Shriekwind Bastion

Shriekwind Bastion
Map
Hold	Falkreath Hold
Location	North-east of Falkreath
Type	Tomb
Sublocations	North Shriekwind Bastion South Shriekwind Bastion
Quests	Ancient Power
Characters	None
Location ID	ShriekwindBastion01

Shriekwind Bastion is an ancient Nordic tomb in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Location

The bastion is located low on a mountain northeast of Falkreath and west of Pinewatch. It holds a Word of Power for the Dragon Shout Elemental Fury.

Etymology

The ruins are typically inhabited by Vampires, and as such its name can be traced back to the tale of Lamae Beolfag, the first Vampire. In the book Opusculus Lamae Bal, her screams became known as the Shrieking Winds, which still haunt certain parts of Skyrim.

Entrances and sublocations

The bastion has three entrances, one at South Shriekwind Bastion, one at North Shriekwind Bastion and the exit leads to Shriekwind Bastion Overlook, an unmarked vista point overlooking Falkreath. The South Shriekwind Bastion entrance north of Falkreath enters the dungeon approximately halfway through by a hidden door.

Alternatively, the mountain can be climbed a short way through Peak's Shade Tower, which allows Shriekwind Bastion's discovery. After it is discovered, it can be fast traveled to.

Walkthrough

The first part goes through multiple hallways containing skeletons and vampires, which later leads to a large open area. Head left and go up the stairs; this leads to a few corridors and rooms containing skeletons. Eventually, one will come to a room with two gates, a large gate to the north and a smaller one to the south.

There is a circular stone with three handles in the center of the room. Two of the handles open secret doors leading to some gear and empty coffins. The third handle opens the small gate. There is a room with a chest and three chains on the wall. Pull the chain on the left to open the large gate.

Continue through the large gate and continue going up. Near the top there is a wide hallway with a pillar that has a handle on it at one end and a gate at the other. Pulling the handle on the pillar will open the gate, but also start the flamethrower trap. Look to the right and find a chain on the inside of the tunnel. This will open the gate without setting off the trap. In the next room is the Master Vampire.

Once he is defeated, head up the stairs to the circular corridor. There is a chest along the outer wall, and on the inner wall is a doorway that leads to stairs that lead to the Word Wall. This word is for Elemental Fury. The coffin before the Wall contains a leveled Draugr in it.

Exit through the door onto Shriekwind Bastion Overlook. It is possible to climb the mountain to this door and skip the dungeon entirely.

Quests

• Possible location for "Totems of Hircine"
• Possible location for "Onmund's Request"
• Cleansing Light^DG
• Culling the Beast^DG
• Possible location for "Trouble in Skyrim"

Notable items

• 2920, Second Seed, v5 (Speech skill book) on a stone pulpit next to a lantern.
• Possible location of Meridia's Beacon
• In a small room there are at least a dozen shoes including the rare fur-lined boots and pleated shoes bunched together. This is one of the very few locations these boots are found.
• Various weapons and other loot.
• Facing the North entrance, to the left there will be a set of stairs attached to the side of the ruins. Take the stairs up, turn right and take the second set of stairs up to the ledge. Turn right and see a large stone bowl. Within will be a honed ancient Nord weapon, a random soul gem and a random healing potion.
• Next to the above stone bowl on the ground will be a pair of uncommon ancient Nord boots. In a nearby cavern (Southfringe Sanctum), some ancient Nord armor can be found.
• Outside the location, on top of the structure, some loot and corundum ore can be found; the ore is on the slope on the right side of the structure. Further up the path, behind the Bastion, a chest is hidden under the last arch.
• Halfway through the dungeon, a single throne can be found in a blood-spattered room. Examine the floor on each side of the throne for one to three rubies and/or a flawless ruby.
• If entering via the South Bastion entrance, when the chain pull that activates the hidden door is pulled, a leveled enchanted greatsword will fall down. If viewed from the opposite side, the greatsword, helmet and boots may appear to be invisible until the chain has been pulled.
• When leaving through the end exit, drop down (use the Become Ethereal shout) onto a small stream. Gold ore can be found near the top of the small waterfall, by the south entrance.

Enemies

• Vampires
• Vampire's Thrall
• Draugr
• Skeletons
• Master Vampire

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Shriekwind Bastion. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following: Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template  360  /  XB1  ,  PS3  /  PS4  ,  PC  /  MAC  ,  NX  /  PS5  ,  XS  , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on. Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

•  PC   360   PS3   The Word Wall may not complete its process. The music may or may not play when standing by the wall, and the word cannot be learned.
•  PS3   If a follower is injured in the first large open area, they may not recover. This causes them to crawl, and be unable to climb steps. Exiting and re-entering the dungeon clears this condition.
•  PC   360   PS3   Followers may not cross the tunnel containing the battering rams, and will instead run back and wait at the nearby gate for the remainder of the dungeon. One can force the follower past this point by using the dragon shout Unrelenting Force or bashing them with a shield.
•  360   Followers can become stuck in various parts of this dungeon. Pushing into them can sometimes get them unstuck. Followers have been known to become stuck in the battering ram tunnel (same as above) and on staircases leading through the tunnels near the walkways.
• Waiting twenty four hours at the entrance may disable the option to wait again, and will instead display the message "You cannot wait while being asked to leave." Exiting and re-entering will fix it.
• During the quest "Totems of Hircine," Aela the Huntress may disappear near the ram traps.
•  360   When entering from North Shriekwind Bastion, there is a bug at the threshold of the first door on the right hand side. Enter the room; there will be some blood splatter and a kettle with some skulls to the left of the doorway. If one performs a Silent Roll several times into where the kettle and doorway meet, the Dragonborn may fall through the map. After a short time, they may appear at the stairway leading to the Word Wall.
•  PC   PS4   When using the handle on the pedestal that activates the flamethrower trap instead of the chain to the right of it, the game may crash. However, simply pulling the chain instead of the handle will not crash the game.

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim