- "Over the last few days we've had some disturbing information come to light regarding the events at Wolfskull Cave and the summoning and binding ritual you interrupted there. Given your involvement with that event I'm asking you to return to Solitude to help us once more."
- ―Falk Firebeard[src]
The Wolf Queen Awakened is a quest available in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in which the Dragonborn must face the unbound Potema Septim gathering power underneath Solitude. It is given to the Dragonborn after they complete the quest "The Man Who Cried Wolf," provided that they have reached level 10.
Background[]
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.
Objectives[]
- Speak to Styrr
- Defeat Potema
- Retrieve Potema's remains
- Give Potema's remains to Styrr
- Return to Falk Firebeard
Walkthrough[]
Once a level is gained after completing "The Man Who Cried Wolf," a courier will approach with a letter from Falk Firebeard, asking the Dragonborn to return to him. Upon reaching Falk, he will inform the Dragonborn that, despite popular belief, Potema Septim (The Wolf Queen) was not destroyed when the ritual was stopped, and remains a significant threat. He says to talk to Styrr, who is in the Hall of the Dead. Styrr will explain that since the Dragonborn stopped the ritual, they have a connection to Potema. The Dragonborn must investigate the catacombs beneath the chapel that lead to her. Styrr requests the remains of Potema so he can bless them. He provides the character with a Turn Undead spell which causes these enemies to flee from the Dragonborn for a brief amount of time.
Styrr in the Hall of the Dead.
Enter the Temple of the Divines. The Temple 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 the Dragonborn to the wall on the right of the entrance. The entrance to the catacombs is in the basement, so one will 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 the Dragonborn can now open the gate. Once through the locked door, a path to the left leads to Potema's Catacombs.
Potema's Catacombs[]
The wolf etching and a blocked entrance.
Head down the first set of stairs. Around the corner there is a statue of a wolf and a blocked door. The doorway has several thick bars blocking it. Potema will speak to the Dragonborn and then open the gate. In the following room there is a draugr. Around the corner to the right the Dragonborn will 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 leads 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.
A Vampire Nightstalker ready to attack.
Passing through the small room leads to a very large room with a staircase leading down to a lower level. The upper balcony has one draugr directly to the right upon entering the room. The lower level will have several enemies, one of which is a Vampire Nightstalker. Beware as if the Dragonborn is not already a vampire or a werewolf, the vampires' Drain Life spell can inflict Sanguinare Vampiris on them. Head down the stairs to the lower level. There is a skill book on the table and a path leading downward. The path leads to another doorway. Upon opening it, one will find themselves in a short hallway leading to a large room with a draugr patrolling it.
A dead draugr in front of a fire trap.
Another draugr is hung upon the wall, but it will remain passive. The area directly in front of it is part of a fire trap. The draugr will have a weapon and a helm that can be taken. Around the corner there is 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 the Dragonborn gets close. Once down the stairs another draugr to the right will eventually rise from his coffin, but can be shot quickly in Sneak mode.
A vampire encountered down the stairs.
Dead draugr in cages near a trapped chest.
This hallway has an upper and lower level. Besides the draugr in his coffin, another patrols the hallway. Once killed, go 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 one will find another split level area, with water in the lower area and two draugr. There is also an urn in the water with a few gold coins in it. The doorway leading out of here is booby-trapped with the typical wall spike trap activated by a foot switch. The next room has more barrels to loot and takes the Dragonborn to a larger open cavern with more water, and two draugr standing against the right wall. There are several hanging cages, one of which has a dead draugr. There is a grindstone and a booby-trapped chest on the left. Standing to either side of the chest when looted will allow one to avoid the poison darts that shoot from the walls. Keep going down the path, and it will lead 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 after a period of time. In any case, the doorway revolves one way or another depending on the direction of the switch. Once through the doorway, one will encounter another room decorated with carvings of Potema and an alchemy table. The doorway leads to Potema's Refuge.
Potema's Refuge[]
Switches to the revolving doors.
A soul gem fire trap.
The vampire holds the key.
