Breaching Security

Breaching Security
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Quest Giver	Astrid
Location	Various
Prerequisite	Bound Until Death
Next Quest	The Cure For Madness
Faction	Dark Brotherhood
Reward	1,250 Olava's Token

Background

"I must kill Gaius Maro, an agent of the Emperor's security force. Once he's dead, I must plant a letter on his body that will incriminate him in a plot to kill the Emperor. If I wish to earn a bonus, I must not kill him in Dragon Bridge, or on the road, but in one of the cities he visits."

Walkthrough

• Note: You must go to Dragon Bridge for him to start his travels. Even if you do not plan to steal the schedule you must go there, or he will not move. This is true on all systems.

To receive the bonus item, Olava's Token, Gaius Maro must be killed in a major city. Travel to Dragon Bridge and steal his schedule. Try to meet up with him in Riften. Enter the alleyway to your left after fast traveling to Riften (you may need to pick the lock on the gate). Shoot an arrow from the alley at Maro as he leaves (around 1AM) in order to avoid detection and any bounty. If you are a low level, he may not die with one sneak attack, so be prepared for a fight. Another option is to wait in the corner of Riften castle's courtyard, behind the small grouping of trees, and wait for him to exit (he exits that side every time at around 11:30 A.M. Actual times may vary). He will be alone and far enough away from any guards to allow you to kill him without any worry about bounty.

Palace of the Kings (or other Barracks)

Gaius Maro will sleep in the barracks with the guards in Windhelm. This can be one of the hardest places to get him without being detected. Wait until ten PM in the corner by the sleeping guard and equip a bow, and, if possible, coat the arrows with poison. Fire an arrow at Maro. Each time he will get up and look around the room, and can be continually shot without being discovered. Warning: The guards in the beds will get up and look too sometimes, but will not see you in the shadows. After Maro is dead, wait till the guards settle down and then creep over to his body and plant the note. Sneak back to the corner. Jump over the beds with the guards in them until you reach the doorway, then sneak out to freedom.

The Bannered Mare

In Whiterun, it is extremely easy to sneak into his bedroom in The Bannered Mare, as it seems to be the only time he isn't bunking in a castle or in barracks, and kill him in his sleep with the door shut. Then you may plant the letter. This does not result in a bounty at Whiterun, and you will receive the bonus token from Gabriella.

 PS3   However, there is a high chance that Gaius Maro might fall behind in his itinerary schedule & therefore only makes a brief stop at The Bannered Mare for some drinks before continuing on to Markarth. In this case he normally arrives alone on Turdas evening (10-11 PM) and heads straight to the hearth in the middle of the inn for a drink whilst enjoying the bard's performances.

If you have a high level of Sneak & have procured the Ebony Mail, while sneaking you can take a potshot at him using a ranged weapon from the balcony of the room overlooking the hearth (it's the same room you're given when you rent one from Hulda). Since this balcony is full of shadowy spots you can then hide in one of those that's closest to your current position & wait for Maro to charge upstairs looking for you. Once he's touched the shadowy tendrils of poison emitted by the Ebony Mail, it's just a matter of waiting for him to fall lifeless & you can then plant the Incriminating Letter at your leisure and walk out of there scot-free.

Obviously, this technique can also be used in other dark locations as well.

A word of caution though, killing him in public usually leads to collateral damage; you can expect to find some bodies on your way out of the inn. 

Sometimes, you can kill Maro in full view of guards and citizens. The guards will do their normal "What was that?" routine, but won't notice you slaughtering him, even though they see you plainly. Citizens, however, will scold and sometimes turn hostile when they see you kill Maro. Seen in Whiterun on the way from Dragonsreach, with Stormcloak influence in the city. (See Bugs)

Approaching him directly

Another alternative method is to approach Gaius Maro and use the option of telling him how you'll kill him, and then the Emperor. After this, he will begin to attack you. You can then fight back without obtaining a bounty. This method can be used in any major city in order to receive the bonus. If using this method, it's best to confront him in view of a guard - so that it is seen that Gaius attacks you first. If a guard wanders into view of the fight as it's proceeding and the first blow he sees is struck by you, you will earn a bounty. If you are a part of the Thieves Guild and happen to encounter Gaius Maro in Riften, you can provoke him. This will cause your fellow Thieves Guild members (and even Maven Black-Briar) to come to your defense. Simply let them finish Gaius Maro for you.

