Skyrim:Temple of Miraak

Related Quests


Walkthrough
Exterior
thumb|left|Temple of MiraakThe main approach to the temple is from the west. Climbing up the wide stairway, you will pass construction scaffolding; signs of the structural work occurring around the temple. Curiously, the workers take no notice of you as you pass.  Indeed, all are enthralled by Miraak through his control over the Tree Stone in the center of the compound. You will find Herkja and Sirkjorg  along with a reaver on the stairs. 
At the top of the stairs are two look out points, one facing the southeast and the other facing the southwest. Wooden scaffolding surrounds the whole area allowing access to the stonework for the workers. Follow the wooden ramps up to find yourself looking down into a sort of amphitheater with the Tree Stone in the center. Approaching the Tree Stone will complete the Dragonborn quest and start The Temple of Miraak quest. However, activating the Stone will cause you to become enthralled as well; break free by moving away from the area.

thumb|right|Frea pleading
Once you reach the scaffolding you will hear Frea pleading with the enthralled people to leave this place. Upon starting a conversation with her, she will tell you that she is here to save or avenge her people; when you tell her that Miraak tried to have you killed, she will say that you both must find a way inside. At this point part of the circular stone floor around the tree will drop, revealing a ramp. Two cultists will exit through a door at the bottom and attack. Once they have been dealt with, enter the temple.
 

Temple of Miraak
thumb|left|The circular table 
The first room on the left as you travel along the corridor contains a large circular table with five stone thrones and two seated skeletons with a third on the floor. On the table is a leveled potion of stamina. There are alcoves in the wall all around this room; moving to the left around the room is a bowl containing an emerald, garnet and flawless amethyst, a random resist magic potion, and two random potions of healing. 
 
Through the first doorway on the right is a lit brazier and two rooms; one to the left and the other to the right. The one on the right has a stone table with a skeleton that has been crushed by fallen masonry. Next to it is a medium coin purse. The room on the left has four cages suspended over a fire, three of these have burnt corpses inside, that can be looted for a small amount of gold. The next doorway on the left has a broken stone table with a wooden wall partitioning the room. Behind the wall is an unlocked chest. The backside of the wooden wall contains a set of shelves containing three poisons.

thumb|right|Enemies
Back in the main corridor, descend a short flight of stairs into a corridor that has been damaged by a partial cave-in. As the corridor turns to the west, you will see two cultists coming into the room in front of you. They are obviously looking for you as one of them says, "They must be around here somewhere".  Just inside the doorway to this room is a pressure plate that triggers a poison dart trap. There are two ominous looking sarcophagi; one in each corner of the room. Not surprisingly, the sarcophagus on the left opens and a leveled draugr will emerge. 
Next, take the stairs down into a semicircular room, like those found in most barrows across Skyrim. A set of shelves is against the east wall with an empty common soul gem. On the dais in the center of the room are two soul gem stands, one of which has an empty common soul gem, the other has fallen over at some point. 
The next room widens out to the left. However, a pressure plate that activates a battering ram is to the left and another, also activating the ram, is straight ahead. Both plates are easily avoided. The exit is in the northwest corner.  The tunnel descends a flight of stairs and is blocked by a portcullis. Activate the pull chain to the right to raise it. Beyond you can see a huge chamber lit by four large braziers hanging from the ceiling illuminating a large sunken area in the center. Several cages are hanging from the ceiling as well. 
thumb|left|There may be trouble ahead...
 
To your right you will see a flight of stairs leading up to a balcony. Upon close inspection you will find that the stairs to the top have been destroyed. As you are not able to climb the rubble up to the balcony, climb the stairs to the first landing. Then, look to your right to find a skeleton lying at the foot of the stone buttress. Pick up the potion of healing by the skeleton and then climb up the buttress. Once you have climbed high enough, jump onto the balcony. There is an unlocked chest and a throne for Miraak to oversee the action below him. Climb down the ruined stairs to explore the rest of the room. 

thumb|right|From the balcony
Two bookcases are on the east wall. The first bookcase contains three random magicka potions. Work your way around the room to the west side where there are three upright sarcophagi near the wall; one is already open with the draugr laying dead on the ground. The other two will burst open when you approach and the two draugr will attack. This will alert the three cultists at the bottom of the stairwell to your presence and they will join the fight. 
 
