Robber’s Refuge is a side quest tied in closely with the Darkened Steel questline. In order to begin this quest, the Player must have progressed through the Deathbroker quest to the point where he or she will encounter the ghost of Deneris and his Blades at the Hall of the Dead in Windhelm (for more information, see the Deathbroker article).

Long story short, after the confrontation and a brief conversation with Erevan and Alassea, this quest is given automatically, with its first objective being to infiltrate Robber’s Refuge, which is located near Shor’s Stone- west of Ruunvald and south of Tovald’s Cave. This particular cave, though, has been converted into a tavern, and serves as a base of operations for the expanding assassin-for-hire business under the control of The Broker.

For Someone Had To Die…

Upon arriving at the tavern, Dragonborn and company will be greeted with a drunken rendition of Erevan’s favorite bandit tune. After the song’s conclusion, Alassea comments on how she would enjoy playing at a tavern such as this one. Erevan suggests that she hold off on her admiration, and instead focus on blending in. After Alassea’s acute observation that Erevan sticks out like a sore thumb (or as she puts it, a chaste knight), the Dunmer will suggest that the trio find a table.

Once the Player, Erevan, and Alassea are seated at the table, the knight and the singer will begin to plan their impending assault of the establishment. Unfortunately, before they can get very far, one of the drunken bandits invites himself to have a seat at the table and interrupt the conversation. Erevan’s… well, knightliness inevitably makes itself known, and the bandit sniffs the group out as trespassers.

Most of the tavern will then turn hostile, and the Dragonborn is tasked with taking out the trash. Once all of the assailants are dealt with, talk to the Nord named Ortheim, who can be found in one of the rooms in the hallway connecting the kitchen and the main part of the tavern.

Ortheim, it is discovered, is not a part of the bandit group that comprised most of the tavern’s population. Instead, he is the barman, providing the patrons with “food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty” and “warm ale and warm bosoms and all that.”

Alassea interrupts the conversation at this point, and comments that the tavern could be turned into a respectable establishment, if only a few changes were made. Elaborating, the Nord lass boldly declares her newfound intentions of continuing the tavern inside Robbers’ Refuge; though this time it will not cater to assassins seeking bounties.

Erevan returns to Windhelm, saying that he has to finish up with the situation regarding The Broker. At this point, the remainder of the quest is considered optional, as its further progress will have no bearing on the remainder of the Darkened Steel questline. Note that progressing further in this quest will open up several other miscellaneous quests (specifically The Milk Drinker and House on the Hill).

Renovations

To begin the remodeling of the tavern, talk to Ortheim about what it will take to turn the tavern into a respectable establishment. Unsurprisingly, he will tell you it will take gold; lots of gold. If you tell him that you want to make some changes to the tavern, he will give you a key to the tavern (which will unlock one of the doors in the hallway off of the kitchen). He will also provide you with a variety of potential improvements you can make to the tavern- for a price, of course.

In order to complete the quest, purchase whatever upgrades you want for the tavern and then talk to Orotheim and tell him that you’re done renovating the tavern. Fear not, however; you can still change things (like the drink menu for the tavern) even after the quest is completed.

Option	Cost	Notes
Hire a chef and import better ingredients and food stock	1500 gold	Required for the quests The Milk Drinker and House On The Hill
Send out letters announcing the opening of this place	1000 gold
Hire a new wench	500 gold

Drink Menu Options	Additional Requirements
Stick with what we currently sell	None
Black-Briar Mead	Talk to Maven Black-Briar
Spiced Wine	Talk to Evette San
Skooma	None