The House of Horrors

Background
''"I have met Molag Bal, the Lord of Domination, He has asked me to cleanse his altar in the abandoned house in Markarth by luring a priest of Boethiah to him." ''

-Dragonborn

Walkthrough
This quest is given when you encounter two men engaged in a conversation shortly after entering the city of Markarth. One of the men, Tyranus of the Vigil of Stendarr, will ask you to help him search an abandoned house for evidence of daedric activity. Upon entering the basement, Tyranus will proclaim that "This is no ordinary Daedra!" and run for the door, only to find it locked. Molag Bal will speak and command you to kill Tyranus. If you choose not to kill Tyranus immediately, Molag Bal will convince him to attack you. A scroll of calm will not convince Tyranus not to attack you, and it is unknown if a high enough illusion calm spell will. Voice of the Emperor used by Imperials will calm Tyranus. Either way, Tyranus must be killed in order to progress any further. Afterward, journey down to the altar of Molag Bal in the basement.

Molag Bal entraps you while activating the mace and tells you that he wants revenge on his rival Boethiah and her followers. He wants you to lure Logrolf the Willful, a priest of Boethiah who has been desecrating Molag Bal's altar in Boethiah's name, to him so he may break his spirit.

The location of Logrolf the Willful is randomized; any Forsworn camp may host him. Travel to his location and free him. If you've completed the Quest No One Escapes Cidhna Mine, then the Forsworn holding him may not be hostile. If you make sure all enemies at his location are dealt prior to releasing him, he will immediately return to the abandoned house in Markarth.

Once back inside the abandoned house, follow Logrolf back to the altar. He will become trapped and Molag Bal will grant you his Rusted Mace and instruct you to break Logrolf's will. Attack Logrolf (you may utilize any means at your disposal; you need not use the Mace) until he submits to Molag Bal. Once he submits, you are instructed to kill him. Do so to receive the Mace of Molag Bal.

Tips

 * This is a good opportunity to level up Restoration and the attack skill of your choice (One-handed, Two-handed, Destruction, or even Archery) without fear of reprisal. Alternate between hitting Logrolf until his health is close to 0, and healing him back to full health. You can keep doing this for as long as you want, but be sure you do not kill him and that he does not submit before you are done levelling up.
 * You can also level up your Sneak skill at the same time by sneaking while performing this method
 * The whole intro, with Molag Bal speaking, can be skipped if the Vigilant is killed straight upon entering the house.



Bugs

 * Upon striking Logrolf with the Mace, he may glitch out of the cage Molag Bal has erected for him. If this happens, it may become difficult to damage him enough to progress.


 * If the shrine holding the Mace is activated from the side or from behind, you will still be able to move around the room when talking to Molag Bal.

Trivia

 * There is a Poltergeist reference when Tyranus decides to flee the house and get help. The table near the exit of the house has chairs stacked on it similar to a scene in the movie.
 * It is possible to find Fjotra and Logrolf the Willful in the same pen when performing the quest The Heart of Dibella if doing these quests simultaneously.
 * To fail this quest, refuse Molag Bal, and kill Logrolf in the pen

Bugs

 * At random times, Tyranus will enter the house and then enter again. The problem with this is now he will continue to stand in the center of the first room instead of going deeper into the house. This will make the quest impossible to complete due to the basement needing a key to open and this effect can only removed by the Daedric Prince telling you to kill Tyranus. A way to force Tyranus to the basement is to hit him. Get him to attack, then run to the basement, once there kill him and the quest will progress.
 * An extension of the above bug, if you kill Tyranus while he stands in the center, but leave before going to the shrine in the basement, then your vision may be permanently red and hard to see with, and seemingly as impossible to fix as the above bug. This can be fixed by going to Shearpoint, after you've done the Dragon Rising quest, and killing the dragon there. This seems to fix the coloration.
 * The above glitch can be fixed by simply loading the auto-save.
 * Another way to fix your vision is to drink Sleeping Tree Sap. When the sap wears off your vision should return to normal.
 * If you pickpocket Tyranus and take everything he has he will not move deeper into the house. If you go into the basement and cause the house to start shaking and then go outside the entire world will also be affected and will shake mercilessly. Upon returning to the house you can kill him and speak to Molag Bal, but the front door will now require a key and you will be permanently trapped inside.
 * After you speak to Molag Bal you may have some trouble exiting the house (you require a key). If you have a saved game before you spoke to Molag Bal load it up, kill Tyranus and exit the house. My vision hasn't changed at all.
 * If you become trapped in the house because of one of the various bugs, but you have killed Grelod the Kind for the quest Innocence Lost and haven't slept yet, sleep in one of the beds. During your sleep, you will be kidnapped by Astrid to the Abandoned Shack and thus, you are no longer trapped in the house in Markarth.
 * If you arrive in Markarth via the drinking contest from "A Night to Remember", the innkeeper at Silver Blood Inn might not have the appropriate rumor and will never have the appropriate rumor to start this quest and Tyranus will never be outside the house or outside the city. Even using console commands to force start the quest or spawn a Tyranus does not work in this case. The cause of this bug is that the Forsworn conspiracy quest does not start properly, as it is supposed to start with a murder in the market as you enter the town for the first time through the main gate *** You MAY be able to fix this bug by going to the market, stealthing and killing Weylin while in stealth. If done correctly you will not get a bounty or be attacked and the other people will start yelling about the Forsworn attack, thus triggering the quest to proceed correctly. After you should be able to start the House of Horrors quest correctly as well.
 * There is also a bug that Molag Bal will not speak at all and you will have no instruction to further the quest, the best course of action is to just kill Vigilant Tyranus as you will be killing him anyway.
 * Stop the constant shaking by killing Tyranus and exiting the house without going to the altar, though there still may be problems with the visuals such as the gamma levels.
 * While beating Logrolf into submission he may pop out of the trap and stand outside of it. He is still unable to move and the quest is still completable.
 * In some cases if you enter Markarth, Tyranus will follow you and try to kill you and you not be able to start the quest "The House of Horrors". To fix this, have Tyranus follow you out of Markarth, lead him away from the city gate, next beat and/or slash at him until he gets down on one knee (because at this point he is unkillable). While he's on one knee, quickly run back into Markarth (The Whirlwind Sprint shout should be helpful). Then when you come back out of Markarth, Tyranus should be where you left him except he should no longer be hostile. At this point you should be able to speak to him and begin "The House of Horrors" as you normally would.
 * Sometimes the trap is not triggered when you first try to take the mace and the quest does not continue. This is solved by using Telekinesis on the mace.
 * This can also be solved by using the disarm shout on the mace and then grabbing it.