Oblivion:Permanent Retirement

The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995

Contents 1 Quick Walkthrough 2 Detailed Walkthrough 2.1 The Assassin's Gambit 2.2 Making the Kill 2.3 Alternate Assassinations 2.4 Loot the Finger 3 Notes 4 Bugs 5 Journal Entries

Adamus Phillida spent years looking for the Brotherhood, assure him they’ve always been “right behind him.”edit Quest Giver: Ocheeva at Cheydinhal Sanctuary Location(s): Cheydinhal, Leyawiin, Imperial City Prerequisite Quest: Whodunit? Next Quest: The Purification Reward: Up to 1100 gold, advancement to Assassin Fame/Infamy: Infamy +1 ID: Dark09Retirement

Swimming can be hazardous to your health...

[edit] Quick Walkthrough

1. Receive the contract and the arrow for the assassination.
2. Make the kill.
3. Take his finger and place it in the desk.
4. Return to Ocheeva to collect your reward.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] The Assassin's Gambit

The mini-quest to get your next contract from Ocheeva is named "The Assassin's Gambit." She tells you that you must kill Adamus Phillida, a recently retired Imperial Legion officer, who has taken up residence in the City Watch barracks in Leyawiin. For this task, you have been given an enchanted arrow called the Rose of Sithis. If you can hit Phillida with the arrow when he is not wearing his armor, the strike will be fatal. Head to Leyawiin, stalk Adamus Phillida, and attack when the moment is right. The contract will be complete when Phillida is dead, whether you use the Rose of Sithis or not. When Adamus Phillida is dead, you can return to the Sanctuary for your reward. If you want to receive your bonus, however, there is one more task you must complete. Phillida wears an Imperial Legion ring. Take his finger, with the ring still attached, and put it in the desk of Phillida's Imperial Legion successor, in his office in the Imperial City.

[edit] Making the Kill

After you receive the quest from Ocheeva, fast travel to Leyawiin and head to the small lake. Every day at around 3:00-8:00 PM, Adamus, accompanied by his bodyguard, will unequip his armor and take a swim in the lake. Wait for him to go into the water, then go into sneak mode and make sure you are not detected. Find a good spot, and shoot the Rose of Sithis at a part of his body that is sticking out of the water. He will die instantly and you can return to the sanctuary for your reward.

[edit] Alternate Assassinations

It is very hard to avoid incurring a bounty from this kill, as there seems to be some glitch that will get you 40 bounty even if you shoot him with the Rose undetected. Possible ways to solve this problem include:

• Feed him a Poisoned Apple by pickpocketing him and placing it on him, then waiting for him to eat it.
• Equip the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal - acquire it by completing The Ultimate Heist and become guildmaster of the Thieves Guild - and let Adamus see you. He will come running out of the water to arrest you. Now pull out your bow with the Rose, and shoot him when he's right in front of you. Then, quickly unequip the Cowl (or switch to another headpiece) before any guards can address you, and walk away with 0 bounty.
• Another way to eliminate Adamus and his bodyguard with 0 bounty is to wait between the city gate and the coast guard house until they emerge from the city. Simply taunt Adamus by using one of the first two topics and he and his bodyguard will attack you. Since they attacked first, the bounty will not occur, however, it may prove a challenging fight.
• If you have 100% chameleon, you can kill him in front of witnesses (including the bodyguard), loot his body and then stroll away with no problem at all.
• You may also "give" him a weightless piece of clothing, such as a black hood, enchanted with a "Damage Self" type spell which he'll wear while bathing. Once he begins taking damage, hide in an empty house (e.g. Your house in Leyawiin, if you have bought it) and equip the Gray Cowl. Auto-wait until he dies, unequip the Cowl and his corpse is yours. It might be floating around the entrance to the pool.
• It is possible to get the guards to kill Adamus via some glitch. Put on the Gray Cowl and as he runs up out of the water to chase you shoot the arrow and miss. Some kind of glitch occurs and Adamus becomes stuck, alternating between wearing armor and no armor. Any nearby guards will then attack him. The reason for this is unknown, but it works.
• Catch him swimming and summon a creature; hit it 3 times to get it mad, then run to Adamus. He'll attack the creature for you while his bodyguard looks on without interest. Repeat until his health is minimal (but don't let him die yet, or you'll cop a 1000 gold bounty). When he's on his last legs, enrage a luckless passer-by to finish the job (you may have to sacrifice quite a few, as Adamus is tough to kill even when badly wounded). Or, enrage him with the first dialogue option, then run around town to let the townsfolk do the dirty work. Be careful though; even with no bounty, the guards may still pursue you.
• If you go down the stairs to the left of the pool you will find a spot where you are unseen by Adamus' guard. Equip the rose of sithis and kill Adamus as he walks down the stairs. Now select wait and wait a good 12-14 hours (any shorter and his guard will remain.) Loot Adamus, then go talk to a guard. Pay your fine then go back into the dungeon and open the evidence chest and take out everything that was taken from you, including the finger.
• Stand between the shack and the other gray building abutting the side of the lake while under an invisibility spell. Shoot him and immediately re-apply the invisibility spell so you won't incur a bounty. After that do not go right into the lake to search him. Instead back out around the gray building, making sure the guard has left the area. Lastly, while you are still invisible, loot the body without any witnesses.
• You can also kill him with a headshot, using the Rose of Sithis while he's sleeping in the barracks.
• One other way to kill Adamus with no bounty is to install the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
• If you have a ring or amulet with a Water Breathing enchantment, you can threaten Phillida then quickly enter the water and he will follow. Swim underwater and just block until he finally drowns.
• If you don't mind the 40 bounty, you can just pay it off through a Thieves Guild member for 20 (you must be a member). Even with getting the bounty, the guards seem to ignore you, so it's no problem to get the bounty and go pay it off through the Thieves Guild. However, Adamus's bodyguard will attack you if you go within sight of him after killing Adamus (he won't come after you on his own though), leading all other guards to follow suit.

