The Wolf Queen Awakened

Opening Journal Entry
''Potema has been summoned from beyond the grave and is gathering power. Styrr has given me the key to Potema's Catacombs. I must enter the catacombs and prevent Potema from fully resurrecting by acquiring her bones.''

Quick Walkthrough

 * 1) After receiving the letter from the courier speak to Falk Firebeard
 * 2) Speak to Styrr
 * 3) Fight through Potema's Catacombs
 * 4) Defeat Potema
 * 5) Retrieve Potemas remains from the throne
 * 6) Give the remains to Styrr
 * 7) Return to Falk

Detailed Walkthrough
Soon after completing The Man Who Cried Wolf (as early as 1 level up), a courier will approach with a letter from Falk Firebeard asking the player to return to him. Upon reaching Falk, he will inform the player that Potema Septim (The Wolf Queen) was "brought back" so to speak; that she did not get destroyed when the ritual was stopped. He tells you to talk to Styrr, who is in the Hall of the Dead. Styrr will explain that since the player stopped the ritual, he/she has a connection to Potema. The player must investigate the catacombs beneath the chapel that should lead to her. Styrr requests the remains of Potema so he can bless them. Enter the The Temple of the Divines. This is located on the upper courtyard of solitude opposite the entrance to Castle Dour's barracks. Once inside the quest marker can be misleading as it sends you to the wall on your right as you enter. The entrance to the catacombs is in the basement, so you need to go forward almost to the shrines and turn left twice. A path will lead down to a locked gate. With the key obtained previously you can now open the gate, but remember until you actually enter the catacombs you are still in the Temple of the Divines and anything here taken will be stolen. Take at your own risk. Once through the locked door, a path to the left leads you to Potema's Catacombs.

Potema's Catacombs
Head down the first set of stairs. Looping back around the corner brings you face to face with a carving of the wolf queen on the wall and a blocked room to your left. The doorway has several thick bars blocking it. Potema will speak to you and then open the gate. In the following room you will find your first Draugr. Around the corner to the right you'll come to a room with a bar and a hallway directly across from it covered in spider webs. Pass through the webs and turn left. Another quick left takes you to a staircase. The upper pathway is blocked with rubble. The lower path leads down to a small room. There will be two chests and several barrels to loot.

Passing through the small room leads you to a very large room with a staircase leading down to a lower level. The upper balcony has one Draugr directly to your right when you enter the room. The lower level will have several enemies, one of which is a leveled vampire. Head down the stairs to the lower level. You will find a skill book on the table anda path leading downward. The path leads to another doorway. Upon opening it you will find yourself in a short hallway leading to a large room with a draugr patrolling it.

Another draugr is hung upon the wall, but it will not attack. The area directly in front of it is part of a fire trap. The draugr will have a weapon that you can take, but you cannot take the ancient helm from its head. Around the corner you'll encounter a switch. The switch opens the gate, leading to a stairway down, but across the way is another dead draugr on the wall. This one will attack when you get close, so put an arrow in it. When you head down the stairs another draugr to the right will eventually rise from his coffin. If you're stealthing you can kill it with an arrow before it locates you.

You will notice that this hallway has an upper and lower level. Besides the draugr in his coffin, another patrols the hallway. Kill it and head up the stairs to the higher level. The doorway leads to an underground cavern with a set of stairs leading down. Down the first hallway is a leveled vampire. Turn left at the end of the hallway and down the corridor you will find another split level area, with water in the lower area and two draugrs. There's also an urn in the water if you wish to pick up a few gold coins. The doorway leading out of here is boobytrapped with the typical wall spike trap activated by a foot switch. The next room has more barrels to loot and takes you to a larger open cavern with more water, and two draugrs standing against the right wall. There are several cages, one of which has a dead draugr, a grindstone and a boobytrapped chest. Standing to either side of the chest when you loot it will allow you to avoid the poison darts that shoot from the walls. Down the path some more leads to a switch. This is a preview of some later doorway puzzles. It should be noted that whether it was intentional or not, these revolving type doors generally shut behind you after a period of time. So a smart player will save at this point and not proceed unless they're ready. In any case, the doorway revolves one way or another depending on the direction of the switch. Go through the doorway and you will encounter another room full of Potema carvings and an alchemy table. The doorway leads to Potema's Refuge.

