Oblivion:Through A Nightmare, Darkly

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[edit] Quick Walkthrough

Speak with Kud-Ei about her missing friend.
Follow her to Henantier's house, and ask her about the amulet.
Equip the amulet, and go to sleep.
Enter Henantier's Dreamworld; after Henantier speaks to you, find his patience, perception, courage, and resolve.
Pass all four tests, and you are returned to Henantier.
You and Henantier are transported back to the real world. Henantier gives you six scrolls as a reward.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] A Missing Friend

Speak with Kud-Ei, an Argonian in Bravil's Mages Guild, to learn about her missing friend Henantier (if the topic of 'Henantier' is not available stop talking to her, then start talking to her again.) It turns out he is not missing at all, but he has been experimenting with dangerous magic against the regulations of the Mages Guild. This could get him expelled, so Kud-Ei does not want to seek help through regular channels.

[edit] Dreamworld Amulet

Follow Kud-Ei from the Mages Guild to Henantier's house (if you are in the middle of, but haven't completed, the Bravil Recommendation Quest, you will not be given the option to follow Kud-Ei until you have received the recommendation or are expelled from the guild.) Speak with Kud-Ei again to learn that Henantier created an amulet that would let him consciously explore his dreams. However, it seems he is now trapped within his dreamworld. Kud-Ei cannot enter his dreamworld, because Henantier would dismiss her presence as conjured memory from his own mind, so she needs a total stranger to help him escape. Speak with Kud-Ei again to receive the amulet; equip the amulet, and go to sleep.

[edit] Henantier's Dreamworld

You then enter Henantier's Dreamworld; you will lose your entire inventory except for the amulet (see notes). Furthermore, the amulet does not allow the use of magic, although Powers (e.g., racial, birthsign) are still usable. Upon entering the Dreamworld, you will be approached by Henantier, who seems to have lost his marbles, so to speak. You have to go search for them. Don't forget to search around for a copy of the skill book The Lunar Lorkhan, which will increase your Alteration skill. It is located behind the overturned table at the head of the bed. Remember to look around the house to find extras. There are a few health potions downstairs in an overturned cupboard marked 'Heal Yourself'. These will help for later on in the test rooms.

[edit] Four Tests

In total, you have to complete four tests. The tests of Perception and Patience are located on the upper floor, and the tests of Courage and Resolve are on the lower floor; you can take them in any order. When you complete a test, you will be transported back to Henantier.

[edit] Test of Perception

Look before you leap (or walk.) Take the torch from the box and start walking the path, taking care not to walk on any suspicious looking tiles (some have obvious trap triggers on them, others look like they are crumbling and will cause you to fall and die). At the end of the path you will find Henantier's Perception. Jumping makes this easier. There are 2-3 obvious places to stand and catch your breath.

[edit] Test of Resolve

You must defeat two minotaurs from Henantier's Dreamworld. A box provides you with equipment (heavy armor, light armor, a blade weapon, a blunt weapon, and a lightning staff), all of which are leveled and randomly generated. After you have defeated the minotaurs, a staircase will appear that will lead you to Henantier's Resolve.

Alternatively, you could skip the battle with the minotaurs altogether. Immediately after entering the arena, jump on the flaming pillar either on the left or on the right. Then try to jump onto the balcony on top of the arena entrance. You probably won't make it all the way into the balcony but just hang in there (keep running upwards so you won't fall). It only takes one hit of the minotaur's hammer to push you right into the balcony. Then you can just grab Henantier's Resolve. Or if you want to have some fun, you can first shoot some lightning at the minotaurs from that safe position.

It is also possible to enter the arena and run back into Henantier's room as soon as the Minotaurs are released. This may take a few tries because sometimes, as soon as you enter the arena the gate closes behind you. So save before you enter. The Minotaurs will follow you inside and Henantier will attack them. They will not attack Henantier as long as you are alive but there is no spot in the room where they cannot reach you. So it is advisable to run into one of the other challenges(assuming you have not already completed them, in which case you will not be able to enter), preferably the Test of Perception because it is easier to get them killed there. They will follow you inside and with enough luck one of the traps will push them into the void. You can then complete the Test of Perception and then re-enter the Test of Resolve and the staircase will rise and you can get the Element of Resolve. This can be useful, particularly at harder difficulty settings.

[edit] Test of Courage

Here you must dive deep without a map. Take the Weak Potion of the Sea (Water Breathing) from the box and dive into the water. Halfway, another potion can be found. You will probably complete the swim safely with only one if you drink the first potion when you're almost out of air (or finish without using any potions). After you reach the end of the underwater passage, Henantier's Courage should be available.
Make a new save before entering this test. The path to the end is pretty straightforward, but it's easy to lose your bearings underwater, run out of potion and drown. If you fail and have to try again, it's helpful to have some idea of how the tunnels run. You may want to increase the brightness setting on your screen in order to see the tunnel.

