Diplomatic Immunity

Diplomatic Immunity is a quest in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Overview

 * Prerequisite: Complete Main Quest: "A Blade in the Dark "
 * Next Quest: " A Cornered Rat "
 * Quest Giver: Delphine
 * Reward: N/A
 * Reputation Gain: N/A

Quest Progression
Objectives:
 * Meet Delphine in Riverwood.
 * Meet Malborn in Solitude.
 * Give Malborn your equipment.
 * Create a distraction and get away from the party.
 * (Optional) Retrieve your gear.
 * Search for information about the Dragons returning.
 * Escape the Thalmor Embassy.
 * Talk to Delphine.

Background
"It seems that things are worse than even Delphine thought. Dragons aren't just coming back to life, they're being resurrected by other dragons. Delphine suspects that the Thalmor might be bringing dragons back for some sinister purpose. She's going to help me infiltrate the Thalmor ambassador's manor and find out what they know about the dragons. I should meet with her contact, Malborn, in the Winking Skeever Inn in Solitude."

Malborn
Delphine thinks that the Thalmor know something about the Dragons' return to Skyrim. She has a plan to get you into the Thalmor Embassy, so that you can get hold of secret documents to find out more. She will acquire a legitimate invitation to a reception being held by the Thalmor ambassador, Elenwen. Find the elf Malborn at the the Winking Skeever tavern in Solitude. When you arrive Malborn will agree to smuggle in some of your equipment into the party.
 * Quest items, such as a Skeleton Key, can not be removed from your inventory -- useful if you forgot to bring lockpicks.
 * Another useful way to smuggle items in is to give them to Lydia or another companion. They will not be removed from her inventory, and you can smuggle ANYTHING in. Useful for being able to fight back right away after you go through the kitchen door.

Malborn can bring a significant amount of your gear with him, but because of all the loot you can grab during this mission, you might want only to give him the bare necessities in order to cart it all off: armor, weapons, lockpicks, and whatever scrolls or potions your skill level requires; the only gear you'll have during the mission will be what you give Malborn. Afterwards, you'll meet with Delphine at the Solitude stables at Katla's Farm to pick up your invitation and party disguise, and drop off everything else in your inventory. Extra gear can be left at your residence before meeting Delphine at the stables, or given to Delphine for safekeeping at her safehouse; everything you give her will be safely held until you claim it after the mission.

Once inside the party, you will be approached by Ambassador Elenwen and engaged in a conversation. Malborn interrupts the conversation, causing the ambassador to walk off. You then have the opportunity to speak with Malborn and ask him for a drink — it could come in handy.

Distractions
Ambassador Elenwen greets you upon entering the Thalmor Embassy. After speaking with her, you'll need to create an opening to slip out of the party; tell Malborn when you are ready, and he'll wait by the door behind the bar for your move:


 * If you talk to Razelan on the bench nearest to Malborn, he'll ask for a drink. Malborn can conveniently provide you with a Colovian Brandy to give to Razelan, who then offers to do you a favor in return. Getting a drink from the Wood Elf servant and giving it to Razelan will also work. Tell him to cause a scene, and he will make a grandiose announcement, giving you your distraction.


 * Alternatively, if you are acquainted with Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone and have previously assisted her, you may ask her to cause a distraction, as "an old woman can get away with anything". She will then begin harassing Razelan and making a scene, providing you the necessary cover.


 * Another option is to overhear Erikur trying to flirt with the Wood Elf servant Brelas, unsuccessfully. Speaking with Erikur afterward will make him mention his weakness for Bosmer women, and you can therefore offer to speak with her on his behalf. Speaking to Brelas reveals her dislike for guests like Erikur and asks you to persuade him to leave her alone. Speak to Erikur once again, and any speech option chosen will cause Erikur to lose his temper and causes a scene.

Once you have your opening, run to the door behind the bar and follow Malborn. Proceed through the kitchen to a pantry, retreive your smuggled equipment from a chest and go through a door into the next hallway. If you did not give him any of your belongings, the rest of this quest will be quite difficult. Remember that you still have your magic, including shouts, and Beast Form (if you have it) will be indispensable if you have no armor and weapons. Malborn will lock the door behind you, completing this phase of the mission.
 * In addition, if you are on good terms with Ondolemar, you may ask him to make a distraction (after a persausion check).

Thalmor Espionage
Having Aura Whisper can be handy for this phase, but not necessary, as there are few guards in any given area.

As Malborn locks the door behind you, you will see a doorway to your left and overhear two Thalmor agents chatting over a bar. Behind the bar are stairs leading up to a Thalmor Wizard. Kill them, and either go through the ground floor exit, or turn left at the top of the stairs and then turn left to enter a room with access to a second floor exit. This will take you to an exterior area with more guards to kill. If a general alarm is raised, additional guards will come from the barracks. Once clear, enter the only door into the Ambassador's offices (Elenwen's Solar).

Inside, you may kill everyone inside, or sneak over to the desk where the quest arrow is pointing and grab the items you need. There are some locked display cases in this room, containing 2 Elven Daggers, a Gold and Ruby Circlet and a Gold and Emerald Circlet; if you neglected to have Malborn smuggle your lockpicks into the party, you might be able to recover a precious few from the Thalmor you killed.

Upstairs in the first bedroom on the left is a Stone of Barenziah next to a candle on top of a wardrobe to the right of the bed.

