i said, "enough with the oaths already. you wanna talk, or no?" so he attacks me. if he can attack me, i can kill him. i get the exp. he is doomed anyway. so when gorthius offers you an oath, just say no.

On the other hand you won't get H'Tharks lockpicks then, which you'll 'need' later in the game, although there is a workaround for that.

The game does not "enforce" any oaths players take.

Wyv