[edit] Test of Patience

Test of Patience

Here you must walk; sounds easy enough, right? Wrong! Take the scroll from the box. It contains instructions on how you should walk on the tiles without setting off the traps. Look for a series of identical symbols that form a path from the bottom of the diagrams to the top, and follow that path on the tiles. Past all three sets of tiles, you will find Henantier's Patience. If you're impatient, jumping over a row or two of tiles is also possible. You might find it easier to walk on the right tiles using the 3rd person view (toggle between views using the middle-click button, or by pressing down on the right thumbstick button for the Xbox, or PS3 version). If you are lazy, you can (save first) just go to the far left or right hand side wall, and jump on the side of the tiles, which shouldn't trigger anything.

If your endurance is high enough, you can just run across the traps, taking damage from them but surviving.

[edit] Back to the Real World

After you have completed all four tests, speak with Henantier again, who seems to have regained his wits. He sees the truth in your words and you'll be transported back to the real world. Your inventory will be returned, but all items from the Dreamworld are removed.

Henantier gives you six scrolls as a reward. Although you are always given six scrolls, you are generally only told on screen about one of the scrolls; you need to look through your inventory (and know what you had to start with) to identify all of the scrolls. If you have installed the Spell Tomes official plug-in, any of the scrolls may be replaced by a spell tome.

[edit] Notes

If you're just about to get leveled up, and need a sleep, entering the Dreamworld Sleep won't level you up, even though the sound heard in the real situation of leveling up is heard. Instead, you'll level up the next time you sleep.
If you've committed a first murder since last sleeping, Lucien Lachance will quite strangely appear when you first wake in Henantier's Dreamworld and present you with the Blade of Woe along with an invitation to join the Dark Brotherhood.
If you've been suspended from the Dark Brotherhood, when you first wake in Henantier's Dreamworld you will still be attacked by the Wrath of Sithis.
Wearing the amulet once and then unequipping it will still result in your character being transported to the Dreamworld the next time you sleep.
This quest is NOT part of the Bravil Recommendation: although both this quest and the Bravil Mage's Guild recommendation quest come from Kud-Ei, they are to be considered separate. This can at times be confusing, as it is possible to accept both quests simultaneously. In doing so, Kud-Ei will automatically head to Henantier's house and stand by his bedside, while you are free to do either quest. This is not recommended though, often resulting in errors making finishing one of the quests impossible (Kud-Ei may not acknowledge your finishing of a part of one of the quests after you progressed a phase in the other). Preferably finish the recommendation quest before attempting this one, or finish this one before starting the other.
As of version 1.1.x, localized versions (e.g. French or German) of the game seem to have a bug where the scroll from the "Test of Patience" test is completely blank.
There are words hidden in the text on the scroll. The texts, translated into the Latin alphabet, are as follows:

A U C H   H E R O M P   Q M E G A N S H
|                 |     |
A F U L   M U M-M-M P   Q J H D Q-Q-Q-Q
|             |         |       |     |
A-A I C   L M-M H I S   Q-Q-Q-Q-Q M N Q
  |         |                         |
P A W E   M M G A N S   B V C     N Q-Q
            |                       |
          P M-M-M L E   R E V     T Q P
                |                   |
          L P J M K M   G F Q-Q-Q-Q-Q S
                            |
                        R T Q H G R F S
                            |
                        J T Q H N S F J

The underlines show two words hidden in the text, "HERO" and "MEGAN S". Megan Sawyer is an environmental artist for Bethesda Softworks and was one of the people interviewed for the bonus material that came with the Collector's Edition of Oblivion. She is known for creating the town of Cheydinhal and the interiors of the Imperial City. She inserted her name into the puzzles as a spacer when laying them out, and forgot to remove it later (you can also pick her name out in the second puzzle, but the "E" was replaced with "M" when the path was inserted). The addition of "HERO" was random. It also appears that the word "PUZZLE" was just below "MEGANS" in the second puzzle.

The dim background image on the Scroll is a picture of the Birthsign, The Mage.
Although you cannot use magic in the dreamworld, if you hit Henantier, he retaliates by using magic.
The title "Through A Nightmare, Darkly" is an Easter Egg.

[edit] Bugs

If you hit Henantier once before you go into each challenge he will eventually disappear, leaving you stuck in the dream world.
If you run out of 'The Test of Resolve' after triggering the two minotaurs and then complete another test, it may be possible that the enemies become trapped in one of the tests after completion (as you will not be able to enter that test again). This means that the stairs will not lower and you cannot get Henantier's Resolve unless you can find a way of getting up there (it is possible to get up there if you are high enough in acrobatics/athletics.).
Most items are removed from your inventory when entering the dream world, but Quest Items are merely hidden from view. This means that if a quest item weapon is assigned to a hotkey before entering the dream, it can be equipped as usual.
The quest is one that is vulnerable to the Permanent Effects from Quest Items glitch.

