I picked the lock on a basement door in Black-Briar Manor and found the sacrificial ritual (Black Sacrament) setup inside. Is there a way to confront Maven Black-Briar about the ritual? Can I complete the assassination of the target?
Who is the target of the Black Sacrament in Black-Briar Manor
the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim
Best Answer
I would tend to believe the player is the actual target, as you constantly get assassination attempts on you by assassins and they all have a note the black sacrament has been performed so you are the target of one somewhere.
The letter found in her manor says she complains to Astrid about the assassination failures. Since you read the note, it means it failed on you obviously.
If the player wasn't the target, it would mean two things, that someone did a 3rd ritual somewhere (not the little kid in Windhelm, not Maven's) and that Maven's actual target also survived the assassination attempts, which would be highly unlikely if no one heard about it.
Why Maven would want the player dead is up in the air. Not like half the world wants you dead already so one more or one less person hating you in Skyrim doesn't really make a difference.
Obviously, if you join the Dark Brotherhood the assassination attempts stop/never happen, as it is actually written as a Dark Brotherhood law that Dark Brotherhood members cannot be the target of a sacrament.