Lost Legacy

 is a quest to explore the tomb of Vahlok the Jailor. Tharstan, of Skaal Village, wants the Dragonborn's help to protect him while he explores the tomb.

Background
''I met Tharstan, a historian living in the Skaal village who discovered the recently-unearthed entrance to an old nordic crypt. He offered to hire me as protection while we explored the crypt, and asked me to meet him there if I was interested.''

Walkthrough
Upon completion of A New Source of Stalhrim, a historian by the name of Tharstan in the Skaal Village will ask the Dragonborn to help him explore a tomb.

"I heard from Deor how you went in search of Baldor. That was very brave, and in fact, that's just the kind of courage i'm looking for."


 * Let me guess, you need me to do something dangerous: "Quite right! Quite right! This, however, is paying work. Allow me to explain."
 * I helped a man in need, that's all: "Modest as well as brave. Most admirable! I can see why the Skaal think highly of you. Yes I think you're just the adventurous sort I need. I have a job offer for you."

''As a scholar of history, I've always found Solstheim to be most intriguing. I've made many forays into the ancient ruins that cover the island. I've come to know those ruins so well, I could draw you a map from memory. That's why I noticed the new passage the moment I laid eyes on it."''

A new passage to what?: "An old tomb, I think. It must have been opened by an earthquake that accompanied one of the Red Mountain's eruptions. I'd love to have a closer look, but those old ruins can be dangerous and I'm no adventurer. I'll pay you to watch my back down there. I'll be heading back there soon. If you're interested, meet me at the ruins and we'll see what we can find. Now I'm off to pack for the expedition!" After the conversation is over, the quest will begin and Tharstan will head off to Vahlok's Tomb.

Vahlok's Tomb
The entrance is sunken in a rift in the ground that runs north from the tomb itself. Enter the tomb and talk to Tharstan. He will mention: "Remarkable, isn't it? This tomb has been hidden for... well, who knows how long. Many centuries, I would think."

Down a short pathway is an etched tablet overlooking a trapdoor fire pit. Below the tablet is a handle. To the left and right are paths that lead to other sections of the tomb. Tharstan remarks:

"I've had a look around and the only interesting thing I've found is this inscription here, and a switch below it. Now, I'm not sure if you can read the dragon language, but this seems to be a riddle of some sort. "A sacrifice will bring you closer to that which you seek." I wonder what it means."

The puzzle can be solved by dragging the corpse of a nearby draugr onto the trapdoor that is down the steps below the pedestal with the etched tablet, then pulling the handle located under the tablet to provide a sacrifice. This will open two routes off of the platform, marked by torches.

Retrieving the first key
Crossing the left (south) bridge leads to tunnels deeper into the ruin. The tunnel turns left (east), then leads to an iron door. Beyond the door is a crypt heading off to the right (south) containing several draugr. The path turns left (east), then left again, and leads to an iron gate. Pulling the chain will open the gate to the next room. Through this door will be a glowing monolith, with a bow, a sword, and a staff in front of the three different faces of the monolith. Tharstan remarks:

"Hm... three pillars. Other than that plaque, there doesn't seem to be anything else worthy of note. Lets see what the inscription says. "All men must die, often by their own means." Sounds rather grim, if you ask me. The inscription must be a reference to these pillars. Three pillars surrounding a central one. Perhaps they are connected somehow. They also have glowing stones of some kind at the top. They look vaguely similar to drawings I've seen of objects called Impact Stones. Well, see what you can figure out. I'm going to inspect these pillars further to see if I've missed something."

In order to unlock the way out of the room, the glowing stones corresponding to each of the faces of the central monolith must be struck with the category of weaponry provided on that face of the monolith - i.e. sword strike for sword side, etc. Any weapons can be used and a fire spell can be used in place of the staff. Once all three glowing stones are activated, the gate in the north wall to the next room will open.

Inside the room, various draugr burst out of coffins. The draugr deathlord has the Amethyst Claw, Left Half. A Word Wall is in the back of the room, providing the first word of the shout Battle Fury. Two chests are in front of the wall to the right and left. Tharstan remarks:

"Lets have a closer look at these runes. These runes have faded a bit, but I believe I can translate the inscription. The writing describes a guardian who defeated someone named Miraak. In fact, if I'm reading this correctly, it says that Miraak was a traitor. Most interesting."