Potema's Refuge is a large underground network of caverns like most other draugr dungeons. The path leads down to where the Dragonborn will encounter another leveled draugr. The path to the left is a dead end. Taking the path on the right leads to a room with three switches that open the three revolving doors. Before going through the revolving doors, open the gate on the right. Another blooded vampire resides within. A switch behind the coffin reveals a hidden door. This leads down a passageway to a chest with a window to the next room one will be entering. Head back to the room with the three switches. Activating the first lever in line will stop and start the first revolving door, etc. Stop all three doors when the entrance is open and head through to the next room. The Dragonborn can see the window here with the chest that they just looted. At the end of the hall are two soul gems on pedestals. They are the source of a fire trap, and the Dragonborn will be blasted by intermittent bursts of flame which can be stopped by taking the soul gems off the pedestals. The room to the left is an empty chamber leading to a doorway with a staircase. The staircase leads to a throne room where a Vampire Fledgling is accompanied by a Draugr Deathlord, or something of a lower level if the Dragonborn is not of a sufficient level yet to face that kind of enemy. The vampire should have a key to Potema's Sanctum on his body, but there is also a copy of the key on one of the two thrones. The grate in the center of the room shows the Dragonborn a dead draugr, but there is no way to get to it at the time. Through the double doors with the new key and taking the hallway to another set of doors will lead to Potema's Sanctum.
Potema's Sanctum[]
Upon first entering there is a short hallway leading to a burial chamber. Several burial urns can be found here, along with a dead draugr on an altar. The draugr is not a concern immediately. However, in the next room another Vampire Mistwalker will be found and they may raise the draugr on the altar to life using their Conjuration spells to reanimate dead bodies, which if the spellcaster is slain, the resurrected corpse disintegrates into a pile of ashes. Two more draugr will follow the vampire into the fray. Once these creatures are defeated, a skeleton can be found wandering the next hallway past the two thrones.
Potema raises the dead.
The next room on the left is filled with many dead draugr and vampires. They may have valuable loot on them, such as gold and soul gems. Potema's voice will speak again at this point. She will then proceed to resurrect a number of draugr and the single vampire in the room. Before they are raised (before Potema speaks), one can take the enemies' weapons away from them, making them easy to kill. The higher the Dragonborn's level, the stronger the draugr, and the lone vampire if possible, and the more she resurrects. A cloak spell would be helpful here, as is an immediate fast retreat to the passageway in order for foes to be killed individually or in smaller groups. Otherwise, if one waits, Potema's spell will wear off and the draugr and vampire will keel over dead again, allowing safe passage. There is nothing in the next chamber, except a couple of Resist Shock potions that will come in handy against Potema; however, upon entering the following room, there will be more enemies. It would be recommended to save at this point.
Potema magic in the main burial crypt.
Facing Potema.
Potema congratulates the Dragonborn on doing so well, but then asks if they are capable of making it past her "inner council." The now familiar purple energy whirlwind from the previous quest will also begin to resurrect draugr. This is a difficult stage, as the energy in the room creates difficulty seeing while draugr attack from all over. The purple energy drains significant health and magicka on each hit, so it would be recommended to enter the room to get Potema's attention, then stay in the previous room to avoid the shock elemental Destruction magic Potema discharges around the room. For melee-oriented Dragonborn, they can wait for the draugr to come to them through the door; archers and mages can stand just beyond the door and attack. Since the draugr will have to funnel through the door, this also makes them lined-up targets for Dragon Shouts such as Fire Breath or Unrelenting Force, as well as spells such as Fireball and Chain Lightning. The Flaming Familiar spell will also be useful, as sneaking and continuing to conjure the Familiar in the center of the room (after it explodes) attracts the draugr to it instead of the Dragonborn. One may be able to defeat all of the enemies that Potema summons with this spell alone. After each wave, Potema will resurrect killed draugr to attack the Dragonborn again. Expect to deal with a Draugr Wight or Draugr Scourge in the first wave, and a Draugr Deathlord in the last wave, possibly with an ebony weapon, depending on the Dragonborn's level. Eventually, the last one will be killed for the last time, and the Dragonborn will receive the objective to get Potema's remains. However, the Dragonborn will now have to defeat Potema's ghost, which awaits on the throne in the next room after the whirlwind of energy that is Potema retreats there to await the Dragonborn. She can summon Atronachs, and uses the spell Lightning Bolt and Conjuration to resurrect the lower level draugr to fight for her. She also has the Unrelenting Force Shout and will most likely have a leveled enchanted weapon. Once defeated, the Dragonborn is instructed to seize Potema's skull. There is also a chest near the back door containing loot. Her ghostly remains carry little in terms of loot, unless careful use of the Wabbajack, if obtained beforehand, allows her to be defeated to claim her rare Fine Raiment clothes her ghost was wearing.
