the other guard at the bottom of the stairs will check your invitation, and the wizard stands near the entrance to the interior.

Thalmor Embassy

As soon as you enter, you'll be in the reception room, where the party is already in full swing. Elenwen will immediately approach; however, Malborn will interrupt her, enabling you to avoid a lengthy conversation. There is a small wardrobe to your left containing fine clothes. To your right is a small cupboard containing clutter. The guests present vary depending on several factors; see the related quest for details. In addition to Elenwen, there are two guards, Illdi the bard (or Grete if Illdi is dead), the serving girl Brelas, and Malborn in the room. Everything in the embassy can be freely taken, except where specifically stated. The room is fairly square, with heavily vaulted sections around the east, south, and west sides, and a fireplace in the middle of the north wall. There is a snowberry bush in a vase to the right, with wooden benches on either side.

Speaking to Brelas will grant you a bottle of Colovian Brandy, but you are limited to a single bottle in your possession. It is marked as a quest item and can not be dropped. Behind Brelas is a small set of shelves holding some goblets and a red mountain flower. In the southeastern corner is a table laid with two platters holding seven seared slaughterfish steaks, two baked potatoes, three tomatoes, and two portions of grilled leeks. Between two of the arches is another narrow table with a stack of plates and a platter holding two sweet rolls and two honey nut treats. Against the south wall is a narrow table with a bowl of bread and a plate of a sliced eidar cheese with an iron dagger on top. To the right of this table is another table laid with two platters holding a leg of goat roast, two pheasant roasts, a horse haunch, three sweet rolls, and an apple pie.

In the southwest corner is yet another table laid with a platter of bread and cheese, a bowl of three red apples, a bunch of tundra cotton, two bottles of alto wine, and a potion of regeneration. Against the west wall is a small round table with three common books on top near one of several wooden benches against the walls of the room. There are two internal doors in this room: one to the south with a guard beside it, and one to the west behind Malborn, who is behind a counter serving drinks. On the counter is a bottle of alto wine and one of wine, several goblets, and a small mead barrel. Malborn will instruct you to arrange a diversion so that he can slip you out of the room.

Through the door behind Malborn is a narrow storage area with three sets of shelves holding seven bottles of alto wine, four bottles of wine, and two bottles of Nord mead, with two stacks of food barrels opposite. Malborn will lead you through the kitchen, where Tsavani the cook will ignore you after Malborn threatens her. In the kitchen are three sets of shelves, two sets of wall shelves, two tables for preparing food, several open crates, many loaves of bread and pieces of cheese, four food sacks, and a food barrel. In the middle of the west wall is an oven, with a woodcutter's axe on an unusable block to the right. The following food and ingredients can be found in the kitchen:

Food and Drink: 4 Alto Wine 1 Nord Mead 2 Wine 2 Baked Potato 2 Gourd

7 Cabbages 1 Dog Meat 1 Grilled Leeks 2 Horse Meat 2 Leeks

1 Pheasant Breast 19 Potatoes 1 Raw Beef 1 Raw Rabbit Leg 5 Red Apples

3 Salmon Meat 1 Salmon Steak 1 Seared Slaughterfish 6 Tomatoes 1 Venison

Ingredients: 5 Chicken's Eggs 6 Dried Elves Ear 2 Dried Frost Mirriam 1 Fly Amanita 10 Garlic

8 Garlic Braids 1 Orange Dartwing 4 Pine Thrush Eggs 1 Rock Warbler Egg

Tsavani does not like unexpected guests in her kitchen

The storage room where Malborn smuggled your gear

Malborn leads you through a door in the east wall into another storage room, where you find an unlocked chest containing any gear he smuggled in for you, seven food sacks, and a small cupboard with an open crate on top containing two leeks and five tomatoes. Hanging from the ceiling are two pheasants, a bunch of dried elves ear, a bunch of dried frost mirriam, and three garlic braids. Three wall shelves hold a bottle of alto wine, a bottle of wine, and several cheese wheels. There is a second door in the southeastern corner that leads to a corridor. Malborn will be in a hurry for you to pass through this door so that he can lock it behind you before he is missed at the party. You will need to move a few paces along the corridor in order for him to lock the door.

