The Black Marsh is a weird place, even by Elder Scrolls standards. But you don't actually have to go to the swamps to encounter the most disturbing part of Argonian lore. You just have to join the Fighters Guild in Leyawiin. I'm talking about the Hist quest Oblivion players usually stumble into halfway through the Fighters Guild storyline, and honestly, it’s one of the few times Bethesda actually managed to pull off genuine psychological horror in a sprawling RPG.
It starts simple. You’re just a mercenary looking for work. Then you meet the Blackwood Company.
These guys are the "new kids on the block" in the mercenary world of Cyrodiil. They’re efficient. They’re cheap. They’re putting the Fighters Guild out of business because they don't seem to care about things like "ethics" or "collateral damage." But the secret to their success isn't just a better business model or a higher recruitment budget. It’s a tree. A very sick, very angry tree from the depths of Black Marsh that has been transplanted into a basement in Leyawiin.
What's Actually Going on With the Blackwood Company?
If you’ve played through "The Deserters" or "Unfinished Business," you already know the tension is building. Modryn Oreyn—the crusty, Dunmer second-in-command of the Fighters Guild—is obsessed with why his men are losing jobs to these newcomers. The answer is the Hist quest Oblivion leads you toward: "Infiltration."
The Blackwood Company isn't just a rival guild; they’re a cult of personality centered around Jeetum-Ze and Ri'Zakar. To find out how they're so effective, you have to go undercover. This is where the game stops being a fantasy dungeon crawler and starts feeling like a bad trip. They offer you a drink of "Hist Sap."
In lore, the Hist are sentient, spore-secreting trees that the Argonians worship. Under normal circumstances, the sap is a sacred substance used for soul-bonding and communication. But the Blackwood Company’s tree is different. It’s a "sick" Hist, likely driven mad by being removed from its native soil and fed with questionable methods. When you drink that sap during the quest, the screen turns a nauseating shade of blur and purple.
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The Horror of Water's Edge
This is the peak of the Hist quest Oblivion fans still talk about on Reddit years later. You’re sent to the village of Water's Edge. Your fellow Blackwood Company members tell you the town is being overrun by goblins. You see them. Little green pests running around the houses, screeching. You do what any adventurer does. You unsheathe your sword and you start swinging.
It’s satisfying, in a mindless way. You clear the town. You head back to the company headquarters, wait for the sap to wear off, and then the reality hits.
You didn't kill goblins.
When the hallucination fades, you return to Water's Edge only to find the bodies of sheep and, more disturbingly, the innocent villagers. You killed them all. Men, women, and the local livestock. The sap didn't just make you stronger; it stripped away your ability to perceive reality, turning a peaceful settlement into a perceived war zone. It’s a gut-punch. Bethesda doesn't do a lot of "accidental mass murder" quests, but this one sticks because the game forces your hand. You are the monster.
Why the Sap is Different Here
- Geographic Displacement: The tree in Leyawiin is far from the Hist hive-mind in Black Marsh.
- Mental State: The sap is being used as a combat drug, not a spiritual sacrament.
- Corruption: The Blackwood Company is literally pumping the tree for profit, which in Argonian lore, is a recipe for disaster.
Taking Down the Leyawiin Operation
Once the shock of Water's Edge wears off, the quest "Information Gathering" and the final assault "The Hist" begin. You and Modryn Oreyn finally stop playing nice. You have to break into the Blackwood Company hall and get to the basement.
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The final fight against Ri'Zakar is a bit of a letdown if you’re high level—mostly because he’s just a Khajiit in heavy armor—but the real boss is the tree itself. You can't just "kill" a Hist with a sword. You have to sabotage the machinery. The Blackwood Company has built a bizarre, industrial-looking piping system around the tree to extract the sap more efficiently.
To end the Hist quest Oblivion requires you to find two loose pipes (usually found on the bodies of the high-ranking members or nearby) and jam them into the machinery. The resulting fire and magical feedback destroy the tree. It’s a bittersweet ending. You’ve stopped the Blackwood Company, but you’ve also essentially performed an execution on a sentient, albeit corrupted, piece of nature.
What Most People Miss About the Lore
A lot of players think the Blackwood Company were just "bad guys" who found a drug. It's deeper. The Hist are telepathic. Some fans argue the tree wanted to be destroyed because its existence in Cyrodiil was an abomination. Others think the sap was intentionally distorting the mercenaries' minds as a form of revenge against those who enslaved it.
Think about it.
If you were a sentient tree being milked for combat drugs in a basement, wouldn't you make your "masters" see their neighbors as monsters? It’s a theory that makes the quest way more tragic. The Argonians in the Blackwood Company, like Jeetum-Ze, should have known better, which suggests the sap's influence was so strong it overrode their natural reverence for the Hist.
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Actionable Tips for Completing the Quest
If you’re currently replaying the Fighters Guild storyline or running a modded version of Oblivion, keep these things in mind to make the Hist quest Oblivion experience smoother:
- Don't Bring Your Best Gear to Water's Edge: Honestly, it doesn't matter. The "goblins" are weak. Save your weapon durability.
- Loot the Blackwood Company Early: Once the final quest starts, the building becomes a hostile zone. If you want their unique armor (which looks cool but has mediocre stats), grab it from the lockers before you drink the sap.
- Check the Basement Carefully: The "Loose Pipe" items are small and easy to miss in the clutter of the basement. They’re usually sitting on the floor near the large vats or on the corpses of the lieutenants.
- The Modryn Oreyn Reward: After you finish the questline, talk to Modryn in his house. He gives you the Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw. It’s arguably one of the best headpieces in the game, providing a massive +10 to Agility and Endurance.
The legacy of the Blackwood Company serves as a grim reminder that in the world of Tamriel, "natural" doesn't always mean "good." The Hist are ancient, alien, and completely indifferent to human (or elven) life. When you mess with the roots of the world for a bit of gold, you usually end up with blood on your hands.
Next Steps for Players:
Check your quest log for "Infiltration" in Leyawiin. If you haven't reached it yet, continue doing contracts for Azzan in Anvil or Burz gro-Khash in Cheydinhal until the "Secret of the Hardrock Mine" is completed. Once the Blackwood Company’s influence starts being mentioned in dialogue, head to the Fighters Guild in Chorrol to speak with Vilena Donton to trigger the final arc. For those interested in the deeper lore of the Hist beyond Cyrodiil, seek out the "Trial of the Arch-Mage" texts or the "Argonian Account" book series found in various bookstores across the Imperial City.