A well-lit but small opening to the left (west) leads to a tunnel. At the end, a pull chain on the wall opens back to the central cavern with the fire pit.

Retrieving the second key
The right (north) bridge leads to a dirt path to the left that eventually comes to a set of stairs against the north wall. Proceeding up those stairs leads to a tunnel entrance to the north, which comes to a table with two burial urns and a soul gem. The path turns left (west) down some stairs, then turns right again. On the right side is an adept-locked chest. The path continues to the left (west) down more stairs to a room with another etched tablet and nine stone squares on a raised platform, along with another inscription which Tharstan is able to read:

"I expect there's another riddle in here, along with a puzzle. "Continue along the path, don't tread where you've been." Interesting... Well I'm pretty sure about two things. One, the riddle is most likely referring to these flat stone squares. And two, I'm not going anywhere near them."

The puzzle can be solved by starting at the bottom left (southeast) square and walking in a spiral pattern to the right (north), then to the top (west), then to the left (south), then left (east) only one square, and then left (north) one more square to the center. If done correctly, each square should have been walked across exactly once, and the spears blocking the next room will retract.

This room contains several Draugr and another draugr deathlord. After they have been defeated, the deathlord's body has the Amethyst Claw, Right Half. A word wall for the second word for the shout Battle Fury is against the west wall of the room, with a chest in front. Tharstan remarks:

"Look! Here's another wall with dragon language inscriptions on it! Let's find out what's written here. This writing refers to a guardian who inspired both men and dragons. I wonder if the guardian was himself a man or a dragon?"

Like before, a narrow doorway to a shortcut has opened against the south wall that leads back to the main chamber. The Amethyst claw halves fit into the keyholes on either side of the steps to the central caged platform. The gate will open, leading to another inscription and a handle. Tharstan says:

"Here's another riddle. "Stay your course. To idle is to die." Well, at least it's straightforward. There appears to be a switch of some kind here. I'll just stand over here while you flip that switch. I'm sure everything will be fine."

Vahlok's bridge
Turning the handle activates a series of magical platforms which act as a bridge to reach the far side of the chamber. Each panel will disappear after a short period of time, so in order to prevent falling, it is necessary to travel across quickly, stepping onto the furthest available panel. Once the far side has been reached, a straight, solid path of panels form that lead back to the first platform. This allows Tharstan to cross. At the same time, an iron gate opens in the west wall. Just past the gate, a wooden door in the left wall is barred from the other side. If the Dragonborn falls from the bridge, there is a pathway from the water below that leads back up to the level of the bridges, through that wooden door.

The next three bridge sections of the ruin are much the same. Pulling the handle activates the moving bridge. Each bridge will move slightly faster than the last. In the canals below are several Corrupted Shades that will attack anyone that falls down to them. After the first, another wooden door to the left is barred from the other side, and a table is straight ahead (west) with two burial urns and several gems. After the second, yet another barred wooden door is found, along with a soul gem. Again, if the Dragonborn falls off any bridge, there is a path back up through the barred wooden doors to the bridge level.

After crossing all of them, the iron door opens on a long hall with a Dragon Claw combination door at the end. Tharstan remarks:

"Ah, the hall of stories. These are found in many ancient Nord tombs. There must be hundreds of years of history etched into these walls. Too bad they seem to be too damaged to read.

Hmm...looks like it needs some sort of key. Maybe those half claws you found would fit in here if you put them together. It seems these rings can be moved. Perhaps there's enough undamaged text in these etchings to tell us the combination. Ah yes, here's something. The first one has to do with a breeze, or maybe it's wind. The second one mentions the night sky, and the moon. And the third has something to do with fire. It also seems to mention scales. That's all I can make out from this etching. I'll check the rest and see if there's anything else. You keep trying out the combination."

The combination is Hawk - Wolf - Dragon (from top to bottom), which does not appear on the claw, but which are hinted at by the etchings Tharstan found. Once the door opens, up the stairs is an iron gate opened by a pull chain that leads to the main burial chamber where Vahlok the Jailor rests. The third word wall for Battle Fury is also found at the north end of this chamber, along with a small amount of leveled loot in a chest in front of it.