Two Thalmor guards can be found here laughing about the potential demise of their mage cohorts

Once you are in the corridor, Malborn will explain you are on your own, then lock the door behind you. You can hear two guards talking in a room through an open door on the left about a group of mages sent to help with the dragon problem. There is a cupboard on your immediate left with a bottle of alto wine and a thistle branch on top. There is a second cupboard on the far side of the door, and a narrow table with a bottle of alto wine and a potion of light feet on top at the end of the corridor. There is also an open door on the right, which opens to a room containing a low table with a set of Thalmor robes and gloves on top and a pair of boots on the floor beside it. The room is used as a storage room for unused furniture and other items, with cobwebs and dust all around. There is a mead barrel containing bottles of Nord mead, a food barrel with a basket containing potatoes on top, several rolled up rugs, various items of fine crockery and candlesticks, and a couple tables and sets of shelves, but nothing else of interest.

After a few moments, the two guards will return to their patrols, allowing you to either sneak through or deal with them individually. The room they are in has a small counter on the immediate right with some bread and cheese on top. A narrow table behind the counter has an iron dagger on top, a food sack below, and a wall shelf above holding two bottles of Nord mead and a bottle of alto wine. On the left is the second door seen in the reception room where the party continues, and a partition beyond the door. In the southeast corner is a low table and bench with a plate of bread and cheese and a bottle of alto wine on top. Beside this is a set of shelves holding a bunch of tundra cotton, a bunch of lavender, a draught of strength, a potion of health, a potion of regeneration, and a common book. In the south wall is a doorway into another storeroom containing two cupboards holding a set of fine clothes, a pair of boots, a gourd, three garlic bulbs, a bunch of tundra cotton, a single loose coin, and two food sacks. In the southwestern corner is a flight of stairs leading up with a small wardrobe to the left and a basket beside it hiding a small coin purse. At the east end of the room is a corridor heading south, with a small cupboard and a table with a candlestick on top and a vase containing a snowberry bush. Around the corner is a door leading outside, flanked by another small cupboard with a thistle branch on top and a set of shelves holding two pairs of Thalmor boots, two bottles of wine, and a basket containing two bunches of lavender.

A corridor leading to rooms containing loot

The stairs lead up to another corridor running east to west. To the east is a table with a copy of Dwemer History and Culture on top, a set of shelves holding seven common books, and past a doorway into another room is a small wardrobe with a copy of Uncommon Taste on top. The room contains a long dining table in the middle with two bottles of alto wine, a potion of regeneration, two seared slaughterfish steaks, two baked potatoes, a portion of grilled leeks, and a bunch of tundra cotton on top. A small table at one end holds a bottle of wine, and a small shelving unit at the other end holds another bottle of alto wine and has a small mead barrel on top. On the east wall are two sets of shelves holding two random poisons, a random potion of magicka, a random potion of stamina, a random empty soul gem, and a common book. In front of these shelves is a low table and chair with a bottle of wine and another common book on top. Against the south wall is a small cupboard with an owned bunch of juniper berries on top, and to the right is an open crate containing two more empty random soul gems, a random potion of healing, a random potion of magicka, and an owned bunch of lavender. Finally, against the west wall is another set of shelves holding a draught of strength, a potion of health, a potion of regeneration, a bunch of tundra cotton, a common book, and two bunches of lavender in a basket.

To the west down the corridor, there is a room on the right at the end, and an open area to the left in front of a door leading outside. The room is a bedroom containing a large owned double bed coming out from the north wall, with end tables on either side holding candlesticks, and a long unlocked chest at the foot of the bed. To the right is a narrow table with a bottle of frostbite venom on top. In the northeast corner is a small wardrobe, and against the south wall is a tall wardrobe, both containing fine clothes and boots. There is also a low table with a bottle of alto wine, a plate of bread and cheese, and a potion of regeneration on top. By the door is an open crate containing a bunch of tundra cotton and a red mountain flower, and next to the crate is a wash basin. To the left in the open area are two small cupboards, with a drum and a potion of health on top of one of the cupboards, and three wall shelves holding a bottle of alto wine, two bottles of Nord mead, a potion of plentiful healing, and a bunch of lavender. There is also a low table and chair, with a common book, a bottle of wine, and a plate of bread and cheese on top.

