Ansilvund

Ansilvund is an ancient Nordic tomb in. It is an excavation site into the tomb of Fjori and Holgeir and is located northeast of Shor's Stone in Eastmarch. Outside the entrance is a ruined stone tower. The entrance is a cave in the mountainside. Ansilvund is a large tomb filled with multiple traps.

Background
It is learned that Lu'ah Al-Skaven is overwhelmed with anger and hatred for both the Stormcloaks and the Empire regarding the loss of her husband, Saeel, in battle. Lu’ah and her Mage lackeys have been raising draugr to excavate the site in hopes of raising the legendary Fjori and Holgeir to lead her undead army into battle as a means of ultimate retribution, but more importantly, to use Holgeir as a vessel to resurrect her fallen husband. Her thoughts and motives are chronicled in Lu'ah's Journal.

Ansilvund Excavation
The first level of the site is the excavation level. A number of variously skilled elemental mages and conjurers are encountered here overseeing the tunneling work of their Draugr minions. A conversation can be overheard between three mages around a fire talking about Lu’ah’s plans. An arcane enchanter can be found here once the mages are dispatched. Further along, Lu’ah seems to sense the Dragonborn's intrusion and awakens the Draugr throughout the corridor.

The passageway leading into the next chamber can be found on the left hand side under a lantern on the wall. The next chamber has a trap in the middle of the room.

The final chamber of Ansilvund Excavations is reached through a puzzle room with pillars. The key (Eagle, Snake, Whale, Snake) can be found directly below each stone on the ground level, obscured by weeds and other obstructions. Alternately, the combination can be gleaned from paying attention to the animal symbolism used in the book Of Fjori and Holgeir, which can be found on the table below the stones. The puzzle/lever opens the passage to the next level of the tomb: Ansilvund Burial Chambers.

Ansilvund Burial Chambers
Upon entering the Burial Chambers, it becomes clear that this is, in fact, a well constructed Ancient Nord Tomb. The first hallway is rife with a number of devious traps; however, at the end of this hall there is an adept level locked gate at which a pull chain is located that disables the remaining traps. Also in this room is an expert locked chest with a number of leveled loot within.

The next area is a large three tiered chamber being patrolled by draugr. On the southern wall, the Illusion skill book, 2920, vol 02 - Sun's Dawn, can be found atop a pedestal. Taking it will fire arrows so move to the side after taking the book. On the western wall, the Ansilvund Key is also located atop a pedestal. This key will open all the otherwise very difficult gates along the upcoming path. Removing the key will also awaken a number of draugr. The path then winds up through each tier of the chamber, which, as seen previously, is riddled with a number of nasty traps.

On the final leg of the journey, more minions are awakened by Lu'ah's calls to stop the intruder. Upon reaching the Burial Chamber proper, Lu'ah is found with her raised minions, Fjori and Holgeir, as well as the lifeless corpse of her beloved. All three combatants are highly skilled and present a difficult fight. Lu'ah is a skilled Ice Mage, and both Fjori and Holgeir are capable of disarming with Dragon Shouts and carry Frost enchanted weapons. Destroying Lu'ah first and quickly will defeat all other foes. One easy way to defeat them is use the ice form shout on Fjori and Holgeir and then focus on Lu'ah. Once Lu'ah is defeated, the other two will also be instantly killed. Once defeated, Fjori and Holgeir's spirits are freed from Lu'ah's spell and will thank the Dragonborn by presenting the Ghostblade before returning to the Void.

Notable items

 * Ghostblade
 * A Stone of Barenziah on the altar next to Ghostblade
 * Spell Tome: Transmute Mineral Ore
 * 2920, vol 02 - Sun's Dawn - Illusion skill book
 * Lu'ah's Journal
 * Imperial Condolences

Quests

 * A Love Beyond Death (starts automatically when at the beginning of the dungeon exploration)
 * Find Queen Freydis's Sword
 * Find Roggi Knot-Beard's Ancestral Shield
 * No Stone Unturned
 * Totems of Hircine
 * One of the Fetch Me That Book! locations
 * The Forgemaster's Fingers
 * Onmund's Request
 * Family Heirloom: Retrieve the Long Bow
 * Protecting the Bloodline

Enemies

 * Lu'ah Al-Skaven
 * Holgeir
 * Fjori
 * Draugr

Facilities

 * Alchemy Lab - in the tower outside and in Lu'ah Al Skaven's bedroom
 * Arcane Enchanter - in the excavation area
 * Cooking Place - outside by the tower

Trivia

 * It is possible to kill Lu'ah before she is done with her speech to stop Fjori and Holgeir from being summoned. This may cause glitches, and it may be necessary to raise them with a necromancy spell for the storyline to proceed and the Ghostblade to appear. It may be possible to cast a rune spell at the bottom of their respective sarcophagi to activate or kill them.
 * It is possible to kill Lu'ah, Fjori and Holgeir by casting Mayhem spell near the pedestal with Ansilvund key.
 * Outside Ansilvund, there is a tower with an alchemy lab inside. Standing on the tallest point of the closest hilltop to the north of the tower, and using a Whirlwind Sprint with at least two words, it's possible to reach the top of the tower, where an unlocked chest with high-grade loot is located. The chest also respawns the loot periodically. It is also possible to ride a horse up to the top of the tower.
 * If Lu'ah's key is not taken, and Lu'ah is killed, it will not be possible to open the final door that needs the key. However, it is possible to go back through the cave and exit the same way the player went in. Even if the key is retrieved after re-looting Lu'ah's corpse, the game doesn't recognize that it is available.
 * The reward for the time spent in this dungeon is smithing time with the blacksmith of Windhelm. If smithing is already at 100, the quest is still worth it because the net gain is about 6000 worth of armor and weapons.
 * It is possible that the player is sent back to Ansilvund through a radiant companion quest. If the quest for the Ghostblade has already been completed, then a Necromancer Boss will take Lu'ah's place at the altar while the NPC's inside Ansilvund are respawned. Fjori and Holgeir, however, will not reappear, and unlike Lu'ah they are not replaced by other characters. Their sarcophagi have once again been shut but remain empty this time.

Bugs

 * Before the final chamber of Ansilvund Excavations in the puzzle room, the pillars cannot be turned to the correct symbol.
 * Fix: exit from of Ansilvund Excavation and take or purchase "Of Fjori and Holgeir" from another location. After obtaining the book, head back to the puzzle and the pillars should re-activate and start working again.
 * When the Leader of Ansilvund (Lu'ah Al-Skaven) is killed before obtaining the quest to do so (companion story-line), it won't be possible to complete the quest or the companion story-line.
 * A draugr will get stuck on the overhang on the first left taken.
 * Before entering the mine in the tower there are two potions of magicka on a table that are unable to be picked up.
 * The skeleton risen by Lu'ah may be invulnerable for the first 15 seconds after the first time the Dragonborn would have harmed it.

Appearances


Ansilvund Ансилвунд