Destroy the Dark Brotherhood!

Destroy the Dark Brotherhood! is a quest in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Overview
Prerequestite: Innocence Lost, Kill Astrid

Quest Giver: Any guard, upon telling them of Astrid's death

Reward: 3000 septims

Walkthrough
The quest begins after meeting Astrid, the Highest Ranking Member of the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim, upon failure of With Friends Like These.... You are given a choice of 3 captives to kill, one of which is apparently guilty. This quest triggers if you instead fight and kill Astrid. Warning: She is hard to kill, as she is a Dark Brotherhood assassin. Killing Astrid will also get you the Blade of Woe much faster.

After dispatching Astrid, you are told to report to any guard with the information that you have killed a Dark Brotherhood assassin. He sends you to Commander Maro in Dragon Bridge in the Penitus Oculus Outpost who then gives you the subquest "Kill Everyone in the Sanctuary!"

The assassins are very powerful, and your best bet would be to fight them one at a time. It is easy to sneak up on each of them, even though they're assassins.



You get a fair amount of expensive gear from the assassins. When you report back, Commander Maro gives you a reward of 3000 Septims. You can also loot Astrid for her Dark Brotherhood armor, letting you obtain a rare set of armor. Once the quest is complete, the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary will remain accessible and undamaged, in contrast to finishing the Dark Brotherhood quest line when most of it is destroyed. All Dark Brotherhood quests will not be accessible.

However, if you do not kill Astrid and continue the Dark Brotherhood quest line, you will get great amounts of gold. After the questline you will earn 500 - 1200 septims for each time you complete the quest Dark Brotherhood Forever which is given by The Night Mother after finishing main quest line of the Dark Brotherhood.

Trivia

 * There is a Stone of Barenziah on Astrid's dresser in the Sanctuary
 * Since the fates of Babette, Cicero and the Night Mother are undecided, it is possible that in future Elder Scrolls games the Dark Brotherhood can rebuild itself even after the Dovahkiin wiped out the last Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.
 * Its highly recommended not to do this quest because you can get much more valuable items and more money in the actual Dark Brotherhood Storyline