Potema's RefugePotema skull.jpg
Potema's Refuge is a large underground network of caverns like any draugr dungeon. The path leads down where you will encounter another leveled draugr. The path to the left is a deadend. Taking the path on your right leads you to a room with three switches, this time with three revolving doors. Forget those for a minute and open the gate on your right. Another blooded vampire resides inside and a switch behind the coffin revealing a hidden door. This leads you down a passageway to a chest with a window to the next room you will be entering. Backtrack to the room with the three switches and head through to the next room. You can see the window here with the chest you just looted. At the end of the hall are two soul gems on pedestals. This is the source of a fire trap and you will be blasted by intermitent bursts of flame. The key is to run to the pedestals and take the soul gems while they're not firing, or you can try using a ward spell. The room to the left is an empty chamber leading to a doorway with a staircase. The staircase leads to a throne room where you will encounter a vampire fledgling and a draugr deathlord. The vampire should have a key to Potemas Sanctum when you loot him, but you will also find one sitting on one of the thrones. The grate in the center of the room shows you a dead draugr, but there's nothing to be done about it now. Head through the double doors with your new key and take the hallway to another set of doors leading to Potema's Sanctum.

Potema's Sanctum
Upon first entering you have a short hallway leading you to a burial chamber. Several burial urns can be found here along with a dead draugr on an altar. The draugr isn't a concern immediately however in the next room another mistwalker type will be found and he/she may raise the draugr on the altar to life. Two more draugrs will follow the vampire into the fray. Once these guys are defeated, a skeleton can be found wandering the next hallway passed the two thrones.

The next room on your left should make you very nervous at this point because its filled with dead draugr bodies. These are worth looting when you get the chance as depending on your level they may be acquiring soul gems, ebony weapons, or other valuable loot. Unfortunately nothing's ever easy, and you will again hear potema's voice shortly after you enter. She will then proceed to resurrect a number of draugrs and the single vampire in the room. The higher your level the tougher the draugrs and the more she resurrects. If you're not using a follower, a cloak spell would help immensely here. The next chamber gives you a small breather as there's nothing harmful there, but when you enter the following room things get tough again. Smart players will save at this point before opening the doors.

Potema congratulates you on doing so well, but asks if you are capable of making it past her "inner council". The now familiar purple energy whirlwind from the previous "Wolf Queen" quest is back and it's resurrecting draugrs left and right. This is a difficult stage because the energy in the room creates difficulty seeing while draugrs attack from all over. Some can be magic users and summon atronachs (as if you didn't have enough trouble) and you will encounter deathlords, scourges, and wights, depending on your level. Again, if you have a follower, watch where you swing and attack. It's very likely given the intensity of this battle your follower will be wounded early and a stray swing from you could end up killing him or her. Now, as if fighting all these draugrs isn't enough, Potema will helpfully resurrect them so they can have another shot at you. Eventually you will kill the last one for the last time and the game will tell you you cleared the sanctum and you must get Potema's remains. But she's not going down without one more fight. You now face Potema's Ghostly Remains. She can summon Atronachs and will most likely have an enchanted weapon, but all in all she isn't too difficult. Once defeated, grab Potema's skull, loot the chest and leave through the back door.

Like with most dungeons your job isn't done just because you defeated the boss. There may be another draugr up the stairs depending on your level and beyond this point you will pass a room with two thrones. Each throne will be occupied, probably by a Draugr Deathlord and another type. Once you exit here you find yourself on a ledge on the side of the mountain north of Solitude. Another chest rests on the ledge. If you're not overencumbered at this point you can fast travel back to Solitude. If you are, then you're going to have to make your way slowly down the mountain and enter Solitude from the shoreway.

Return Potema's Remains to Styrr then head to Falk Firebeard for a reward.

Known Bugs

 * All consoles: Sometimes the revolving doors will reactivate after the encounter with Potema. The three-door set is easy to overcome, but the one door is impossible to pass. No known fix.
 * After your encounter with Potema the Quest marker will lead you out where you came don't follow it. If you do so you may encounter the reset spinning door bug (mentioned above). Instead there is a door behind Potema's throne (where you picked up her skull) the door will lead you to a hallway with a pedistal & a sacred helmet guarded by some undead (easy encounter) follow the hallway to a door which leads you out to Skyrim.
 * If you are at the maximum level of 81 you will not be able to receive the quest from a courier.
 * After winning the boss battle and receiving notification you cleared the sanctum and you must get Potema's remains of the Wolf Queen. Then - Crash to desktop. THE FIX = Fixed: Queen uses Yarl03 clothing, any mods that alter the mesh of this clothing will crash the game when she tries to spawn.