Alftand

 is an ancient Dwemer Ruin located in. The quests "Elder Knowledge" and "Discerning the Transmundane" concurrently unfold here. Upon entering the ruins a team of trapped archaeologists is discovered; the story of their fate, disrupted by a snowstorm and the Falmer also plays out within.

The location has three sublocations, including the Alftand Glacial Ruins, the Alftand Animunculory, and the Alftand Cathedral.

Item-wise, there are approximately 200 ingots worth of Dwarven Scrap metal, ideal for the advancing the smithing skill and earning gold.

Elder Knowledge
Following the map marker for "Elder Knowledge", the Dragonborn arrives at a large ravine in a glacier. An entrance to the Dwemer Tower is at the end of the ravine, slightly above ground. This tower leads to the other side of the ice mountain, coming out at an excavation site.

Trapped archaeologists
Upon arriving, the Dragonborn finds journals of an excavation team, which has been cutting away at the ice to get to lost Dwemer sites. The journal makes note of a large storm blowing in, forcing them to take cover in the glacier below, across the wooden bridge. Deeper into the ruin are the remains of the archaeological team, with their respective journals besides them. The journals reveal that the team took shelter inside the dig for several weeks, during which time several members of the expedition disappeared. Faced with a critical shortage of food and supplies, the team was forced to venture further in to the cave. Following their path, the Dragonborn finds spatters of blood all over the ice and an axe-wielding Khajiit, J'darr, driven mad by Skooma withdrawal. Nearby is his deceased brother J'zhar. Although J'zhar may have been killed by his brother J'darr over the skooma, it is unclear who or what killed the rest of the team. The fact that the rest of the teams' remains are deeper in the ruins seem to point to Falmer involvement.

Falmer abduction
Further exploration of the ruins reveals that those members not slaughtered by the Khajiit were abducted and imprisoned by Falmer during the night. Two of the team members managed to escape the Falmer: Endrast and the Orsimer laborer foreman Yag. Endrast is found dead from a Falmer arrow wound in a crawlspace behind a Dwemer grate, as he tried to hide in terror from the Dwarven Centurions. Yag, the foreman can be found dead further into the cave, killed by pursuing Falmer after heroically throwing Endrast to safety on a ledge above, according to his journal. Further into the cave, the Dragonborn comes upon Falmer camps and the remains of unlucky humanoids, including the as yet unbutchered body of the Altmer mage Valie.

Alftand Cathedral
Upon entrance into the cathedral, the Dragonborn finds the leader of the expedition, Sulla Trebatius, and a warrior, Umana. Umana argues that they should depart using the lift they are next to, but Sulla wishes to descend into Blackreach. Sulla accuses Umana of attempting to steal his glory and attacks; the two fight to the death. If the two see the Dragonborn, both will attack. The victor, if their fight is uninterrupted, will be hostile to the Dragonborn.

Notable items

 * Targe of the Blooded - Unique shield found on Umana near the end of the dungeon.
 * Lockpicking Skill Book - The Locked Room - Alftand Animonculory - After entering the Animonculory, and traversing a few hallways, eventually you'll come to an astoundingly deep room, with many stone walkways descending. After following a couple of the walkways, you'll come to a large bronze door, Average locked. Inside the door is the treasury, and to the left is another locked gate, the book is behind this gate.
 * On a platform above the moving pistons in Alftand Glacial Ruins, (use the pistons to get up there), is a chest
 * Locked chest behind a locked gate in Alftand Glacial Ruins.
 * Approximately 200 Dwarven Metal Ingots worth of Dwemer Scrap metal. This includes the Dwemer metal available in the Dwemer tower located at the end of the ravine. About 111 ingots worth of metal in the ruins and about 88 ingots worth of metal in the tower.
 * Expedition Manifest - Inside a shack, uphill from the entrance to Alftand Glacial Ruins, on the ground, next to a chest.
 * Research Notes - Once inside Alftand Glacial Ruins, keep heading straight until you reach a horizontally barred gateway. On a stone table in front of said gateway are two broken Dwarven Spiders and the Research Notes. Also there is a chest behind the table.
 * J'zhar's Journal - After entering Alftand Glacial Ruins, and reaching the barred gateway, instead take a left down a snow tunnel. Eventually you'll reach the twins J'zhar (deceased) and J'darr. The journal can be found next to J'zhar's corpse, on the ground, next to J'zhar's pack, which contains a random amount of Empty Skooma Bottles and some random potions.
 * Umana's Journal - Alftand Glacial Ruins - Past J'zhar's corpse, on a table, just after you exit the snow tunnel.
 * Endrast's Journal - Alftand Animonculory - After entering the Animonculory, head down the hall and soon you'll come to a large room with a staircase to your right, and a ledge in front of you. Instead of heading up the stairs, there's an open section of bars under the ledge. Endrast's corpse is here next to the journal. There are also a couple lockpicks on/near the journal.

