Skyrim:Nepos the Nose

Nepos the Nose (RefID: 000198F5)
Home City	Markarth
House	Nepos's House
Race	Elder	Gender	Male
Level	PC×1 (range=5-25)	Class	Nightblade
RefID	000198F5	BaseID	000133AA
Other Information
Health	50+(PC-1)×8.3
Magicka	50+(PC-1)×3.3
Stamina	50+(PC-1)×3.3
Primary Skills	Destruction, Sneak, Alteration, One-handed
Morality	No Crime	Aggression	Aggressive
Voice Type	MaleOldKindly
Faction(s)	CrimeFactionReach; MarkarthNaiveFaction; MarkarthNeposHouseFaction; Thieves Guild No Pickpocketing Faction; TownMarkarthFaction

Nepos the Nose

Nepos the Nose is an elderly nightblade who lives a luxurious life in Markarth. He works for Thonar Silver-Blood by "handling" any situations with the workers. At first glance he seems to be nothing more than a wealthy old man. However, upon investigating recent Forsworn attacks it is discovered that he is, in fact, responsible for the deaths of many innocent people.

Nepos lives his life in seclusion and never leaves his upper-class house in the Dryside of Markarth. He is constantly surrounded by his servants and spends all of his time in front of the fireplace inside his house, carefully studying a book.

He wears fine clothes and a pair of fine boots. He is equipped with a steel sword and carries his house key, a large amount of gold, and several rings and amulets which are usually worth a considerable amount of gold. In addition to his blade, he also knows the spells Oakflesh, Raise Zombie, and Flames.

Nepos still has enough enemies to be under the protection of his maid, Uaile. When you enter the house, she will stop you right away and ask you questions. If you head inside anyway, Nepos will just sit in his chair with nothing to say and keep up his appearance as a law-abiding citizen.

Related Quests

• The Forsworn Conspiracy: Investigate a murder in Markarth to discover a sinister plot surrounding the Forsworn.

Quest-Related Events

The Forsworn Conspiracy

When local smelter worker Eltrys asks you to investigate the assault on Margret, the last in a long series of assaults involving the Forsworn, thus starting the quest The Forsworn Conspiracy, Nepos will turn out to be heavily involved in the many shady dealings in the City of Stone. As you investigate Weylin's room in the depths of The Warrens, you will find a note signed with the letter 'N', ordering Weylin to strike fear in the heart of the Nords. Outside of the Warrens, Dryston will seek you out and invite you to an unfriendly brawl, in an attempt to stop your investigation. After a good beating, Dryston will admit: Nepos is in charge. Additionally, Dryston carries a note to a friend, mentioning Nepos the Nose as his employer.

When you enter Nepos' house, things will be the same as always and Uaile will stop you right inside the entrance, although she will not get a chance to finish her sentence before the old man speaks from his spot near the fireplace:

Nepos: "Wait. It's okay, my dear. Send him/her in."

Uaile: "Hmph. Yes, Nepos. You heard him. Go on in."

As you approach Nepos now, you will find a more talkative person:

"I'm sorry about my housekeeper. She's a little protective of me. Now, what is it you want?"

I know about Weylin. / You sent that thug after me. / You're a Forsworn.

"Ah, yes. You've proven to be a real bloodhound. Well, you've sniffed me out. I've been playing this game for almost 20 years. Sending the young to their deaths. All in the name of the Forsworn. And I'm tired. So tired."

Why?

"Because my king told me to. Madanach."

Who's behind all this?

"My king. Madanach."

You're a monster.

"A monster? No. I'm just a servant. To my king, Madanach."

All three replies ends with an elaboration:

"When the uprising fell at the hands of the Nords, they threw him in the mines. I don't know how, but he lives. I get his messages, and I hand out his orders without question."

You mentioned an uprising.

"Markarth and the Reach are our lands. That is why we are the Forsworn. We cannot claim the home that is rightly ours. But then during their war with the elves, we had our moment. We drove the Nords out of the Reach in a great uprising. Then Ulfric and his men came. Those of us who didn't run were executed, except for myself, my king, and a handful of others."

