Oblivion Remastered's main story quest, Dagon Shrine tasks the player character with retrieving a critical artifact to throw a wrench into the plans of the Mythic Dawn cult responsible for Uriel Septim's death. It's easy enough to infiltrate the cult, but making it out alive is another question.

After completing a ritual, Mythic Dawn will ask the player character to perform a sacrifice on a bound captive. While going along with the request might raise less suspicion, it will also result in the immediate death of a presumed innocent, which probably isn't what the monastic heir apparent, Martin Septim, would want. It's a high-pressure situation for a choice, but making the right one could completely shift the odds of successfully finishing this Oblivion Remastered quest.

Entering The Dagon Shrine In Oblivion Remastered

Hand Over Your Items, Or Else

Finding the location of the Dagon Shrine can be a bit complicated, as you'll need to solve the puzzle presented in "The Path of Dawn," but you'll have a quest marker to follow once you've unlocked the quest. When you head there, you'll quickly be presented with the first choice — temporarily surrender your items to the Mythic Dawn or refuse.

If you hand over your items, the cultist Harrow will keep them on his person and give you a Mythic Dawn robe in return. If you don't, you'll have to fight, which will make getting to the central location of the Shrine harder. It's also possible to attempt a stealth approach to the entire situation, but you'll need good stats and some luck to do so.

What Happens If You Kill The Sacrifice

You'll Still Have A Confrontation

Assuming you hand your items over to Harrow, you can then follow him into the caves to reach the Shrine, where a cultist ritual is in progress. After reciting from the Mysterium Xarxes, Mythic Dawn leader Mankar Comoran disappears into a portal, taking the Amulet of Kings with him. The cultists will then turn their attention to you, asking the player character to take up a dagger and slay Jeelius, an Argonian priest who has been bound and prepared as a sacrifice.

Doing so will appease the cult, and you can take a bit of gold off the corpse. Since Jeelius is bound, you won't have to involve yourself in a fight just to complete the sacrifice. You'll still need to take the Mysterium Xarxes to complete the quest, however, and Mythic Dawn won't be willing to hand it over. You can grab the book and run for it, but you'll need to get your items back from Harrow if you don't want to leave them all behind.

Although he's an innocent, unarmed NPC, killing Jeelius won't attract the notice of the Dark Brotherhood.

Rather than immediately grabbing the book, you'll be better off waiting for the activity around the shrine to cool off. Once most of the Cult has left the chamber, see if you can pickpocket a key weapon or two from Harrow to kill him more easily. You can also slay him with the dagger, a Mythic Dawn weapon, or any key quest item you already have on hand, as you should have all of those currently available. You can then grab the book and run while hopefully avoiding a large-scale fight.

If you leave your equipment stashed in an owned house or a comparably safe location beforehand, you won't have to worry about recovering anything that you don't need for a fight. Bringing only weapons and armor along and dumping them on the ground before speaking to Harrow can make them easy to recover.

What Happens If You Spare The Sacrifice

Blowing Your Cover Sooner

Refusing to kill Jeelius will immediately trigger the aggression of the cult, which could make the situation a bit more challenging. In either scenario, they'll start a fight once the Mysterium Xarxes is stolen, so it doesn't necessarily make a huge difference. If you want to spare Jeelius, you can sneak out during the ceremony and avoid being immediately confronted with the choice afterward. Harrow should end up following you, so you can kill him in a more isolated area, dash back to the shrine, and grab the book to begin your flight.

You'll want to free Jeelius before grabbing the book, as the statue behind him collapses, which could kill him. The challenge is ensuring that he makes it out of the caves alive, although he proved quite resilient when I set him free. If you want to kill all the cult , doing so before freeing him or taking the book will make his survival simple. Otherwise, attempting to engage some in combat as he flees and keeping them off his tail can be helpful.

If Jeelius lives, you can speak to him outside the caves, where he'll mention that you can find him at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. If he's made his way back by the next time you swing by the temple, you'll be able to get some free skill points in Alchemy, Mysticism, and Restoration. You'll only get one point in each, but relatively few quests in Oblivion Remastered award any points in this way.

You Should Spare The Sacrifice

Murder Gets You Nowhere

The fight in Dagon Shrine can be tough, but since you'll have to either face it or run for your life either way, there isn't much reason to kill Jeelius. While showing mercy can make the fight a bit trickier, it does offer the potential for an additional reward. If Jeelius dies on his way out, you won't get anything for saving him, but you won't be any worse off than if you had killed him outright. Unless you're roleplaying an evil or especially pragmatic character, saving the sacrifice is also the better moral choice.

Either way, you should try to come into the situation prepared, whether that means leaving most of your items behind or starting the fight on your own . The best strategy for escaping Dagon Shrine can depend heavily on your build, equipment, and whether you're able to keep any good weapons or armor on your person, but a little creativity can go a long way in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered.