A little-known trick for discovering the true bounty target in Skyrim's "With Friends Like These..." quest circulates online thanks to a Reddit video.

A video shared on Reddit reveals a secret solution that allows players to easily complete the "With Friends Like These..." quest in Skyrim. Completing the infamous quest by killing either Fultheim the Fearless, Alea Quintus, or Vasha the Khajit is required for players who wish to join the Dark Brotherhood, an underground guild of spiritual assassins.

After completing Aventus Aretino's quest "Innocence Lost" and killing the abusive headmistress Grelod the Kind in the Dark Brotherhood's name, players will eventually receive an eerie note with the words "We know" written in black ink. The next time the player goes to sleep, they will wake up in an abandoned shack. Here, the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, Astrid, will explain that a contract was stolen from them when the player killed Grelod, and the debt must be repaid. Astrid informs the player that one of three bound captives in the room has a contract on their head, but it's up to the player to talk to each of them and determine who the real target is. Regardless of which unlikable character the player chooses, someone must die for the player to escape the shack and join the Dark Brotherhood.

User DarkSteveYT on Reddit recently shared a secret solution for completing "With Friends Like These..." in Skyrim that doesn't involve investigation or thoughtful consideration. Once told by Astrid to kill one of the captives, the player can simply cast the Clairvoyance spell, if they happen to have it. The unnecessary Novice Illusion spell normally reveals the path to whatever quest objective the player has active, and must be obtained by either purchasing it from a number of traders or finding it in the Embershard Mine. In other words, it's very easy not to have obtained it before encountering this quest. However, casting Clairvoyance in the shack reveals that Vasha is the true target.

The Clairvoyance trick is not a new discovery by any means. Indeed, the nifty solution is listed on the Skyrim wiki. This is probably the most widely it's been made known online, though, and it's definitely an interesting secret for those who believe they've mastered Skyrim. While it might be the vaguest solution, it's not the only secret related to this quest, as the wiki attests. Players can kill any combination of the captives and loot their corpses for unique Execution Hood headpieces. Killing Astrid instead of the captives fails the quest but allows the player to leave the shack and begin the quest for destroying the Dark Brotherhood. Finally, players with the Misdirection perk can try to pickpocket Astrid to obtain her Blade of Woe and Shrouded Armor set. Receiving another Blade of Woe at the end of the Dark Brotherhood quest means the player can dual-wield the weapons.

Skyrim was released almost ten years ago and has since been played by tens of millions of players. The fact that such a simple solution to a well-trodden quest remained elusive to many is a testament to the game's deep mechanics and design. Few who ever encountered the quest had the Clairvoyance spell, and even fewer thought to use it in order to ascertain the true identity of the target. And yet, the solution exists for those who choose to subvert the quest's intended trajectory. Hopefully Bethesda's next RPG, Starfield, will leave many more secretive quest solutions for players to uncover.

Next: Skyrim Player Discovers A Way To Vaporize Essential Story Characters

Skyrim is available on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Source: DarkSteveYT/Reddit, Skyrim wiki