Daedric Princes offer some of the most unique and memorable quests in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Each Daedric Prince will offer a unique Daedric Artifact for completing their respective quest, most of which are powerful items that are worth chasing in the early or mid-game.
The Ebony Blade is one such artifact. This two-handed sword has the fastest swing speed in the game, absorbs the health of foes it damages, and it never has to be recharged. To obtain this powerful weapon, you will first need to complete a quest named "The Whispering Door." Here is a complete guide for completing this quest and upgrading the Ebony Blade.
How To Start The Quest
In order to start "The Whispering Door" quest, your character must be level 20 or higher. If Hulda is the inn-keeper for The Bannered Mare, you must also have completed the "Dragon's Rising" quest, or else she won't trigger the dialogue needed to begin this quest.
Travel to The Bannered Mare in Whiterun and speak to Hulda. If she is dead, this quest will be impossible to start. Should this occur, install the Unofficial Skyrim Patch mod to fix this issue.
Ask the innkeeper about any rumors they've heard lately and they should comment about Jarl Balgruuf's children. They will mention that one of them is acting strangely lately. This will start the quest, the first step directing you towards the Jarl in Dragonsreach.
Confront The Jarl
Head up to Dragonsreach and confront Jarl Balgruuf about the rumor. He will confirm that his youngest son, Nelkir, has become much more violent and resentful. He will ask you to talk to his son to figure out why Nelkir is acting this way.
Speaking to Nelkir, he'll inform you that he resents his father's political views and knows that he has a different biological mother than his siblings. The strange part is Nelkir will mention a "whispering door" in the basement of Dragonsreach that has been talking to him, likely where he learned all of this information.
Investigate The Basement Door
It would be wise to investigate this "whispering door" that Nelkir mentioned. From the main hall of Dragonsreach, head left and enter the kitchen. There should be a stairway at the end of the kitchen that leads down to a basement. You should see a door in the left corner of the room. Open the door and walk through the small corridor to find the whispering door. Interact with the door to hear it speak.
The voice from the door is none other than Mephala, the Daedric Prince known for deception and murder. She was attempting to persuade Nelkir to open the door but with no luck. Mephala sees much potential in you, however, and asks you to open the door yourself. There is no way to deny her offer besides not completing the quest, meaning that you will need to find the key to the door to finish this quest.
Acquire The Basement Key
Mephala will mention that Nelkir knows where the key is. Head back to the main hall and speak to him. Nelkir will tell you that both his father and Farengar Secret-Fire, the Jarl's court wizard, holds the key to the door.
There are a few ways you can obtain this key. You can:
- Pickpocket the key from Farengar.
- Pickpocket the key from Jarl Balgruuf.
- Kill Farengar Secret-Fire and take the key.
Since Jarl Balgruuf is an essential NPC, killing him isn't an option. The easiest solution to this quest is to pickpocket either Fargengar or Balgruuf, preferably when either of them are sleeping. If your Pickpocket skill is still too low to take the key while they're sleeping, using either a Paralyze spell or Vampire's Seduction will allow you to pickpocket the key with little issue.
Obtain The Ebony Blade
Now that you have the key, walk down to the basement one more time and open the whispering door. Inside the room will be a book and the Ebony Blade, Mephala's Daedric Artifact. That will conclude the quest itself, but the Daedric Artifact is far from complete.
The Ebony Blade is in a weak state when it is first obtained. To improve it, you must kill friendly NPCs to increase the strength of this weapon's enchantment. Companions and NPCs you've built trust with count towards charging this weapon. A general rule of thumb for eligible NPCs is if they praise you when you talk to them, they are eligible for improving the Ebony Blade. You will need to kill ten friendly NPCs to fully charge the blade. This will grant the blade a 30-point Absorb Health enchantment that never has to be recharged.