Lost Legacy

Background
''I met Tharstan, a historian living in the Skaal village who discovered the recently-unearthed entrance to an old 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 erruptions. 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
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."

Next walk down a short pathway towards 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."

To solve the riddle, drag a corpse of a nearly Draugr onto the trapdoor and pull the handle located under the etched table to provide a sacrifice. This will open two routes off of the platform, marked by torches.

Retrive the first key
First head over the left bridge and through the tunnels deeper into the ruin. Defeat the various Draugr found here and at the end of the tunnel pull the chain to 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 glowings stones are activated, the gate to the next room will open.

Continue through and defeat the various draugr that burst out of coffins. After defeating the Draugr Deathlord, search it for the Amethyst Claw, Left Half. A Word Wall is in the back of the room, providing the first word of the shout Battle Fury. 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."

Take a left through the tunnels and pull the chain on the wall the get back to the central cavern with the fire pit.

Retrive the second key
Next head over to the right hand side bridge and continue across to the far side of the cave, following the path lit with torches. In the next room are 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."

To solve the puzzle, starting at the bottom left and walk in a zig-zag pattern along all the panels ending up on the top right panel. If done correctly, the spears blocking the next room will retract. This room cantains several Drauge and another Draugr Deathlord. After they have been defeated, search the Deathlord's body for the Amethyst Claw, Right Half. The second word for the shout Battle Fury is in that room. 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, head through the shortcut back to the main chamber. Insert the Amethyst claw halfs into the keyholes on the central platform. The gate should open, leading to another inscription and a handle. Thatstan mentions:

"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, travel across quickly, stepping onto the furthest available panel. Once the far side has been reached, a solid path of panels form, leading back to the first platform.

The few three bridge section of the ruin are much the same. Pull the handle and activate 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 crossing all of them, open the iron door to reach 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, which does not appear on the claw. Once the door opens, head up the stairs and into the main burial chamber where Vahlok the Jailer rests. The third word wall for Battle Fury is also found in this chamber, along with a small amount of leveled loot in the boss level chest.

Final battle
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. In addition, around the room are several pressure plates that shoot jets of fire when stood upon.

Once Vahlok is defeated, talk to Tharstan who 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 bargin. I promised payment and here it is."
 * 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."
 * 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. Seperated from their people on the mainland, thet 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."

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

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.
 * May not be able to ativate the three door rings. [this can be fixed by exiting then reentering the tomb]