Also take note that if you attack Gaius in a town or city, any friends you have made will come to help you kill him.

Bonus

The bonus can also be received just outside a city. If you are lucky enough to be attacked by a dragon just outside a city, you can kill him while the guards are fighting the dragon and no bounty will be placed on you. The bonus will still be counted.

Dragonsreach

If you're not the best in combat, then an easy way to kill Gaius is when he is in Dragonsreach, in Whiterun. Simply approach him and provoke him. He will attack you, which will cause the entire court of Whiterun to attack him. However, they will not kill him, but lower his health down to the point as to when he falls to one knee; simply throw in an extra swing or two to finish him off.

Dragon Excuse

An easy way to kill Gaius is to go to Dragon Bridge until a dragon appears. Do not slay the dragon until Gaius is dead. this way, the soldiers won't fight you and you get a dragon soul.

Pickpocket

For all those with light fingers, it should be noted that it is possible to plant the incriminating letter on Gaius before killing him and have the quest complete as normal. This allows him to be killed at range and in the open, with the player slipping away without approaching his body. If you have the pickpocket perk: Poisoned you can also place poison in his pocket with the note. Try saving the lotus extract from the previous mission.

Beast Form

While in Whiterun, after planting the incriminating letter on Gaius, hide out behind some houses and use Beast Form. While transformed, murder Gaius and escape to the Companions' Underforge. Wait it out until you've returned to your normal appearance, then report back to Gabriella.

The Bee and Barb

Gaius will most likely spend his Loredas in Riften; more precisely, in The Bee and Barb. It's easy to simply approach him and, if member of the Thieves Guild or not, provoke him. He will then procceed to attack you, there are at least one person that will attack him with you. You don't receive a bounty and, with enough luck, will not even have to attack him.

Immediate Hostility

One way to do it is to attck Gaius while outside a major city but DO NOT KILL HIM, run away and lose him than wait for Gaius to enter a major hold. Then walk up to him and he should attack you, then proceed to kill him. As He attacked you first the guards will either help you or not do anything as teh guards are set to kill the agressor, not the player

Conclusion

Upon returning to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, you are approached by Gabriella who initiates dialog, congratulates you on completing the mission, and gives you whatever reward you are due. This completes Breaching Security and automatically starts The Cure for Madness, in which you find something has gone wrong in the Sanctuary.

Gauis Maro's Schedule

• Morndas - Solitude, the Emperor's Tower
• Morndas Evening - Solitude, Castle Dour (food and sleep)

• Tirdas - Windhelm, the Palace of the Kings
• Tirdas Evening - Windhelm Barracks (food and sleep)

• Middas - Riften, Mistveil Keep

• Turdas - Whiterun, Dragonsreach
• Turdas Evening - Whiterun, the Bannered Mare (food and sleep)

• Fredas - Markarth, Understone Keep
• Fredas Evening - Markarth, guard tower (food and sleep)

• Loredas & Sundas - To be spent at your discretion
• Repeat (until I have recalled you personally)

The guards and Jarls of the cities have been informed of your arrival, and will leave you to your work. Study the guard patterns, examine any entrances and exits, and make note of any irregularities.

Talk to no one - the fewer people who know about your mission, the safer the Emperor will ultimately be.

• Oddly enough, his father Commander Maro informed Windhelm (the Stormcloak Headquarters) of his son's arrival.
• Detection of the player can cause Gaius Maro to deviate his schedule, even if the player doesn't talk to him. Plan accordingly, simply waiting for him in one city where he's supposed to visit may be the way to go.

