The Chief of Thirsk Hall

It is one of two side quests that involves the Thirsk Mead Hall, the other being Retaking Thirsk. This quest will be marked as failed if Retaking Thirsk is accepted.

Background
''I found a group of Rieklings who seem to have taken up residence in Thirsk's Mead Hall. Somehow, their chief has learned how to speak intelligently, and has asked me to assist them with a number of small favors.''

Walkthrough
This quest can be started by approaching the entrance to Thirsk Mead Hall. A Riekling will initiate dialogue and ask the Dragonborn to follow him inside. Once inside speak to the Riekling Chief. Incredibly, he has learnt how to speak and explains that he has a few tasks that he needs help with.

"You strong. Help tribe-kin"


 * Where did you live before you were here?: "Tribe-kin live all places. All of world within great water."
 * Why did you take over Thirsk?: "Hot fire. Cold dizzydrink. Happy tribe."


 * Who are you?: "You. You strong. Help tribe-kin."
 * What is going on here?: "We family. We strong, you stronger."
 * How did you learn to talk?: "Chief smart. Most Riekling dumb but chief smart. We family. We strong, you stronger."

Are you saying you want my help?: "Bilgemuck run. Prize beast, run. Fool tribe-kin, chase away. Bilgemuck fear. You bring, he follow you. Yes?"

'''Bilgemuck is an animal of some kind? And you want it back?:' "Bilgemuck prize beast. You find, he folllow. Bilgemuck love meat. Give meat, he follow. You go."''

Fetch Bilgemuck
The first task the chief asks is to find Bilgemuck, a unique Bristleback, and bring him back to Thirsk. Approach the beast and offer it some meat for bait, such as Horker Meat, and it will begin to follow. Lead it to a small pen by the side of the mead hall to complete this errand.

Tip: Head to the nearby Skaal Village and "harvest" the Horker.

Collect 10 Scathecraw
Next he requires ten samples of Scathecraw, which he calls "redgrass". Scathecraw can be found all over the island or sold by alchemists. Raven Rock has a great abundance of them.

Kill the Nords
For the final task he will ask the Dragonborn to help him kill some nearby Nords that have been troubling them. If Bujold's Retreat has been visited before, it is revealed that these Nords are actually the previous inhabitants of Thirsk Mead Hall that were driven off by the chief and his soldiers. Accepting to help the chief will cause him to jump out his throne and run outside, ready to fight. Alternately, the Dragonborn can also voice their reluctance, resulting in the chief waiting inside the hall for the Dragonborn to return later. This gives the Dragonborn the opportunity to talk to Bujold and help her instead. When the Dragonborn agrees to help Bujold, The Chief of Thirsk Hall quest will fail and the Dragonborn can participate in retaking Thirsk Hall instead.

The chief will exit the hall with three of his warriors and give a short pre-battle speech:

"Froo ha cawasy jo la. Karoo taray pelfrik? Felgir paw tuwani barj. Goora! Goora! Goora!"

What this means is unknown, however it bolsters the spirits of the Rieklings and they will charge at Bujold's Retreat. Approaching the camp will turn the Nords hostile and they will immediately fight back.

Usurp the throne
Once all the Nords have been killed, the chief will mention that the Dragonborn is too strong and perhaps wishes to usurp him, much like he did with the previous chief of the tribe:

"You strong! All tribe-kin stronger with you. But... maybe you too strong. Too strong, want to be chief."

Either option prompts the following: "Strong always fight strong. Old chief strong, me stronger. You stronger? Fight me!"
 * Slow down here. I don't want to hurt you.
 * You're right. I want to be the new chief.

Next he will attack. Once he is dead the Rieklings of Thirsk will recognize the Dragonborn as the new chief and the quest is completed.

Reward

 * Any member of the Riekling tribe at Thirsk Mead Hall can be recruited as a follower.
 * While in Solstheim or Skyrim, between one and three Riekling warriors from the tribe may appear to assist when in combat.

Bugs

 * At the third stage of the quest, choosing the "Let's go!" option first may not complete the objective. To avoid this choose "I'm not sure about this." first.
 * In the "The Chief of Thirsk Hall" quest upon returning Bilgemuck to Thirsk Hall, Bilgemuck enters and exits the door to the hall endlessly. Thus preventing you from completing the quest. Wait 24 hours then walk back outside. He should be in the pen on the left side of the building. Go back inside and talk to the chief.
 * The tribe may not become followers after this quest is completed.
 * To overcome this simply tell your follower to leave, then recruit any Riekling from the tribe, then recruit your follower again.
 * After completing the Scatheclaw gathering quest, enter and The chief will keep asking for the Red Grass and ask about Bilgemuck over and over.
 * Sometimes Bilgemuck won't accept the meat, and he will become hostile.
 * Somtimes after killing the Nords, you will not be able to talk to the Chief to complete the quest. It is not known what causes this. Reloading an earlier save fixes the issue.
 * Approaching and opening dialogue with Bilgemuck in the quest "Fetch Bilgemuck" may cause the game to instantly shut down, forcing you to open it again and start from your last save.