Folgunthur

Located southeast of Solitude, this ruin contains one of the fragments of the Gaulder amulet. The quest to obtain the fragments can be started here if it wasn't initiated during Under Saarthal. Right near the entrance is a medium-sized camp, indicating someone, who is found to be Daynas Valen, has been in the ruin before. The ruin is also the final resting place of Mikrul Gauldurson.

Forbidden Legend
A fragment of the Gauldur amulet is here.

Walkthrough
The first part of the ruin has already been opened by Valen's expedition. Bodies of unfortunate adventurers and dead draugr litter the entrance. Also in the first room are eight pillars, four of which can be "activated" to change the symbol showing on them - in order to unlock the door, each pillar must be matching symbols with the one opposite it. Once the symbols match, both the main door and a door on the right (which gives access to a chest containing random loot) can be opened with the ivory claw, though on the player's first trip though the room the main door will already be open. The skill book Fire and Darkness is on the ground level of the first main room near a dead adventurer. Daynas Valen is at the top of the bridge, dead, with the ivory claw near or on his body. Place the claw in the socket behind Valen's head to activate the drawbridge. To get past the two iron gates pull the first lever on the left then the furthest lever on the right.

Next is a square room with a rounded grate in the middle covering some spiral stairs with a fire pit in the bottom middle. Be careful when entering this room, there are two draugr sitting propped up in two throne chairs with two levers located directly next to each throne. To the right of the first throne there is an entryway into another room with two restless draugr and the symbols for the room that is adjacent, accessed by pulling either lever by the thrones in the room prior. The far throne has a switch behind it that opens up into an area with a leveled draugr, defeat it and there will be a set of rotating stones which are used in the sequence combination found in the first secret room, (eagle->whale->snake). Each stone must be facing a different wall. The first pillar, (snake), must be facing the wall of the door just entered. The second pillar, (whale), will be facing the wall directly to the left. The final pillar, (eagle), will be facing the wall containing the two upright coffins -- directly across from the entrance. A black soul gem may be on one of the draugr in either of these rooms, depending on the Dragonborn's level.

After leaving the room, enter the previous area and pull the chain that hangs directly across from the thrones. This will open the metal grate allowing access to the stairs. If the chain is pulled without the proper combination in place, a dart trap fires. At the bottom of the stairs there should be a random two-handed weapon to the right, partly hidden in the water. Kill the two frostbite spiders in the corridor and then face three draugr and three restless draugr in the next room. There is leveled armor on the shelves prior to entering the room with the draugr.

The final room combination (from top to bottom: hawk, hawk, dragon), is on the Ivory Claw. There is a leveled sword on the table in the next room. Mikrul Gauldurson, a powerful draugr lord and one of three sons of Gauldur is inside Folgunthur crypt, along with his thralls. When he is killed, his thralls immediately die as well. Once defeated, take his piece of the amulet to continue the Forbidden Legend quest line.

To exit this room, use the ivory claw on the right side door, (a circular pad on a stone to the left of the door contains a spot to use the claw key). In the next room is a word wall with one of the words for Frost Breath. Head for the exit, but don't forget to use the ivory claw to open the previously inaccessible room right by the exit.

Enemies

 * Leveled draugr
 * Leveled frostbite spiders
 * Mikrul Gauldurson

Notable items

 * Dragon Claw: Ivory dragon claw
 * Skill book (One-Handed): Fire and Darkness
 * Unique item: Gauldur amulet fragment
 * Unique weapon: Gauldur Blackblade
 * Quest item: Daynas Valen's Notes
 * Quest item: Daynas Valen's Journal
 * Writ of Sealing
 * Possibly Meridia's Beacon

Alchemy Ingredients

 * Bone Meal

Puzzles

 * Nordic Pillars: Hawk (left), whale (center), snake (right) when standing on the outer arrows.
 * Nordic Puzzle Door (Ivory Claw): Hawk, hawk, dragon.

Trivia

 * If the ivory claw has been sold or lost after the quest, and if the word wall hasn't been activated, the "wooden bowl glitch" may allow access.

Bugs

 * If Folgunthor is cleared before starting Forbidden Legend, (or, at least, before getting the Folgunthor-related objective), the required amulet fragment may not be obtainable, and the objective may remain unfulfilled even when adding the fragment with player.additem.
 * Sometimes the three stones that are copying the other rooms will be immobile. Restarting the console and loading a save from before entering Folgunthur may fix this. Alternatively, saving right there in the room and then reloading that save has successfully overcome the bug.  Also, exiting the dungeon through the main entrance and returning immediately sometimes fixes the glitch.  If the adventurers near the beginning of the dungeon don't have blood around them, the pillars are likely glitched.
 * Sometimes, when entering the room with two thrones, each with a draugr, two doors, and two levers, the right door will not open, nor is there any way to open it.
 * After defeating the draugr lord and now on the way out there is small hallway with a fire trap leading back out to the beginning of the dungeon. It has a gate at both ends. The far one however when closed seems impossible to open. Sometimes, creating a new save near this area, quit/log out, then reload the new save, the glitch will fix itself.
 * A permanent objective marker may be seen on Daynas Valen if Folgunthor has been cleared before starting Forbidden Legend, causing the quest to become impossible to complete,(on the objective-list).
 * When Mikrul Gauldurson is killed, it is possible that his thralls don't die.
 * Sometimes if you look at the Word Wall for a while, you supposedly don't learn it (keeps glowing and chanting) even though you just did.
 * When returning from killing Mikrul Gauldurson, the iron gate leading out of the room containing the fire trap may not open even when the chain is activated. Re-starting the colsole fixes this.

Appearances


Folgunthur Фолгунтур