After the fight, descend the stairs to the bottom where there are five dead draugr, one of which is in a wooden cart. Opposite these is a stone table with three bowls of bone meal and a bowl containing a garlic bulb and two grass pods on top.  The path continues to the north before descending into the catacombs. Travel through to the portcullis. Activate the handle on the plinth to continue. A slumbering draugr is awaiting; a good candidate for a sneak attack. Follow the illuminated path in a northeasterly direction passing several more dead draugr that can be looted. 
Another slumbering leveled draugr is ahead and will alert two more during any fighting. The path is blocked by some fallen masonry, so detour to the right to find some urns to loot as well as some shelves. On the shelves are two salt piles, a bowl of fire salts, three potions of healing, a leveled potion of strength and a leveled  enchanter's potion.
 
Back on the main path, a sitting draugr will awaken as you approach. After dealing with the draugr look to your left for two dead draugr on a stone tables, one of which is partially buried under rubble. An unlocked chest is tucked away beside the table. After looting the chest, back on the main path watch for a pressure plate that activates a spike wall, and a second pressure plate that activates two battering rams, one you can see straight ahead, and the other off to the left. 

right|thumb|Five draugr attacking
Ahead is an intersection splitting the path to the north and to the northwest. Stacks of dead draugr are against the walls. As you approach the intersection, up to five leveled draugr will converge on the junction and attack you in numbers, so this can be quite a tough battle.
Both paths merge again up ahead, so take the path to the right, heading north, to an unlocked chest. The path then turns west to meet up with the second path. A draugr is standing down that pathway. Ahead you will see some iron doors with a pressure plate at the threshold that causes the doors to close flamethrowers to fire from the walls. There is just enough room between the pressure plate and flames to stand out of the way to avoid damage. 
Once the flames have stopped you can proceed into the next corridor, which starts a series of swinging blades in front of you. There are ten swinging blades, but with careful timing and precise movements, damage can be avoided. The lever at the end of the corridor will stop the swinging blades and lower the spears for you to proceed.  

On the ground you can see what was obviously a puzzle door that has been broken open. Proceed over the rubble and down a corridor to a pair of large double iron doors. Through the doors is another damaged but well-lit room with rubble to your left, a barred window in front of you and a portcullis on your right. Follow the rubble on the left around to find a hidden door with a pull chain to the right. It opens up a tunnel that leads to another well-lit small room with an unlocked chest and a stone table. On the table are two black soul gems, one empty, one filled, and a bowl that contains three empty soul gems: petty, lesser and common. Back in the previous room, go through the doorway to the south where a sarcophagus on the right will burst open and a leveled draugr will emerge. Follow the corridor to the east and around to the two barred windows. There is a plinth with a handle by the second window that will open the portcullis.

Pass through the bone chimes down a wooden ramp as three more wooden ramps across the room drop down to reveal two high level draugr and a high level cultist. A pressure plate that activates a poison dart trap is at the bottom of the ramp you are on. Three more pressure plates, all activating poison darts, are at the base of each of the three ramps. All three ramps lead to the same foyer where double iron doors lead to the Temple of Miraak Sanctum.
 

Temple of Miraak Sanctum
thumb|left|Ambush!
Ahead is a bone-strewn catwalk spanning a large room below. Six animated skeletons will arrive as you cross the walkway and start looking for you. At the end of the walkway the tunnel continues to rise to the west until you reach a lit brazier. It then descends a short flight of stairs to the south. As soon as you start to descend, battering rams will swing across the tunnel and two draugr will emerge on either side of the tunnel. There is also a pressure plate that activates the rams in the middle of the passage. Pass through a round caged walkway, and when you emerge, look to your right for a partially buried section of cage that reveals a hole big enough to enter.

thumb|right|Down below
At the bottom of the hole, follow along to an open doorway on your left. The room contains a row of sideboards containing a leveled paralysis poison, a leveled potion of invisibility, two empty petty soul gems, a Conjuration spell tome, eight loose coins, one small and two medium coin purses, a random healing potion, an empty greater soul gem, and an Alteration spell tome.
The corridor turns to the north, at an overturned brazier, and reenters the previous tunnel. Ahead is the room you crossed on the catwalk. Two cultists will be approaching ahead. On your right are stairs leading up to a balcony where a draugr will burst from an upright sarcophagus. There are stairs leading down to the lowest level, however, the only thing down at the bottom is another draugr along with a dead draugr and three burial urns that can be looted. Rather, find the stairs heading down from the overlook, against the eastern wall. A pressure plate that activates a battering ram ahead of you is at the top of the stairs.

