Online:The Fangs of Sithis

Quick Walkthrough
# Talk to Looks-Under-Rocks and Barvyn.
# Reach the Fangs of Sithis before Barvyn.
# Talk to Looks-Under-Rocks outside the ruins.

Detailed Walkthrough
To begin the quest, speak to Looks-Under-Rocks:

:"The Hist key should allow us inside the xanmeer, but we must proceed cautiously. I need to review my notes. Barvyn is at what I think is the entrance to the underground ruins."
:What should I do?
:''"Take the Hist key to Barvyn at the entrance to the ruins. He's there now, trying to open the door, but he can't do it without the Hist key.
:''But that's probably a good thing."
:Why is that a good thing?
:"The artifacts below are dangerous. I need to review my notes and see if I can figure out what we're dealing with. Tell Barvyn to wait, or we may walk into some serious trouble."
:I'll take the key to Barvyn and pass along your warning.

The stone stairs to the west led to another tower on the xanmeer, and to Barvyn. Speak to him:

:"Curse it, why can't I pry this open?"
:Is this the way in?
:"I think so, but it's magically sealed. My tools are useless.
:''Whatever's in there must be really valuable. It must be significant."
:Looks-Under-Rocks gave me this.
:"This looks familiar. Looks drew something in one of his journals like this.
:What is it?"
:A Hist key. He made it by fitting the three puzzle stones together.
:"Of course! I remember some of that old lizard's notes. This key won't just let us inside the xanmeer, once we're inside, it'll protect us from the traps and the xanmeer's guardians.
:''We can't wait any longer!"
:We need to wait for Looks-Under-Rocks. He'll be with us shortly.
:"I'll wait inside! I won't stick around to be captured by the Renrijra.
:''If you're smart, you'll follow me. Looks can catch up to us."

When the conversation ends, Barvyn will speak before entering the ruins:

:Barvyn: "Can't wait any longer! I'm going in!"

Looks will run in from the east, calling out:

:Looks-Under-Rocks: "Wait! Don't go in! Stop!"

Speak to Looks:

:"Wait, stop! There's great danger!"
:What's wrong?
:"My notes ... that key. I figured out what's buried under the xanmeer, and it must stay buried.
:Barvyn went in? We must warn him."
:You don't want the relics?
:"Oh, no. We need to leave them sealed in the xanmeer, for all our sakes.
:We have to stop Barvyn before he gets to the Fangs of Sithis."
:What are the Fangs of Sithis?
:"A blight upon the land. In the hands of my ancestors, the Fangs could be used to destroy whole villages. They turned crops to ash and created undead horrors out of my peoples' enemies.
:But that's not the worst of it."
:What's worse than that?
:"It is said that wielding the Fangs gives you to Sithis, which casts all you are, and all you could be, into a great void.
:You see, the Fangs consume the bearer's soul. The bestow you great power, but strip away all that makes you a person."
:How can we stop Barvyn?
:"Beat him to the Fangs! But it won't be easy. The ruins are full of traps and guardians, and Barvyn has a tremendous advantage. The Hist key will let him bypass most of these dangers.
:I'm afraid I can't go with you. I'm not strong enough."
:Is there any way you can help?
:"Perhaps. My ancestors created the traps so that their descendants could bypass them. If you encounter a trap, the solution should be somewhere nearby.
:There's no protection from the guardians beyond the Hist key, unfortunately."''

Enter Sunscale Ruins. When you do, you'll see Barvyn. He'll speak to you briefly before running out of the room, to the south:

:Barvyn: "I hear the Fang. It calls to me."

In the first room you will find a pedestal with three vials, along with a corridor leading to the south. This corridor is your destination, but it's blocked by a poisonous haze that does constant damage, and by a Corrupt Sentinel. You'll need to take the "Nature's Balm" vial to withstand the poison, and you'll likely have to kill the Corrupt Sentinel to make it through.

In the next corridor, you'll find two vials, and a path covered in ice, which does constant freeze damage to you if entered. Select the Fireheart Salve and proceed. Watch out for the Frost Atronach in the corridor.

Finally, you'll need the Coolmist Salve to make it through a burning hot corridor guarded by multiple Fire Atronachs. Get through that corridor and you'll find Barvyn, who'll speak before turning hostile:

:Barvyn: ''"No ... please ... I don't want to!
:He lied! You want the Fang!"

Fight him. Lower him to about a quarter of his health to subdue him, and then speak to him:

:"The Fang crawled into my mind! What have I done? I can't stop it from gnawing my thoughts.
:Help me!"
:Give me the Fangs of Sithis!
:"What are you going to do?
:It's gnawing at my mind. If I give it to you, I'll go mad. I'll die!"
:[Intimidate] Give me the Fangs, and I'll let you live.  
::"Here, take it! There's only one, I swear. I don't know where the other Fang is.
::That thing burrowed into my mind. I never want to see it again. Never."
::I'll take this to Looks-Under-Rocks.
:You must give it to me, Barvyn, no matter the cost.  
::''"It will burrow into your mind, the way it did mine, I only have one Fang, and look what it's done to me. Look what it's done! I cant live this way. Kill me. I beg you! Kill me now!"
::[Intimidate] Give me the Fang and save yourself.  
:::[same as above]
::What? Give me the Fang, and you can go.
:::"You don't get it. If you take the Fang, I'll still be its thrall. It's stronger than me. It will make me do things&mdash;awful things!
:::Please, have mercy. Take the Fang, but kill me, quickly!"
:::All right. I'll kill you, if it's the only way to save you.'''  

If you intimidate Barvyn, then he'll give you the Fang of Sithis and survive. If you do not intimidate Barvyn, then he'll drop dead without any apparent action on your part, his last words being: ''"It's gone. I'm free."

Once you have the Fang, exit Sunscale Ruins through the door to the west. Once outside, speak to Looks-Under-Rocks to complete the quest. If Barvyn survived, then the conversation proceeds as follows:

:"You're back! Did you stop Barvyn?
:And the Fangs ... did you get the Fangs of Sithis?"
:The Fang Barvyn took strongly affected him. He survived ... but barely.
:"Give me the Fang. I've got a special coffer to shield me from its magic. What happened to Barvyn need not happen to anyone else.
:Poor bastard. I'm glad he survived. But he only had one Fang of Sithis? There should be two. Hmm."

Otherwise:

:"Did you find Barvyn?
:And the Fangs ... did you get the Fangs of Sithis?"
:The Fang Barvyn found drove him to choose death over losing it.
:"Give me the Fang. I've got a special coffer that will deaden its spell. What happened to Barvyn need not happen to anyone else.
:Poor bastard. I'll miss him. And he only had one Fang of Sithis? There should have been two. Hmm."''

Notes
It is possible, though difficult, to tank the damaging corridors if you quickly sprint through them.
Once you make it through a temple corridor, you lose your immunity to its environmental hazard.
If you are killed by a monster while dealing with the environmental hazards in the Sunscale Ruins, you will lose any immunity conferred by Nature's Balm, Fireheart Salve, and Coolmist Salve. Resurrecting in the hallways will cause you to take constant damage.
If Barvyn dies, you cannot bring him back by abandoning the quest &mdash; at least, not after speaking to Looks-Under-Rocks. If you abandon and restart the quest, he will disappear after entering the ruins and will be considered dead at that point.

 

Quest Stages