There may be another draugr up the stairs depending on the Dragonborn's level beyond this point. One will pass a room with two thrones. Each throne will be occupied, probably by a Draugr Deathlord and another type (which is level-dependent). Once the Dragonborn exits here they will find themselves on a ledge on the side of the mountain north of Solitude. Another chest rests on the ledge, along with one or two potions and a leveled weapon.
Return Potema's remains to Styrr so he can sanctify them and then head to Falk Firebeard in the Blue Palace for the reward. Returning Potema's remains to Styrr counts towards helping the people of Haafingar Hold to become Thane of Haafingar for Elisif.
Journal[]
| The Wolf Queen Awakened – MS06 | |
|---|---|
| ID | Journal Entry |
| 50 | Potema has been summoned from beyond the grave and is gathering power. Falk has sent me to Styrr to get the key to Potema's Catacombs.
|
| 100 | 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.
|
| 125 |
|
| 150 | Potema has been summoned from beyond the grave. I've defeated her in the Catacombs and retrieved her bones. I must return them to Styrr for blessing and tell Falk Potema has been defeated.
|
| 250 | I have defeated Potema and been rewarded by Falk Firebeard.
|
Trivia[]
- Sometimes couriers are unintentionally blocked by certain quests; usually, finishing quests allows them to appear (there may be other solutions to this as well).
- If for some reason the courier never seems to appear even after leveling up, use these steps to trigger to quest:
- Go to the Blue Palace and check Falk's inventory.
- Make sure he has Potema's Catacomb Key in his inventory. Read the letter and talk to him. Reading the letter without the key will not start the quest.
- An option showing "You sent me a message about Wolf Skull Cave?" should appear. Select it to begin the quest.
- This dialogue says "Wolf skull" cave, even though the name is "Wolfskull cave."
- In the final fight with Potema, the easiest way to kill her is to stand back near the entrance while using sneak with Archery/Mage. This quest can prove to be challenging at lower levels. The Slow Time shout can be helpful while using this method.
- This quest may only be activated if the Dragonborn has leveled up after completing "The Man Who Cried Wolf," as the courier will never contact them if they do not. If the Dragonborn is the highest possible level in-game when they completed "The Man who Cried Wolf," then this quest is impossible to start. Patch 1.9 allows making a skill legendary, resetting it to level 15, which effectively removes the overall level cap. Thus, it is possible to start this quest after getting to level 81.
- Attempting to pickpocket Falk Firebeard after "The Man Who Cried Wolf" reveals the letter to the Dragonborn already in his inventory.
- In the final battle, fighting Potema can be avoided by luring the draugr into the hallway before the room and killing them before the Dragonborn enters the room.
- Although Potema speaks quite fluently when in her floating spirit form, she somehow loses this as a ghost, and speaks in normal draugr form.
- Potema's ghost that the Dragonborn fights is essentially a ghostly re-skinned Draugr Scourge, as she has the same walking sound, vocals, spells, and Dragon Shouts as a Scourge, barring that Potema can also summon a Storm Atronach, which Draugr Scourges cannot do. She can also be snuck up on and is susceptible to sneak attack damage.
- Despite being mentioned quite often in The Wolf Queen as Potema's right-hand man, Lord Vhokken does not appear as one of her undead inner council.
Bugs[]
|
This section contains bugs related to The Wolf Queen Awakened. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:
|
| Click to show |
|---|
|