Download Hints

Get quick and convenient access to just the hints you need for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, without staying on our website. Just download a free trial version of our UHS Reader software and a copy of these hints. You will get the same gradual hints you see here -- unlike ordinary cheats or a walkthrough that can spoil your game.

You can also buy the full version of the UHS Reader for Windows or macOS. For just $14.95, you get full access to hints for hundreds of games and 1 year of free updates. You can also search, decode, or print an entire game's worth of hints at once.

Ask the Author

If you have questions about a puzzle that aren't answered anywhere in these hints, you may contact the author.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Hints

Untaxing the Poor

  • 1 of 12: Meet Cristophe at the garden after fencing at least 50 gold worth of stolen goods.
  • 2 of 12: Talk to him about "Thieves Guild special jobs" and the topics that follow that to get this quest.
  • 3 of 12: You need to find out where Hieronymus Lex is keeping the Waterfront's taxes and tax record.
  • 4 of 12: Remember that the beggars are the Gray Fox's spies.
  • 5 of 12: You can bribe Puny Ancus, the beggar who sleeps near the garden, to tell you that Lex has an office in the city's South Watchtower.
  • 6 of 12: Fast-travel to the Temple District and find the South Watch Tower's entrance in the very SE corner of the area.
  • 7 of 12: Inside, climb the ladder to the Southeast Watch Barracks area.
  • 8 of 12: You're a trespasser in here, so either sneak around or move very quickly.
  • 9 of 12: Find the ladder to the South Watch Barracks and climb it, then unlock and climb the ladder that leads up to the South Watch Captain's Quarters area.
  • 10 of 12: If Lex is in, he's probably asleep, so sneak over to his desk (right near the trap door) and unlock it to find the gold and tax records you're after.
  • 11 of 12: As soon as you have them, quickly use the trap doors to get back down the ladders you climbed and leave the watch tower before you're reported for a crime.
  • 12 of 12: Return to Cristophe and talk to him to hand over the tax records and get promoted to Footpad.