Final battle
The paths on either side are covered with fire traps. Approaching his sarcophagus will cause him to awaken and attack. As battle begins he will summon a Flame Atronach and activate his Flame Cloak. During battle he uses fire based Destruction spells, including Firebolt, Incinerate and Flames.

Once Vahlok is defeated, Tharstan will pay 1,000 gold for escorting him through the dungeon, completing the quest. He will then run up to the Word Wall and begin studying it:

"Aha! Here's another of those dragon language inscriptions! I wonder what it says. Just let me study these runes for a moment. Hmm, here's another mention of the guardian. I can only assume that this is the guardian's tomb we are standing in now. It says that he was loyal, and his reward was an honorable death. Quite fascinating."

Once he has finished, he can be asked further about the origins and details of the tomb and how it relates to Vahlok and Miraak.

''How amazing! A real Dragon Priest! In all my years as a historian, I never though I'd see anything like that. I suppose that was Vahlok. He must have had this entire place built for him so that he could maintain his vigil, even beyond death.''

He must have been someone important: "Indeed. I knew that the Dragon Priests were thought to have been powerful men of great will, but I had no idea. Well, I suppose I've seen everything I came for, and you kept up your end of the bargain. I promised payment and here it is."
 * What have you learned about this place?: "This is clearly a tomb, if a rather elaborate one. I would guess it was built for a Dragon Priest who achieved great fame in his time. It seems he was held in high regard by both men and dragons, because he defeated a traitor named Miraak. Perhaps Miraak was also a Dragon Priest, probably a contemporary of this guardian. He must have turned against his own order. After his defeat, Miraak was banished to Solstheim and the guardian was made his jailer."
 * Do you think this place has any connection with the Skaal?: "I've been thinking about that, and I believe it does. I believe it was the ancient ancestors of the Skaal who built this tomb for their master, the Dragon Priest they called the guardian. In all likelihood, these people were ancient Nords who came with the Dragon Priests to live here on Solstheim. Separated from their people on the mainland, they developed a distinct culture that became the Skaal we know today. Of course this is all just theory and conjecture. It is likely we will never know the truth."
 * Why all the traps and puzzles?: "A good question. Partly to keep unwanted intruders away, I suppose. they might also have been meant as tests, to ensure that only the truly worthy can reach the main burial chamber. Who can say, really? The motives of the Dragon Priests are as inscrutable as those of the Dragons they worshipped."

Tharstan will stay behind, purportedly to study the Word Wall, where he will mention "There's enough here for entire volumes!"

The only exit from the dungeon is all the way back through to the beginning.

Dragon-Rune Tablets
Throughout Vahlok's Tomb there are three tablets displaying text in Ancient Nord text which gives hints to the three puzzles found within the tomb. The following are the direct quotes from the tablets found in Vahlok's Tomb.

Tablet I: "A sacrifice will bring you closer to that which you seek."

Tablet II: "Continue along the path, don't tread where you've been."

Tablet III: "All Men must die, often by their own means."

Trivia

 * Vahlok appears to be the only named Dragon Priest who does not drop a mask.

Bugs

 * Tharstan may not have the speech option to give the code for the puzzle door.
 * The Dragonborn may not be able to activate the three door rings.
 * This can be fixed by exiting then reentering the tomb.
 * After completing the quest, the game may freeze when exiting the tomb.
 * After taking heavy damage, Tharstan will start crawling. Waiting a few hours until he reaches a word wall and then speaking to him will complete the quest.
 * The rings will move, but when the Amethyst Claw is inserted, door may not open even with the correct combination (Hawk, Wolf, Dragon).
 * The doors that are barred from the other side may be opened. If the Dragonborn stands directly in front of one, the "Open Wooden Door" label for the X button may be periodically replaced for a fraction of a second with "Activate Door Bar". Continually hitting the X button will eventually cause the button to be hit at the time the door bar message appears, allowing the door bar to be undone.
 * If the Unrelenting Force shout is used, there is a chance that the mask will be missing from the body's loot. This can be corrected by reverting to a previous save.
 * The Deathlord holding the Left Amethyst Claw may fall through the floor before retrieving the claw, making the quest impossible to complete. Reloading a previous save will fix the bug.
 * After unlocking the cell doors with the Amethyst claws, the doors may close and lock again and be unable to be reopened. Reloading a previous save will fix that.

Потерянное наследие