Exterior: Rear Courtyard

The rear courtyard

Through the door to the outside is the end of a path around the outside wall of the courtyard. There is one guard standing against a wall to your left by a gap in the wall, another patrolling the courtyard, a Thalmor wizard also wandering the courtyard, and a second wizard standing in front of the entrance to Thalmor Embassy, Elenwen's Solar. There are two planters in the middle of the courtyard containing three lavender plants, a thistle, and a blue mountain flower. Hidden on the roof of the solar are two potions: a leveled invisibility potion and a random leveled fortifying potion. If the embassy is leveled to level 30 or higher, a Potion of Prolonged Invisibility will spawn and roll off into the courtyard below; otherwise, both potions remain on the roof and can be pulled down with Telekinesis. They are barely visible at the edge of the highest point of the roof facing the planters below.

Thalmor Embassy, Elenwen's Solar

Elenwen's Solar entrance area

If you are sneaking when you first enter, you are able to sneak past a Thalmor guard standing in front of you, facing away. To the right at the rear of the room is a small storeroom. From there, you are able to overhear a conversation between a Thalmor agent and an informant named Gissur. They are discussing an old man they are trying to locate. In the storeroom is a small cupboard with a drum, a flute, a deathbell flower, and a potion of health on top, with a wall shelf holding three common books above it, and two sets of shelves holding two bottles of frostbite venom, two deathbell flowers, a bowl of void salts, a bowl of glow dust, two samples of slaughterfish scales, a potion of haggling, five common books, a basket containing two bunches of lavender, and another basket containing a bunch of tundra cotton. The main part of the room has a small counter with six bottles of wine and a platter holding two sweet rolls, three red apples, and two boiled creme treats. Along the east wall is a table holding a bowl containing a bunch of tundra cotton and an iron dagger. Against the south wall is a small shelving unit holding a bottle of alto wine. There is a small table to the left of the counter with a bottle of wine on top, and a low table in the middle of the room with a common book, a bottle of wine, and a plate of bread and cheese on top. There are stairs opposite the entrance leading up, with vases of snowberry bushes on either side.

To the west and in the northwestern corners are two rooms. The first room to the west is an office, and contains a desk with two rolls of paper on top and a basket containing more rolls beside it. Behind the desk are three bookcases holding a total of twenty common books, a flute, a drum, a potion of health, a basket containing two bunches of lavender, and a lockpick, a random potion of stamina, and a solution of strength. Against the west wall is a set of shelves holding two bottles of frostbite venom, a deathbell flower, a bowl of void salts, a bowl of glow dust, two samples of slaughterfish scales, and a potion of haggling. Next to these shelves is an expert-locked display case containing two crossed elven daggers, a gold and ruby circlet, and a gold and emerald circlet. Against the north wall is a tall wardrobe containing fine clothes and boots. There is also a doorway on the north wall to a flight of stairs leading down.

The other room on this floor is also an office, and contains a desk with a bottle of alto wine, a potion of health, a potion of regeneration, and two rolls of paper on top, and another basket containing more rolls of paper beside it. Behind the desk is a small set of shelves holding two more rolls of paper and an iron dagger, a wall shelf holding three bottles of alto wine and a bottle of Nord mead, and an unlocked chest containing the information you need for the quest and a copy of the interrogation chamber key. There is a small table to the right with a bunch of tundra cotton on top, and farther to the right another table with bread and cheese on top. To the right of the door are two bookcases holding nineteen common books and copies of Argonian Account, Book 2 and Book 4, Lost Legends, Short History of Morrowind, and The Adabal-a. There is also a large vase containing a sprig of snowberries in the northeastern corner to the right of another doorway, which leads to another flight of descending stairs.