After recovering quest items in the offices, the quest arrow will then lead you down into the dungeon, where a guard and a mage are torturing a man. Rescuing the prisoner will yield information about Esbern; if the prisoner dies during the rescue attempt, you'll find the information about Esbern in a chest next to his corpse.

The Ambassador
Immediately upon talking to the prisoner, a party of Thalmor will enter the dungeon with Malborn in custody, his cover blown. (Optionally, if you choose to simply free the prisoner instead of asking him what information he'd been giving the Thalmor, there is a much easier way to save Malborn during the upcoming fight. Loot the book about Esbern from the chest against the wall near the cells, but wait to read it. Go back upstairs, where you entered the chamber. Then read the book from your Items inventory, thus setting off the next phase of the quest. Malborn, escorted by two Thalmor, will come through the door. Waiting right there gives you the best chance to kill the two Thalmor quickly without either of them killing Malborn or without Malborn taking collateral damage from you. If you want to use this method to save Malborn, it is vital that you not ask the prisoner any questions that will advance your quest. Either simply free him or ignore him, but you must take the book upstairs in order to lie in wait for Malborn and his two Thalmor escorts.) You may optionally try to save Malborn during the fight; although perhaps allowing him to die there might be a kinder fate. Looting the Thalmor corpses will yield a key to the trapdoor. Once through the trapdoor, a Frost Troll will be waiting, as well as any followers you might have left before entering the party; they may need assistance in surviving the encounter ( there´s also a skillbook near the Frost Troll, a necromancer's body and some loot beneath the ledge you walk out on). Exiting the cave will allow you to see off anyone you saved and return to Riverwood to reclaim your gear from Delphine.

If Malborn survived, he can later be found in Windhelm's Gray Quarter; you can help him escape Skyrim by killing a Khajiit assassin (located by the stables), allowing him to make it safely (for the time being) to Morrowind.

If the prisoner survived, he can later be found in Riften among the Thieves Guild.

Glitches

 * I put all my gold (310k) in a dressing in my home in Whiterun and when i picked it up after this quest, the gold is counted for but not in the "Misc" part of your inventory anymore. Meaning u can use the gold, but u can only see the amount in bottum left at your iventory page. Therefor you cant remove your gold from your inventory ever again. Reloading to a savegame before the quest will not fix the issue. (PC)
 * If you kill the male prisoner before escaping the dungeon and/or questioning him, the quest will glitch; you will be stuck in the embassy with no way out.
 * Sometimes, after giving your items to Malborn and speaking to Delphine before boarding the carriage to the embassy, you will be frozen in one spot, unable to move, use items or skills. This can be solved by, after speaking to Malborn and giving him the things you need, but before speaking to Delphine, emptying your inventory as much as possible (excluding quest items) into a safe house chest. Now, when you speak to Delphine, the game will not freeze.
 * The chest where you retreive your items may not have your items as the door leading into the room may glitch making Malborn unable to lock the door. Even restarting the quest may not help it.
 * Some players, upon completion of Diplomatic Immunity, do not receive the quest, A Cornered Rat, and cannot progress the main questline. Affiliation with the Thieves Guild is speculated as being an issue, but is not confirmed.
 * Attacking and killing people within the Embassy before doing this quest will cause it to glitch and the doors to be locked, and so are unable to enter Embassy building. You are also unable to leave the Embassy, or do anything except run around the front courtyard. Additionally a dragon may spawn outside the Embassy again locking you in the courtyard until the guards kill the dragon (which may never happen due to the large fence around the property). An easy fix is to reload an autosave and head north to the Embassy, kill the dragon, then proceed with the quest.
 * Sometimes Malborn spawns glitches and he appears on the map to be halfway between Ilinalta's Deep and Fort Greymoor. Since you can't continue the quest line, nor leave the party, the only option is to backtrack to a previous save point. The reason for this glitch is unknown.
 * When you're at the party and talking to people, they slide around instead of walking. When you speak to Malborn, when he's beside the door, he will glitch and either slide or not move. You won't be able to open the next door. (Only way to fix this is to leave the party through the front door and then come back in and do everything that you must do inside, all over again).
 * Sometimes upon clearing the dungeon in the Embassy, regardless of dialogue options with the prisoner, the event with Malborn and the soldiers entering the dungeon will not occur, and the quest will not continue. Reasons for this glitch is unknown, and no solution has yet been found. (Had to start a new character).
 * I expericened this glitch also. Load a previous save, before you entered the Embassy, or started the quest. Make sure you have read all the books you find in Elenwen's Solar. And then only enter the Torture Chambers when the quest marker indicates you to. Then, instead of talking to the prisoner first, read the book in the indicated chest. The quest should continue on as normal, with Malborn entering with his captures. This may not actually be a glitch, just not completeing certain tasks- I.e not reading the books you find in the Solar - causing the rest of the quest not to trigger.
 * To be safe, it is advised to put all gold into a chest in your home or given to Delphine. The quest may/will take any stolen portions of gold you may have. I think this is only stolen coins but be safe. I lost 30,000 gold coins from this quest. (needs confirmation whether it's a bug or truly is just stolen coins) (XBox 360)
 * When giving Malborn items to smugle into the embassy it is advised that you do not give him dragon masks. I gave him Krosis and upon completion of the quest I didn't get it back. (PC)
 * You can walk through the door of the cell the prisoner is in.
 * If the Dragonborn is an high elf, your character will shrink and will remain shrunk for some period of time.

Achievements
Diplomatische Immunität