Bugs

Click to show

PC   360   PS3   Gaius Maro and his companion might attack instantly when the player enters Dragon Bridge, meaning that you can't follow him to a city and you immediately lose the bonus. Currently there is no patch. Reloading an earlier save prior to starting the quest has been known to work. If you have a high sneak skill and/or a muffle boots, use it and sneak near where he is, usually at the front door of the Oculus outpost, talking to his father. Don't let anyone see you, it is not too hard since the town is not very populated. Once the conversation is over, the father will go into the outpost when Gaius say his goodbye to his wife. After he leave Dragon Bridge, wait for the father to leave the house and go elsewhere then get into the outpost and steal the schedule.  360    PS3   Fast traveling to Dragon Bridge can spawn a dragon when you arrive which disrupts Gaius Maro's conversation with his father and wife which you are intended to hear. After the dragon is killed, rather than finish his conversation, Gaius may wander (and swim) aimlessly for days, never arriving at a major city which prevents you from getting the quest bonus. If you encounter this problem, Just wait for around 2 hours or more, if done he should be back on track and he'll be at a city. Alternitavly  load a previously saved game, rest or do other quests for a day or two, and time it so your arrival at Dragon Bridge is at night. The dragon will not spawn and the quest can be completed with bonus.  PC   360   PS3   You might not receive the Incriminating Letter at all. No known fix so far. Sometimes doing another quests helps, the Incriminating Letter appears in your inventory (worked on pc for me).  PC   The dialogue option to turn in this quest occasionally doesn't show up. Instead, she'll say "Gaius Maro still lives. I assumed you were more competent." This can be Quite annoying. Yet... Solution: Spawn Gaius Maro outside the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary using "player.placeatme 44050 1". Then kill him. Talk to Gabriella again and the quest is finished.  PC   If you attempt to kill Gaius Maro using the console, he will act as if immortal and simply fall to the floor, only to rise on full health. If you must kill him with the console use "tgm" to toggle god mode, and then kill him as you would. Solution: Get caught by a guard, pay the fine, travel back and they wont attack. Cost: 1030 . This is from killing the woman in the previous quest)[Confirmed for the 360 as well, make sure you're not wearing the Ebony Mail, and as soon as you appear in Dragon's Bridge from fast travel, run to your left behind the building. Find a guard away from Gaius, pay your fine, and fast travel back. Possible Bug: It has been reported that if you complete the Stormcloak questline before performing this quest, Stormcloak guards in Dragon Bridge will attack the Maro's and stay hostile after killing them, thus leaving you unable to continue the quest. However on my playthrough, (02/20/12) on version 1.3.10 I have found this to not be the case. I completed the full Stormcloak questline with the finish in Solitude and the Stormcloak guards in Dragon Bridge took no special notice of the Maro's and the quest continued normally. Gaius Maro will not leave Dragon Bridge until after you listen to him talk to his father and the woman. Make sure to stay there until he begins walking, and steal the schedule, before attempting to wait for him in another town.  PS3   If you kill Gaius Maro on the streets of Whiterun as he's leaving the Bannered Mare, even while invisible and undetected (no bounty), the next guards you see will attack you and offer not dialogue option. In Winterhold's palace barracks, Gaius Maro can be killed without the need to engage in combat. To do this, shoot him while hidden in a corner of the barracks then let him hit you once. The guards will attack Maro but will not kill him, you can kill him by shooting him again while hidden and you will still get the bonus for killing him in a major hold. Note that none of the guards will attack you, but after you finish him off one guard may fight you, simply run out of the city and no bounty will be placed on your head. Whenever Gaius Maro sees you he begins taking an alternate route. This can make the quest quite hard as he will turn away from a city if he sees you anywhere near it. I suggest just waiting in a tavern in Whiterun as he will follow his normal journey until you appear out of it. Then, kill him anywhere in Whiterun and use your position as Thane to remove the bounty placed on you.  PS3   Upon arriving at Dragon's Bridge, you may encounter a dragon. Maro will not be killed by the dragon, but soon after his conversation, he will begin to walk down the road. You can follow him to level up your sneak skill, but you'll find yourself in some pretty weird places. He often walks away from the road and then wanders back to it, and at some points even goes for a swim in deep water, where he may be bitten by Slaughterfish.  PS3   If fast traveling is done to Whiterun and you wait at the Bannered Mare until about Midnight, Gaius will not show. He may instead be taking a swim in the Dragonreach moat under the bridge entrance. To solve this, simply go near him in the pool and he will swim out. If in the Markarth Guard Tower and you hit Gaius non-lethaly without anyone else seeing and he attacks you the guards will wake up and gang up on Gaius( there is like 30 people against him but you have to kill Gaius yourself if the guards do he'll get back up)