thumb|right|The word wall 
Head down the stairs to a brazier with stairs leading down on either side. Descending the stairs you will hear the sounds of a word wall with a part of the Dragon Aspect dragon shout. Enter a brightly lit room with the skeleton of a dragon keeping vigil overhead. The word wall is to the left and an unlocked chest is just ahead.  To the right are five upright sarcophagi with a sixth next to the chest. Learning the dragon shout word causes all the sarcophagi to burst open revealing three leveled live draugr and two dead draugr, while the Gatekeeper, a named draugr, bursts from the sarcophagus by the chest. It carries the Temple of Miraak key. The sarcophagi that contained the gatekeeper reveals a locked iron door that requires the key taken from the gatekeeper. It is possible to avoid a really tough fight by using rune magic to cause each of the sarcophagi to open individually before absorbing the dragon shout word.
 
Through the door behind the sarcophagus is a long stone table with two thrones, both occupied by dead draugr. There is an ancient Nord helmet on the table in front of the left-hand draugr. Behind the thrones is a second locked door, requiring the same key as before. This opens into a narrow room with a window into the next room in front of you. Follow the room to the left to enter what appears to be a large dining hall with shelves and four large stone tables. There is nothing of interest in this room, so exit in the northwest corner. 
 
thumb|left|The kitchen
Follow this corridor as it leads to the north. You will pass another narrow corridor on your right, but first, go the room at the end to find a kitchen area. On shelves are various alchemical ingredients, including two deathbell flower, four salt piles, a bowl of void salts, a sample of bear claws, a bowl containing a chicken's egg, a rock warbler egg and a pine thrush egg, a bowl of frost salts, two dragon's tongue flowers, and three bowls of bone meal. On a work table is a random healing potion, two bowls of spriggan sap, a salt pile and a sprig of elves ear. Hanging from the ceiling are four bunches of dried elves ear, three garlic braids, and three bunches of frost mirriam. In the eastern corner of the kitchen are more shelves containing a random potion, a random fortify combat potion, an empty black soul gem, a bowl containing two filled soul gems, one lesser and the other greater. Against the rear wall is an alchemy lab.

After you have gathered what you will, head back out to the other corridor, either through the door you entered, or through the second doorway in the southeastern corner. In one of the alcoves, look for a handle that opens a secret door in the dining room. Follow the tunnel as it twists and turns until you come to a room with a circular grate in the floor covering a stairwell. Shelves in this room hold three random magicka potions, a bunch of elves ear, two bunches of frost mirriam and six iron ingots. There is a doorway in the southwestern corner that leads to another room with a trap door in the center. Across the room, beneath a bizarre three-headed relief, is a plinth with a handle. 

thumb|right|Trap door handle
Pulling the handle opens the trap door, so descend the wooden spiral staircase. At the bottom there is a path that leads to the first stairwell from the previous room. Between the two stairwells is a sideboard with two filled random soul gems on top. Continue down the second staircase. At the bottom of the second staircase, past the two lit braziers, the path turns to the left, heading south. Look for another plinth with a handle on to the left and a stone slab in front. Pulling the handle will lower the entire structure to reveal stone steps heading down. After several laps around the spiral stairs there is an unlocked wooden door.  
 
thumb|left
The doors open to a dragon head statue. Walk around the statue to a large room where a wide staircase with statues on either side rises up in front of you. Several draugr are patrolling around. A dragon skeleton is splayed out in a macabre display in the center of the staircase, with another hanging above. There are two tripwires on the right-hand side of the stairway that activate two sets of falling boulders and one on the left side that activates a third mass of boulders. There are four draugr and four skeletons towards the back of the room. Sniping them from the bottom will draw them all towards you, possibly setting off the falling boulders making the fight much easier. It is also possible to sneak up the sides of the room, against either wall. At the top of the stairs, at the base of a large statue, is the unlocked boss chest. Behind the statue is a pull chain that opens a rotating door.

thumb|right
Through the doorway is a narrow passage that twists and turns and is lit by widely spaced torches. At the other end you enter a strange circular room with a pedestal in the center with the Black Book, Waking Dreams. There is a second exit from the room to the east that enters another twisting tunnel leading to the outside.
 

Notes
The Tree Stone previously appeared in Bloodmoon.

Bugs
 

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