Who's Madanach?

"He is the King in Rags. A man who once held all the Reach within his grip. He stokes the passions of the downtrodden in this city. Directs them to kill the enemies of the Forsworn in our name. All from inside Cidhna Mine. A Nord prison. The irony is quite thick."

Why are you telling me all this?

"My dear boy/girl, what makes you think you're getting out of here alive? You were seen coming in. The girl at the door is a Forsworn agent masquerading as a maid. You aren't the first one to have gotten this far. You won't be the last."

At this point, all of his servants—Uaile, Tynan, and Morven—will draw weapons and attack, along with Nepos the Nose. After the battle, you will find that Nepos carries a regretful journal, explaining his deeds and just how tired he was of carrying out orders for the Forsworn rebellion.

Rumors

When you first enter Markarth, you will hear very little about Nepos although smelter worker Mulush gro-Shugurz will tell you:

"Shipment of silver this month is behind. Nepos is to blame, not me."

"I tell Thonar I can only smelt what Nepos and his miners dig up."

"Thonar Silver-Blood owns it. He owns everything in Markarth. But he hands all the paperwork over to Nepos the Nose to finish. That old man's back is heavy with burden."

This is hinting that Nepos is involved with the most influential person in the Reach, Thonar Silver-Blood, and that his wealth comes from the silver mining inside Cidhna Mine. That is backed up by Rhiada at the Treasury House when she says:

"Nepos the Nose handles that part of our business. He has a way with the workers."

Additionally, inside the same house, Thonar may have a discussion with his wife Betrid Silver-Blood about Nepos and Mulush:

Betrid: "Did I hear correctly, Thonar? Is your brother really asking you to settle another dispute between Mulush and Nepos?"

Thonar: "Someone has to keep the silver production running, Betrid, and that means keeping Mulush and Nepos in line once in a while."

Betrid: "Humph. Who's running the Silver-Bloods? You or your brother? You need to tell Thongvor that he should settle this himself or step down."

Thonar: "The only thing I need to do, dear wife, is make sure profits are up, no matter what. If Thongvor won't do the dirty work, I will."

Betrid: "You'll never be in charge of this family with that attitude, loving husband."

Unused Dialogue

Despite his more behind-the-scenes role in the final game, Nepos was originally way more involved in Markarth's business, as can be seen by the numerous dialogue leftovers, as seen in the DialogueViews files.

Ties to Uaile

While their exact relationship is quite ambiguous in the final game, this was originally very different. Multiple unused quests show that Uaile actually works under him due to her father being locked up:

Have you always worked for Nepos?

"No. It was after my father was sent to Cidhna Mine, for being a Forsworn. They were going to execute him, but I convinced Nepos to reduce his sentence. That's when I started working. Listen. Could you pick up something for me, at the Hag's Cure? It helps Nepos sleep at night, and I don't get much rest if he doesn't."

Bothela seems to be aware of what happens behind closed doors, at least on some level, commenting:

"Ah, yes. Clever way of keeping that lecher's hands away from her. But you didn't hear that from me."

After returning with the potion:

Here's your potion from the Hag's Cure.

"Thank you. Here's something for you. It's surprising, but Nepos does pay me well. It's a sore comfort, though."

It would later be revealed that Degaine the beggar, under orders from Nepos, was responsible for having her father arrested:

"Nepos put me up to it. Gave me some briar-thing. Said it would get Uraccen arrested. He's got it bad for Uraccen's daughter, yeah? Guess ole' Nepos got what he wanted."

"Nepos made me accuse Uraccen of being a Forsworn. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Fine. Not like it will matter much. Jarl's not going to arrest Nepos. Just tell me when you want me to go."

In her diary, Uaile would write down her desire to kill Nepos, both to be reunited with her father, but also to stop his sexual abuse towards her:

"Do you know what it's like being the daughter of a prisoner locked up in Cidhna Mine? There's no justice. No mercy. Only demands, and threats, and abuse from people who are supposed to help people in need. I won't let Nepos touch me or threaten my family any longer. So yes, I joined the Forsworn."

