To Kill an Empire

In the final act of a grand plot to assassinate Emperor Titus Mede II, the Dragonborn is sent to impersonate the Emperor's chef, and serve him a meal to die for.

Walkthrough
"You worry too much. The Emperor's never been safer. You think assassination attempts are planned overnight. We discovered the plot. End of threat."

- Penitus Oculatus Agent

Briefing
With all the pieces finally in place, Astrid prepares the Dragonborn for the honour of assassinating the Emperor. She says to head to Castle Dour in Solitude and present the Gourmet’s Writ of Passage to the officer in charge, Commander Maro. The Dragonborn is to prepare a special meal for the Emperor using a secret ingredient: Jarrin Root, which is a deadly poison.

Impersonating the chef
Note: to avoid unwanted complications, it may be best to leave any follower behind before heading to Solitude. Otherwise, it will be difficult to extract them later.

The main quest begins at Castle Dour, where Commander Maro can be found. He will be waiting by the Emperor's Tower entrance. Once he is shown the Gourmet’s Writ of Passage, he says that the Dragonborn must speak to the castle chef, Gianna, and the door behind him can be entered.

Once inside, the Dragonborn should find Gianna. She will accept the Dragonborn's claim to being the Gourmet, but will not allow them to cook without a Chef's Hat, which can be found on a shelf nearby (to the left when facing Gianna). She has already prepared the broth, and will ask what ingredients to add. The ingredients suggested, if any, don't matter. Eventually, there will be an option to give her the Jarrin Root to be added to the stew. Whether added or not, Gianna will finish the dish and carry it up to the Emperor.

The Emperor's last meal
"I'm sure the emperor and his guests are dying to meet you."

- Gianna

If the root was added, the Emperor will drop dead shortly after tasting the meal. The guards will immediately suspect the cooks of poisoning him, and will become hostile. With a high enough sneak skill, hiding as the Emperor is eating the meal can prevent detection by the guards. There is no need to watch the event as it happens, so the Dragonborn can go into the next room and start sneaking there. Once the Emperor is dead, escape through the back door as instructed.

If the root was not added, the Emperor will suffer no ill effects. The Dragonborn must then kill the Emperor to complete the quest. It is much more difficult to remain undetected using this method, as the Emperor is in a very narrow, crowded room, with few safe vantage points for ranged attacks and even fewer for melee. Alternatively, since the Emperor is completely unarmed and unprotected, he is extremely easy to kill with straightforward attacks. This will turn the guards hostile, but will not in itself add a bounty.

Betrayal
While crossing the bridge, the Dragonborn will be stopped by three Penitus Oculatus Agents, along with Maro. He'll explain that the man who was just assassinated was a decoy. He goes on to explain that someone within the Dark Brotherhood made a deal to let him capture the Dragonborn, and in return, he would retract all aggression against the Dark Brotherhood. However, he intends to break the deal, killing the Dragonborn and assaulting the Sanctuary.

Regardless of how the Emperor was killed or whether the Dragonborn was detected, a 1,500 bounty will be placed on the Dragonborn once Maro finishes his speech, and the soldiers will attack. They can be dealt with or ignored. Either way, the quest continues back at the Sanctuary. It may be easier to escape Solitude by continuing down the spiral staircase past the first landing, since it leads directly outside of Solitude. Fast travel, however, may be impossible while near Solitude with such a high bounty. Also, fast travel directly to the Sanctuary is not possible because the map location is overlaid with a quest marker, so it is necessary to travel somewhere close and walk/run there. Also, if the Dragonborn has a follower who was left behind somewhere in Solitude (so as to avoid questions while impersonating the Gourmet), he or she should be retrieved before leaving Solitude for good.

Sanctuary Under Siege
By the time the Dragonborn arrives, the Sanctuary is already under attack by Maro's men. This quest will then be completed, and the next quest, Death Incarnate, will begin.

Trivia

 * The stew's name, Potage Le Magnifique, is French for "the magnificent soup."
 * Commander Maro will make a different remark after being shown the Writ depending on the Dragonborn's outfit; if wearing a Chef's Hat and Chef's Tunic, he will say that he should have known who they were by the outfit. Otherwise, he says that they aren't dressed as he expected. Ironically, this happens even if the Dragonborn has taken the Gourmet's actual clothes.
 * When first met, Gianna says something different depending on the Dragonborn's race.
 * If Bosmer, she expresses delight in "guessing right."
 * If Breton, she says that it seems "too obvious" due to the strong history of Breton chefs.
 * If Khajiit, she says that she never expected a Khajiit because "all the fur getting into the food" might be a problem.
 * If Altmer, she is surprised as most of the Gourmet's recipes are aimed towards "commonfolk".
 * If Dunmer, she is baffled and refuses to believe that the Gourmet learned to cook in Morrowind, demonstrating a disgust for Dunmer cuisine.
 * If any other race, especially Orsimer, she is surprised and disappointed. This is ironic, considering the real Gourmet was Orsimer.
 * Before being confronted by Maro on the bridge, using the Whirlwind Sprint Shout just before he appears allows the Dragonborn to move freely while he talks. Attacking the guards before they turn hostile normally will cause Maro to vanish, and the guards will attack as normal.
 * After the conversation with Maro, the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary will disappear from the map as a fast travel destination, although there will be a quest arrow there assuming the quest is active. It will be re-added when the Dragonborn approaches it again.

Bugs
Das Ende eines Reiches Смерть Империи