How to Complete Through a Nightmare, Darkly Quest in Oblivion Remastered

Through a Nightmare, Darkly is an optional quest that you can run into in Oblivion Remastered. It sees players traverse a Dreamworld to rescue a character who has been experimenting with some dangerous magic. Not only does the quest strip players of all their belongings, but it also requires the completion of four puzzles that can be a tad confusing. To help you out, we’ve put together a guide on how to complete the Through a Nightmare, Darkly quest in Oblivion Remastered.

Oblivion Remastered: Through a Nightmare, Darkly Quest Guide

To start the quest in Oblivion Remastered, you’ll need to first complete the Bravil Recommendation task for Kud-Ei. The Argonian NPC will ask you to retrieve a staff, allowing you to get in her good books. Once that’s done, interact with her and she’ll tell you about her friend Henantier. As it turns out, the Mages Guild member has been conducting some careless experiments and is now in a spot of bother. Exhaust all the dialogue options related to Henantier, and you’ll receive the quest.

1. Follow Kud-Ei and Enter The Dreamworld

After selecting all the dialogue options linked to Henantier, you must follow Kud-Ei to his house. The High Elf’s residence is just a short jog from the Mages Guild building. Once inside, you’ll find the character lying motionless on a bed. Kud-Ei will explain that Henantier is essentially stuck in his dreams due to a magical device of his own inception, the Dreamworld Amulet.

The amulet allows the wearer to wander in their dreams while retaining their thoughts, skills, and talents. However, this also causes them to dismiss familiar figures as a figment of their imagination, which is precisely why Kud-Ei cannot enter Henantier’s dream to rescue him herself. With all that exposition out, the Argonian will hand you the amulet and ask you to sleep on the bed near Henantier. Put on the amulet using the inventory, and then go to sleep to enter the mysterious Dreamworld.

2. Talk to Henantier in The Dreamworld

Right after going to sleep, you’ll be awakened in the dingy Dreamworld without any clothes, equipment, or even your spellcasting capabilities. A conscious Henantier will be standing in front of you. Talk to the NPC, and he’ll tell you that he has basically lost his sanity due to this nightmare.

To get Henantier back up to code and complete the quest, you’ll need to collect four Elements related to Perception, Patience, Resolve, and Courage. All four require the completion of specific puzzles, which can be done in any order. They can all be accessed via different doors located near Hernantier:

• Test of Perception: Enter the glowing stone door on the left.
• Test of Patience: Enter the wooden door beside the bed.
• Test of Courage: Head downstairs and take the door on the right.
• Test of Resolve: Head downstairs and turn right to find a bloodied door. Enter it to begin this test.

Before starting any of the tests, rummage through every crevice of Hernantier’s room. You’ll find some standard clothing and healing potions that will be extremely helpful on your journey. As mentioned earlier, you can complete the tests in any order, but we do recommend starting with Resolve since you’ll immediately find some decent armor and weapons.

3. Test of Resolve Puzzle Solution

Completing the Test of Resolve is pretty straightforward. The first thing you do upon entering it is to collect armor and weapons from the container kept at the start of the hall. Once you’re geared up, head forward, and you’ll find yourself in an area.

Two Minotaurs will charge in your direction, defeat them, and a staircase leading up to a platform will unlock. Climb it to get the Element of Resolve.

4. Test of Patience Puzzle Solution

After collecting any of the Elements, you’ll be transported back to Henantier. So, you’re now free to tackle the other tests. For this one, interact with the wooden door next to the bed to start the Test of Patience. Once again, there will be a container right in front of you, marked ‘Study’ and carrying a mysterious scroll. The scroll features three sections, representing the three trials you’re about to take on.

Each trial is a standard pressure plate puzzle, where you’ll need to step on the correct plates or risk getting impaled by arrows. To progress past all three trials without taking damage, follow the path we’ve laid out on the scroll above.

You can also tank through the first two trials if you’ve already obtained the armor from the Test of Resolve. So, you do have the option to brute-force past the whole affair. Once you’re past the third trial, collect the Element of Patience to tick off this test.

5. Test of Perception Puzzle Solution

The Test of Perception can be accessed via the glowing stone door. This one’s all about your ability to recognise danger and avoid some cleverly-placed traps. To start things off, pick up the Torch from the container at the entrance. You’ll now see a narrow path leading up to a circular platform. Traverse it carefully, and watch out for the swinging axes as you move beyond the platform.

Once you’re on the opposite side, just sprint beyond the area littered with poison traps, continue heading forward, and you’ll be greeted with cleavers mounted to the roof, and they’ll come clamping down in a specific rhythm. You can either cross them one by one or sprint past the whole thing while hoping for the best. Beyond this sits a circular chamber, standing on its outer edge and waiting for a rockfall trap to reveal itself before progressing forward.

For the final part of this test, you’ll need to cross a narrow path that hides three floor traps. These can be easily distinguished since they look like pressure plates. Avoid them, and you’ll finally reach the Element of Patience.

6. Test of Courage Puzzle Solution

For the last test, head down the stairs and take the wooden door on the left. You’ll find yourself in a cave that’s overflowing with water. On the left sits an elevated platform with yet another container. Interact with it to collect a potion that grants you the Water Breathing effect for 30 seconds. Chug it and dive underwater.

The gimmick behind this test is to swim and manage your breath until you find the Element of Courage. As you venture deeper and deeper into the water, you’ll find another container with a similar potion. This will renew the Water Breathing effect and keep you alive. Keep swimming until you get to the bottom, and you can eventually interact with a wooden board. Doing so will transport you to the site of the Element of Courage. Collect it to return to Henantier.

7. Talk to Henantier

The last step of the quest is to talk to the NPC in the Dreamworld. He’ll thank you for your help, and you’ll be transported back to the real world. Once you’re back in Bravil, you can speak with Henantier again to receive a Tome as a reward.

And that wraps up our quest guide on Through a Nightmare, Darkly in Oblivion Remastered. Which puzzle did you have the most trouble with? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.