Talk:Contract: Kill Anoriath

Strategies

 * 1) At night, Anoriath goes to bed in a room in The Drunken Huntsmen; however, as soon as the Dragonborn enters, Elrindir is wary and follows the Dragonborn, rendering him/her unable to get a silent kill. This may be avoided if the player can move fast enough (leave the door open until just about to kill, then shut it and perform the kill, then quickly open it again to avoid the owner approaching to witness the horrible sight) or are able to sneak in without being detected.The player can also go behind Elrindir until well hidden. Then, cast a Frenzy spell on Anoriath and let Elrindir do the work of killing Anoriath and acquiring no bounty. The player can also wait until Anoriath makes a hunting trip, and kill him then.


 * 1) The best AND easiest way to kill Anoriath is to face the steps next to his stall. A stream can be seen flowing along side the steps. Go towards the right side of the stream, walk all the way to where the steam starts, and face Anoriath. There will be a sort of cover from that would allow a person to stay hidden. Move as far back as possible until "hidden" is shown. Then the kill shot can be taken without being seen or gaining a bounty!


 * 1) An easy way to kill him without incurring a bounty is to take position next to the Bannered Mare, on the north side of the building between it and some rocks, and use a bow to shoot him in the back while he's at his stall. With a high enough stealth, one can do this without being witnessed, simply step behind the Bannered Mare after firing your arrow to hide out of sight and avoid being seen. Be careful as there is a Guard barracks nearby and patrols may head back into it or out of it and see you. Alternatively, if one is Thane of Whiterun, you can just kill him then use your status as Thane to make the guards cancel the bounty.


 * 1) A different way is to talk to him and choose the option "I am the predator and you are my prey." He will make a remark and then attack you, and the guards won't care if you kill him after he strikes first because it was a fight that broke out. The guards might even kill him for you. (This method does not always work, sometimes he won't attack you can continue remarking how "disturbing" you are).


 * 1) With high sneak and decent pickpocket skills and/or using gear to maximize these skills (using muffled footwear, invisibility potions, sneak enchanted gear, etc.), you could sneak in to the The Drunken Huntsmen at night (use the entrance away from Elrindir's counter), thus avoiding initial detection and preventing him from following you at all, although it might be easier to first open the door to Anoriath's room, then leave the building and sneak back in to finish the job. The quietest way to then dispose of Anoriath is to reverse pickpocket a powerful poison onto him as he sleeps using the poisoned perk (only one of each poison damages using this method, but keep in mind that you can use more than one type of poison at the same time, and a weakness to poison potion as well, all made easier with high alchemy or simply having the proper poisons), and then use invisibility potion (using a potion rather than a spell does not alert anyone in the area, which can only otherwise be accomplished with the quiet casting perk) to slip out after he dies, never alerting Elrindir(or anyone else) in the process. This is definitely more expensive than using 1 arrow, but for the player who has the skills/means, and doesn't want to leave bodies out in the middle of Whiterun and prevent all possible bounties, something to consider.


 * 1) Sneak in while he is asleep using the door next to the bedroom. Hide next to the other bed then shoot him with an arrow, then sneak out again.


 * 1) If you don't want much of a bounty you can kill him at his market stall by standing reasonably far away then casting fury on him. The other stallholders and guards will kill him for you and all you have to deal with is a 40 septim bounty.


 * 1) Note: Performing this task while a "Numbers Job" quest for the thieves guild targeting the Drunken Huntsman is active will cause you to fail that quest and must therefore be completed and redeemed before making the kill.