Alftand Ruined Tower
Upon entering, there will be a shelf holding some Dwarven arrows and metals. Beside the shelf is a spiral staircase leading down, deeper into the tower. At the end of the staircase one Dwarven Spider Worker will spawn out of the wall directly in front of you and another one behind more shelves. There are several iron and silver ore and ingots scattered throughout the room and more dwarven metal. Proceeding further shows two buttons against a wall. Pressing them will activate ceiling spike traps on the other side of the wall for purposes unknown. You will eventually arrive at the spike trap's location but first encounter a Dwarven Sphere. The spike traps can also be activated by pressure plates directly below them. Beyond the traps is a door and a button before it. Pressing the button is the only way to open the door as there is no option to open or unlock it. Doing so will activate a relatively harmless fire trap. Sprinting or rolling can allow you to avoid taking any damage at all. Then, in front of you will be a desk with another button that, if pressed, will close the door and disable the trap. Going further will lead to a small ice cave where two final Dwarven Spider Workers will spawn. At the end of the cave will be a door exiting far under the wooden bridges leading to Alftand.

The Ruined Tower is an ideal source of Dwarven Scrap to smelt into Dwarven Metal Ingots. The following is an approximate amount of the Dwarven Scrap not accounting for the random loot found withing Animunculi: For an approximate total of a possible 88 Dwemer Metal Ingots.
 * 9 Bent Dwemer Scrap Metal
 * 3 Large Dwemer Plate Metal
 * 3 Small Dwemer Plate Metal
 * 6 Solid Dwemer Metal
 * 5 Large Decorative Dwemer Strut
 * 1 Large Dwemer Strut

Amenities

 * Alchemy Lab
 * Anvil
 * Forge
 * Tanning Rack
 * Workbench

Quests

 * Elder Knowledge
 * Discerning the Transmundane
 * Ancient Technology

Trivia

 * Khajiit and Argonians (in this case, J'darr, the murderous skooma-addict brother of J'zhar) refer to the Dragonborn (if the Dragonborn happens to be one of the races of man or mer, or if J'darr in particular see's your man/mer companion before he see's the dragonborn) as "Smooth Skin". Ghouls in Bethesda's Fallout Series also refer to the men as "Smooth Skin".
 * In Swedish and Danish, Alftand means "Elf-tooth".
 * Going through Alftand is not required to obtain the Elder Scroll, you can go through any ruin that leads to Blackreach.
 * It is possible to completely bypass this ruin and still get into Blackreach. By standing against the gate of one of the above-ground lifts and casting Summon Arvak, it is possible to get through the gate by mounting and then unmounting Arvak. You can then use the lever to open the gate and descend into Blackreach. Note: If it worked correctly, Arvak will appear to be halfway through the gate.
 * Another way to completely bypass the ruin is by standing at the gate and holding a plate in front of you and running into it. You must move the plate around to find the correct spots that allow you to move through the gate.

Appearances


Alftand Альфтанд