[edit] Loot the Finger

Now, loot the finger from his body (along with a bunch of keys to various places) and head for Imperial City. Now head for the Prison region of Imperial City, and wait for nightfall. Go into Sneak mode, and enter the Imperial Legion offices (remember all the keys?). There shouldn't be any guards around (the guard at the desk leaves around midnight), so head to the desk right by the entrance and pick the lock. Place the finger in the desk (by clicking on the desk and, within the inventory window, clicking on the finger; unlike some other quests, the quest item does not automatically get transferred for you). The chest to the left of the desk is known to have good treasures in it, it would be a good idea to loot it while you are there. Head outside undetected, then head to the sanctuary for your reward and bonus.

The reward for this quest is the standard 50-600 gold (level-dependent) reward given for each Dark Brotherhood quest. The bonus is an additional 500 gold.

[edit] Notes

• Perhaps one of the easiest ways to not incur a lasting bounty from this quest, is to wear The Deceiver's Finery whilst killing Adamus, in sneak mode. While you will still get the bounty to begin with, speak to one of the guards (while still wearing The Deceivers Finery) and if his disposition is high enough he will say that you are a friend and will pay the fine for you, thereby reducing the bounty back to zero.
• The Rose of Sithis is specially commissioned and crafted to kill one person--in this case, Adamus Phillida. When fired on anyone else, it only wounds.
• Be sure to use the key from Adamus's body on the Commanders Chest to the left of the desk, it contains a level dependent amount of gold and some random armor.
• This may only occur after you demoralize Adamus and his guard, causing both of them to flee, and then reload the area, but Adamus will occasionally walk unaccompanied to the water without his armor equipped, causing you to be able to kill him unseen and avoid getting a bounty. This might be a glitch if you interrupt their walk towards the water, like with the spell above.
• After you complete this quest, a special edition of the Black Horse Courier is published: "Adamus Phillida Slain!".
• After you complete this quest, Adamus Phillida's bodyguard will commit suicide. The next time you return to the city you can find his corpse if you visit the Leyawiin City Watch Barracks. On his body is a Suicide Note explaining the reason behind his untimely demise:

This was my big break! Finally I'm given something important to do, and what happens? I blow it! All I had to do was keep Phillida alive! That's it! But no! I couldn't even accomplish that! Father was right -- I'm an idiot, and I haven't amounted to anything!

I let everyone down, so this is it. Goodbye cruel Empire! I'm ending it all!

Like any other Town Guard, Adamus' bodyguard will eventually respawn, so if you wait too long after completing this quest all you will find is a distraught (and living) bodyguard who will never leave the barracks.

• This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.

• When you take Adamus's severed ring finger, no fingers are lost on either of his hands.

• This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.

• Depending upon the location of the attempted theft, if you try pickpocketing him and he catches you, the other guards will actually kill him instead of going after you. Chameleon might be required for this.
• The Rose of Sithis can be duplicated, if you are concerned about bad aim and want more than one shot at Adamus.

[edit] Bugs

• Sometimes the Rose of Sithis does not work to kill Adamus, even while he is swimming and apparently wearing no armor. The problem appears to be that he is still carrying his shield in his inventory (although it is not visible when looking at him), and therefore his armor rating is not actually zero. If you can first pickpocket the shield off him then the Rose of Sithis works. However, the shield can only be pickpocketed after he has taken off his armor, so the times when it is possible are limited. Also, he is very likely to notice the pickpocket attempt and prevent it; high Sneak skill and partial Chameleon are necessary to be successful. If you are able to walk on water, simply make sure that you are not visible in sneak mode and pickpocket him while standing on the surface of the water. However he is still very likely to see you and stop you.
  • This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
• It is possible for Mazoga the Orc to be killed if she comes to your aid while you are being chased by the town guards. To prevent this from happening, complete the quest Mazoga the Orc beforehand, or be sure not to flee in the direction of Leyawiin Castle.

[edit] Journal Entries

The Assassin's Gambit (Dark08WhodunitFIN)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		I must accept a contract from Ocheeva.
100	0	I have accepted a contract from Ocheeva.
Permanent Retirement (Dark09Retirement)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		I must kill Adamus Phillida, a recently retired Imperial Legion officer, who has taken up residence in the City Watch barracks in Leyawiin. For this task, I have been given an enchanted arrow called the Rose of Sithis. If I can hit Phillida with the arrow when he is not wearing his armor, the strike will be fatal. I should head to Leyawiin, stalk Adamus Phillida, and attack when the moment is right. The contract will be complete when Phillida lies dead, whether I use the Rose of Sithis or not.
20		Adamus Phillida is dead. I may return now to the Sanctuary for my reward. If I want to receive a bonus, however, there is one more task I must complete. Phillida wears an Imperial Legion ring. I should take his finger, with the ring still attached, and put it in the desk of Phillida's Imperial Legion successor, in his office in the Imperial City.
30		I have acquired the severed finger of Adamus Phillida, with the ring still attached. I should now go to the Imperial City, and place the finger in the desk of Phillida's Imperial Legion successor, in his office in the Prison Barracks. If I do this, I will receive a bonus. Or, I may forfeit the bonus and simply return to Ocheeva at the Sanctuary.
40		I have placed the finger of Adamus Phillida in the desk of his successor, in his office in the Imperial City. I should now return to Ocheeva and claim my reward, and bonus.
100	0	I have returned to Ocheeva at the Sanctuary.

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.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage quest stage. Where quest is the internal name of the quest, and 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.

Prev:  Whodunit?

Up: Dark Brotherhood

Next: The Purification