"No. Not after everything he's done to me. I want to see him suffer."

You could also find out who enabled her to enact her revenge plan:

"Ildene, the maid of the Treasury House, told me that the Forsworn would free my father and help me get rid of Nepos. I waited and waited, and finally I demanded that Ildene tell me what the Forsworn were planning. She said that Madanach, the Forsworn leader imprisoned in Cidhna Mine, was planning to escape. That retribution would follow him."

Ildene could also elaborate:

"The Silver-Blood family bleeds this city of all its wealth. Every Reachman works under the yoke of their Nord masters. Take poor Uaile, working under that lecherous Nepos the Nose. When the Forsworn come, he will be high on our list. As for how and when, there's no use asking. I know little, and what I do know I will not tell you."

The Forsworn Conspiracy

Instead of finding Eltrys dead at the hand of nameless guards, you were meant to greeted by Nepos:

"You're coming with us, Forsworn scum. Think you can just plot against the Jarl and no one would notice?"

You could then try and explain yourself, in vain:

The Forsworn are conspiring against this city. I'm trying to stop them.

"Spare me. Think your little midnight meetings at the shrine went unnoticed. Working with that Reachman, Eltrys? Now where is that crazy blabber, anyway? Kill him off so he'd keep his mouth shut, right? Now surrender quietly or I'll make sure you get thrown in prison, minus a tongue."

The previous line seems to imply that Eltrys would not be confirmed dead at this point, and instead he would've disappeared. However, he never gets mentioned again after this point. You would, however, get two options, either to comply with Nepos, or try to escape.

Fine. I'll come quietly.

"You're mine now, you understand me? I'm going to make sure you spend the rest of your life inside Cidhna Mine. And no one escapes Cidhna Mine. No one."

You're not taking me alive!

"He's/She's making a break for it. Grab him/her!"

No One Escapes Cidhna Mine

The following quest, No One Escapes Cidhna Mine, would play out largely the same. However, Nepos would normally be dead by this point, which he isn't. One major difference is the fact that Urzoga gra-Shugurz would try and recruit you as a snitch to find out Madanach's plans and catch him in the act. She'd elaborate by saying:

"Look, I don't run Cidhna Mine, Nepos the Nose does. And he thinks I'm exaggerated [sic] when I say Madanach is dangerous. "He brings up the silver, who cares if he's up to something?" Nepos tells me. I'm sick of hearing his excuses. That's why I need Madanach in the act, hopefully with Nepos within viewing distance. You give me that, I'll make sure you get pardoned."

After escaping from the mine, you would normally be confronted by Thonar Silver-Blood alongside some guards. Originally, this would've been Nepos instead. No variant exists in case you helped the Forsworn.

The Forsworn are dead.

"You are one dangerous man/woman. Almost hate that I have to let you go."

So I get my pardon? I'm free to leave?

"That's right, now get out of here. I'll make sure the Jarl's [sic] knows you're innocent. Well, as innocent as anyone can be in this city. I guess we also owe you something for locking you up. Here, courtesy of Thonar Silver-Fish."

An alternate version of this line also has the last sentence instead read:

"Here, courtesy of the Silver-Fish family."

Notes

• While Nepos is implied to be an elderly Reachman in the final game, the early dialogue makes him out to be an elderdly Nord instead.
• The early version of Nepos' dialogue when you surrender at the shrine seems to have inspired the Markarth Guard's dialogue in the final version. Similarly, his final exchange after escaping from Cidhna Mine bears quite a bit of resemblance to Thonar's dialogue in the final game.
• Nepos' death can be avoided by pickpocketing and reading Thonar's or Nepos's journal instead of questioning them, then going directly to Eltrys.
  • Alternatively, it can be avoided by going directly to Eltrys after questioning Thonar Silver-Blood.
  • If you managed to pickpocket the information and avoid conflict, entering his house after completing "The Forsworn Conspiracy" will cause all four of the occupants to attack you.