Elenwen's bedroom

Climbing the stairs in the main room leads to a landing overlooking the downstairs area, with rooms at either end. There is a small wardrobe on the landing to the east. The room at this end is Elenwen's bedroom, and contains a large, owned four-posted bed coming out from the south wall, with end tables on either side and a long unlocked chest at the foot of the bed. To the right is a small wardrobe, a wash basin, and a narrow table with a bottle of frostbite venom on top. Beside the door is a set of shelves holding four common books, a solution of strength, and a random potion of stamina. To the left of the bed is a low table with a bottle of alto wine, a potion of regeneration, and a plate of bread and cheese on top, and another table beside it with a platter holding a sweet roll, two baked potatoes, and a cheese wheel on top. Above this table is a wall shelf holding two common books and a deathbell flower. To the left is a large vase containing a snowberry bush. There is another small wardrobe in the northeast corner, and to the left a doorway into a storage area featuring a tall wardrobe containing fine clothes and boots, an open crate containing two bunches of tundra cotton, an unlocked safe containing a range of loot, and a set of shelves holding a draught of strength, a potion of health, a potion of regeneration, a bunch of tundra cotton, and a basket containing two bunches of lavender.

To the west are two rooms. The first room is a small storeroom, and contains a small cupboard holding three common books and a deathbell flower and a small shelving unit with a bottle of alto wine. The second room is another bedroom, and contains a single bed coming out from the southwestern corner, with an end table to the left, a small table to the right with a red and a green apple on top, and an unlocked wooden chest at the foot of the bed. There is a tundra cotton in a large vase against the west wall, a small table holding a candlestick, a small desk with a common book and rolls of paper on top and in a basket beside it, a tall wardrobe by the door, and in the southeast corner, a low table and chair with a potion of regeneration and a plate of bread and cheese on top.

Descending the stairs from the ground floor office with the chest containing the relevant information leads to an area with a small wardrobe, and under the stairs a cupboard holding two goat cheese wheels, two loaves of bread, and a sheaf of wheat. The door at the bottom of the stairs leads into Thalmor Embassy, Dungeon and is master-locked, but opened by the key found in the chest upstairs. Descending the stairs from the office in the room to the west leads to a similar area, with a cupboard holding a set of fine clothes, a pair of boots, a gourd, three garlic bulbs, a single loose coin, and a bunch of tundra cotton. Under the stairs are several food barrels and an unlocked chest containing minor loot.

Thalmor Embassy, Dungeon

Through the latter door is a balcony overlooking the dungeon proper, with several food barrels and a small table with a random shield and a random potion of healing on top. At the far end are stairs that lead down to the main area, where you can hear the Thalmor torturing someone for information, but the person keeps claiming to have told them everything. There are two Thalmor at the bottom: a guard doing the torturing, and a wizard named Rulindil asking the questions, seated at a table with more rolls of paper in front of him. An unlocked chest beside Rulindil contains a Thalmor Dossier: Esbern. Under the stairs are more food barrels, with an unlocked chest on top containing minor loot. Beside the barrels is a pile of straw with more barrels, a set of iron armor, and humanoid bones.

If you enter the dungeon from the stairs off the office with the chest, you emerge on a small balcony behind Rulindil, with a short passage containing several dusty crates to the stairs leading down. There are many more food barrels and more humanoid bones under these stairs, and, through a doorway into the main area, a set of shelves on the left holding an iron mace. In the center of this area is a torture rack, a table beside it with a garlic bulb on top, and a small shelving unit against the south wall with a common book on the shelf. Along the east wall are three cells. The first contains Etienne Rarnis, who was the one being tortured, the next cell is empty, and the third cell is only occupied if you used Erikur and Brelas for your distraction, in which case Brelas will be shackled to the wall. Opposite this cell is a trapdoor leading to Reeking Cave and your escape. The trapdoor is locked and requires a key, and there are humanoid bones all around the trapdoor. To the right is an unlocked chest and more food barrels. Stairs lead up to another balcony with several crates, a dresser with a set of banded iron armor on top, and a table at the end with two bottles of Nord mead on top.

