Though at face value a quest about counting steps, The Conspiracy of the 7000 Steps challenges the player’s tact when confronted with a vulnerable, bereaved Khajiit with a desperate need to evaluate the integrity of the Greybeards. The player’s choices will result in one of three possible outcomes. Dar’Rakki can be found wandering Ivarstead, in The Vilemyr Inn, or in Shroud Hearth Barrow.

A Matter of Integrity
When the player meets Dar’Rakki they will encounter a conspiracy theorist, obsessed with the number of steps to High Hrothgar.  Reasoning that 7000 is too convenient a number, he proposes that 6,972 seems more likely. He pleads with the Dragonborn to count them for him, as he is too weak to fight the wildlife encountered on the climb. Emphasising the importance of his mission, he explains that the Greybeards are paragons of virtue, and if he finds them corrupted he will be unable to trust anyone.

If the player enquires further on his lack of trust by guessing that he’s been betrayed before, he will disclose that he was reluctant to move to Skyrim, but his childhood friend Adanja convinced him. She wanted them to join the trade caravans and promised to never leave his side. However, after crossing the border they were attacked by bandits, and Adanja sacrificed her life to save his. Experiencing his grief primarily as a sense of betrayal at this broken promise, he plans to use the accuracy of the Greybeards’ claim as a yardstick for the validity of his fear of abandonment.

After climbing the steps to the doors of High Hrothgar, the Dragonborn can return to Dar’Rakki with their answer or seek further information from the book “The Myth of the 7000 Steps”, found on a table at North Skybound Watch. The player can also attempt to elicit the answer from Zarlak, the former Greybeard who resides there.

Trying to Fill His Head With Doubt
Giving Dar’Rakki an arbitrary number of steps, telling him there are exactly 7000 (with a speech skill lower than 25), or that they’re too worn to count (with a speech skill lower than 50, or 35 with a persuasion perk), will fail the quest, leaving him more suspicious than ever.

You May Be Right
With a higher speech skill or an amulet of articulation equipped, persuading him that there are 7000 steps, or that they’re too worn to count, will successfully complete the quest, leaving Dar’Rakki happy once more.

Such a Betrayal
The quest will also successfully complete if the player takes his request literally and tells him there are just over 700. However, Dar’Rakki will find the disparity too great to bear and make his way to the barrow to end his life with poison.