After killing many guards in some insignificant province who came to arrest me when I attempted to steal a painting from some merchant, I received an invitation to join the Dark Brotherhood. Depending on what province I flee to after slaughtering the guards, the letter tells me to go to a different, random town within that province and meet somebody in that town who is to be my contact.

Problem is, I can't find the guy anywhere. Where is he supposed to be? Is he supposed to be in a tavern? First thing I always do is check all the taverns, figuring that that's the most logical place for any meeting to be arranged. Well, they're never there. I try going to every building in the town that the letter sends me to, but that's so exhausting as there are literally dozens and sometimes even a hundred buildings in the place I'm supposed to look for my contact in.

Surprisingly, I'm not able to ask any of the townspeople for information regarding my contact's whereabouts. Am I honestly expected to go through every single building in the town I'm sent to until I find this guy? Is there any specific type of building that I should be looking for, or can he be anywhere? Far be it from me to wish for Oblivion's retarded compass to guide me everywhere I need to go, but if this is really the case, well, that's just ridiculous. Completely ruins my suspension of disbelief, too. Can you imagine what it would be like if things like that happened in real life? Let's say my job was to install cable internet in people's homes:

EMPLOYER: Congratulations, oldhomehaibane! You have been sent on a glorious quest of great significance! One of our clients has asked us to install a cable modem in his home. You must travel to [SOME GUY]'s home in [MAJOR U.S. CITY] and complete your task, then return for your pay. Truly an adventure worthy of any hero!

ME: Okay. Where does this guy live in [MAJOR CITY]? I'm going to need a street address and a description of his house if I'm going to find him.

EMPLOYER: If I told you that it wouldn't be much of an adventure, now would it?

ME: Can you at least give me his phone number so that I can ask him myself?

EMPLOYER: I'm afraid I can't do that, and you'll find that his number isn't listed, either. No, you'll have to go to [MAJOR CITY] and knock on every door until you find our client. This will truly be a test of your resourcefulness, an essential trait for any hero!

ME: Uh-huh. Where do I hand in my resignation?

You should be able to ask around about this person, assuming you're in the correct town. Look under all the topics--sometimes you magically know where they are and can ask about their location instead of their name. Ask about People or General, sometimes that covers it.

*facepalms* I can't believe I didn't do the obvious thing and check under people! I guess it's just because I rarely take quests that involve asking for the location of a person, so this is the first quest I've done that requires it. Since I never use it, I just kind of forgot it was even there. Damn, that was dumb of me. Oh, well, at least this wasn't another thread asking where to find Daggerfall or why Bethesda isn't going to release all the old games in one package or put them up for download.

And believe me, we appreciate the diversity

It's a good thing that the people tab is there, as it saves much sanity.