[edit] Journal Entries

Through A Nightmare, Darkly (MS05)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		I've heard that Kud-Ei at the Mage's Guild in Bravil is searching for assistance in locating a missing friend. A reward is being offered, so I've decided to find out more information.
20		I've spoken to Kud-Ei of the Mage's Guild in Bravil. It seems that her friend, Henantier isn't missing after all, but trapped somewhere and Kud-Ei needs my help liberating him. Kud-Ei said to return to her when I'm ready and she'll take me to him.
25		(Heading to Henantier's house)
30		Kud-Ei has explained that Henantier has become the victim of his own creation, the Dreamworld Amulet. He's trapped inside his own dreams, and I'll need to put on the amulet and go to sleep to enter Henantier's dreams and hopefully retrieve him. When I'm ready to do this, I should speak to Kud-Ei, who will prepare me for the journey.
40		Kud-Ei has given me Henantier's Dreamworld Amulet. I need to enter his dream by going to sleep while wearing the amulet. Kud-Ei also warned me that if Henantier is slain in the Dreamworld while I'm there, I'd be killed as well, so I must be careful.
50		I've entered Henantier's Dreamworld. To my surprise, I've arrived naked except for the Dreamworld amulet! Not only am I unarmed, but also I've discovered that the amulet is preventing me from using any magic. I'll have to explore this strange place in hopes of finding something to defend myself with.
60		I've located Henantier. He seems awfully confused and doesn't understand where he is or how he got here. He did mention that he lost some things. Perhaps they're keys or clues explaining how to exit this bizarre place. I have no choice but to explore the recesses of his Dreamworld and find these objects.
70		I've located the Element of Resolve. This must be one of the things that Henantier misplaced. Losing this attribute of his mind must be what's making him so confused. If I can find all of the elements, and bring them back to him, it should restore Henantier's sanity and help him awaken. I should continue searching for other elements if I ever intend to leave this waking nightmare. (If Resolve is the first element to be found) or I've located the Element of Perception. This must be one of the things that Henantier misplaced. Losing this attribute of his mind must be what's making him so confused. If I can find all of the elements, and bring them back to him, it should restore Henantier's sanity and help him awaken. I should continue searching for other elements if I ever intend to leave this waking nightmare. (If Perception is the first element to be found) or I've located the Element of Patience. This must be one of the things that Henantier misplaced. Losing this attribute of his mind must be what's making him so confused. If I can find all of the elements, and bring them back to him, it should restore Henantier's sanity and help him awaken. I should continue searching for other elements if I ever intend to leave this waking nightmare. (If Patience is the first element to be found) or I've located the Element of Courage. This must be one of the things that Henantier misplaced. Losing this attribute of his mind must be what's making him so confused. If I can find all of the elements, and bring them back to him, it should restore Henantier's sanity and help him awaken. I should continue searching for other elements if I ever intend to leave this waking nightmare. (If Courage is the first element to be found)
72		I've located the Element of Perception, the second Element to be found in Henantier's Dreamword. I should continue searching for more elements. (If Perception is the second element to be found) or I've located the Element of Resolve, the second Element to be found in Henantier's Dreamword. I should continue searching for more elements. (If Resolve is the second element to be found) or I've located the Element of Patience, the second Element to be found in Henantier's Dreamword. I should continue searching for more elements. (If Patience is the second element to be found) or I've located the Element of Courage, the second Element to be found in Henantier's Dreamword. I should continue searching for more elements. (If Courage is the second element to be found)
74		I've located the Element of Perception, the third Element to be found in Henantier's Dreamword. I should continue searching for more elements. (If Perception is the third element to be found) or I've located the Element of Resolve, the third Element to be found in Henantier's Dreamword. I should continue searching for more elements. (If Resolve is the third element to be found) or I've located the Element of Patience, the third Element to be found in Henantier's Dreamword. I should continue searching for more elements. (If Patience is the third element to be found) or I've located the Element of Courage, the third Element to be found in Henantier's Dreamword. I should continue searching for more elements. (If Courage is the third element to be found)
75		I've located the Element of Perception, the final element in this bizarre amalgam of Henantier's dreams. I should bring all four elements to Henantier and try to restore his sanity. (If Perception is the final element to be found) or I've located the Element of Resolve, the final element in this bizarre amalgam of Henantier's dreams. I should bring all four elements to Henantier and try to restore his sanity. (If Resolve is the final element to be found) or I've located the Element of Patience, the final element in this bizarre amalgam of Henantier's dreams. I should bring all four elements to Henantier and try to restore his sanity. (If Patience is the final element to be found) or I've located the Element of Courage, the final element in this bizarre amalgam of Henantier's dreams. I should bring all four elements to Henantier and try to restore his sanity. (If Courage is the final element to be found)
80		After giving him the four Dreamworld Elements, I've succeeded in convincing Henantier he was in a dream, and we've returned to the real world. I should speak to him now that we're back.
90	0	I've slain Henantier in his sleep. His nightmares are now over.
100	0	Henantier has thanked me for saving him. As a reward, he's provided me with some of his magic scrolls.
200	0	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.
On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage MS05 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.