Speak to Etienne Rarnis or read the dossier on Esbern to progress the quest. As soon as the quest updates, Malborn will appear on the balcony up the southern stairs with two Thalmor guards, having been arrested for his treachery in helping you. Both the guards are carrying a copy of the key to the trapdoor. You can free Brelas in addition to Etienne and Malborn if she is present and if you wish. Use the key to escape the embassy and enter Reeking Cave.

Reeking Cave

As soon as you enter through the trapdoor in the embassy, you are on a ledge with hanging moss growing in front of you. The ledge overlooks the main part of the cave, which contains a frost troll. Everyone you've freed will immediately attack, so if you want them to live, you will have to move fast. Once the troll is dealt with, in the southwest corner you will find the body of a novice conjurer, a large coin purse, a satchel, a copy of the Illusion skill book Before the Ages of Man, and an unusual gem (see notes).

Notes

• Official Patch 1.4 moves the unusual gem in the embassy to Reeking Cave, next to a dead conjurer near the trapdoor used to escape the dungeon.
• If you return to the embassy compound after completing Diplomatic Immunity, you can enter the grounds and the barracks but not the embassy building.
  • If you return with a horse, you can use it to gain access to a tree to the left of the embassy inside the first section of the compound. Jump repeatedly and you will climb up the tree and eventually clear the fence. The entire embassy except the reception room and the kitchen will then be accessible.
  • It is also possible to reenter the embassy through Reeking Cave using platforming and the Whirlwind Sprint shout. Reeking Cave is west-northwest of the embassy. There is no icon on the map for the cave entrance, but it is near the northwest corner of the embassy and the end of the road as shown on the map. Once in the cave, in order to get up the ledge, you must walk to the top of the log, aim the crosshair slightly above the right side of the ledge you are trying to reach, and use Whirlwind Sprint. You can also reach the trapdoor by turning collision off by inputting the console command tcl (to turn collision back on, input the command tcl again).
  • It is possible to reenter the embassy via the outer wall using a kettle and Whirlwind Sprint. Starting outside the main gate looking in, go to the left and around the corner. Where the wall again turns left, drop the kettle, then pick it up to eye level and slowly walk to the wall. When the kettle appears to have a hole in the bottom, Whirlwind Sprint in.
  • It is possible to reenter the embassy using the wooden plate trick and walking through the front door. The exterior does respawn guards, but not the interior. Repeat the wooden plate trick inside to access locked rooms.
  • It is possible to summon Arvak^DG on the other side of the stone fence by jumping from the snow pile onto the corner of the fence then riding Arvak. You will then be on the blocked side of the fence.
• After completing Diplomatic Immunity, if you sprint and bump into a Thalmor, all Thalmor on the grounds of the embassy will become hostile.
• The two guards who appear with Malborn after you read the Esbern dossier will not become hostile and will not attack Malborn if you are a High Elf wearing elven or glass armor.

Bugs

• Do not attempt to enter the embassy to acquire the Stone of Barenziah within for the quest No Stone Unturned until you have received the quest Diplomatic Immunity. Doing so will trigger an event that changes the dialogue options for any NPCs that are also visiting the embassy for the party. This can and likely will be detrimental to any quests related to those NPCs (such as jarls or Maven Black-Briar), causing you to be unable to start or complete quests requiring those NPCs until you have finished Diplomatic Immunity. ^?
  • It is unconfirmed whether completing Diplomatic Immunity using console commands would fix this error. However, entering the embassy before starting Diplomatic Immunity may cause Delphine to no longer give the quest-related dialogue that begins the quest in the first place.
  • With Official Patch 1.4 or later, there is no problem with entering Reeking Cave for the unusual gem as long as you keep well away from anyone in the embassy itself until Diplomatic Immunity.
• Before Diplomatic Immunity has started, entering the embassy causes stage 180 of the quest to be completed. Stage 180 is thought to be an invalid stage, but may in fact be the stage that changes the dialogue for the NPCs visiting the party. ^?
• Attacking anyone in the embassy before starting Diplomatic Immunity will result in the quest being uncompletable. ^?