Skyrim:A New Source of Stalhrim

Quick Walkthrough
# Speak to Deor Woodcutter in Skaal Village.
# Find Baldor Iron-Shaper at the abandoned lodge.
# Retrieve the map from Ancarion at Northshore Landing.
# Return to Baldor in Skaal Village.

Detailed Walkthrough
Finding Baldor
If you return to Skaal Village after the quest The Fate of the Skaal, you will overhear a conversation between Fanari and Deor:

::NOTE: Do not talk to anyone until they finish their conversation&mdash;see bugs. 
thumb|right|''"Something isn't right, Fanari."
Fanari: "Deor, you must be calm. I'm sure there's a good reason Baldor left us." 
Deor: "Something isn't right, Fanari. I feel it in my bones and I smell it in the air. Baldor wouldn't leave without telling someone." 
Fanari: "Don't worry yourself over nothing, Deor. Do you want a head full of gray hairs before you've seen forty winters?" 
Deor: "It makes my heart heavy that you don't believe me, Fanari. Baldor could be in danger, and you will do nothing. If you won't help me, then I'll ask the All-Maker to send someone else who can."''

If you ask Fanari about the missing person, she will just brush it off as another of Deor's crazy ideas, but Deor is quite serious. He will tell you that local blacksmith Baldor Iron-Shaper went missing in the middle of the night. Deor suspects a kidnapping motivated by Baldor's valuable expertise in stalhrim smithing. On the night of his disappearance Deor also saw two elves dragging something away to the "south and west", so start your search in that direction.

Abandoned Lodge
thumb|right|The abducted Skyrim:Baldor Iron-Shaper|blacksmith
While Deor's directions could lead you more-or-less anywhere on Solstheim, your compass objective marker will point you directly to an Abandoned Lodge southwest of the Temple of Miraak. The lodge is normally empty, but once you arrive, you'll be attacked by four hostile members of the Thalmor. Dispose of them and loot their bodies for the key to the lodge. Inside, look around until you are met with the surprising sight of Mikael's book, ''A Gentleman's Guide to Whiterun. Head into the basement where you will find the scared, tied-up smith in a corner, weeping: "Help! Somebody! Please, someone, help me!" and "I have been taken against my will! I am in need of rescue!"'' 

When you talk to Baldor, he will remember you as the hero who rescued the people of Skaal Village. Despite his wounds, he'll claim he's not hurt. When you ask why the Thalmor abducted him, he'll reply: "I do not know this word Thalmor, but if you mean the elves, they were trying to learn the secrets of forging Stalhrim. Their leader, an elf named Ancarion, has a map. He says that it shows the location of a hidden source of Stalhrim." He will then explain what stalhrim is: "Enchanted ice as hard as iron and cold as death. Stalhrim can be forged into deadly weapons, but the art is known only to smiths of the Skaal." He will then point you towards a Thalmor ship at the northwestern coast where Ancarion resides. He asks you to retrieve the map as it belongs to the Skaal people. Leave the wounded smith behind and head towards the northwestern shores of Solstheim.

Ancarion and the Map
thumb|right|The Skyrim:Thalmor|Thalmor ship at Northshore Landing
Northshore Landing is an abandoned dock with a ruined shack located at the northwestern tip of Solstheim. Usually inhabited only by a few mudcrabs, you'll discover that the Thalmor choose it to hide their ship, and from there conduct their furtive search for stalhrim. 

As soon as you near the ship, a Thalmor Guard will approach you and suggest you move along. You can choose to fight the entire crew or you can ask to talk to the leader. The latter will make him point you towards Ancarion, who will be wandering around on-deck. 

Ancarion will be angry from the start but willing to talk. When you mention the stalhrim map, he will admit to torturing Baldor, and then turn his attention to you: "So you know my purpose here, then? I suppose you must have found that dullard of a blacksmith. Unfortunately for you, my mission here is also a secret. To protect it, I have no choice but to silence you. Now, give me one good reason that I should not kill you where you stand." Three options are available. Note that successfully completing the third option and starting the hidden quest requires a Speech skill of at least 75. 


Whatever result you gain from negotiation with Ancarion you will always end up with the Stalhrim Source map in hand. Return to Skaal Village and seek out the blacksmith who will have returned from his captivity by now. When you hand him the map he will provide a very special reward, namely the ability to create stalhrim weapons and armor: "I know you faced great danger to bring this map to me. There are no words to tell how glad my heart is. Thank you, brave one. I name you friend of the Skaal, and I will trust you with the knowledge of forging stalhrim. If you bring stalhrim here to my forge, you can use my tools to make what you will from it." This completes the quest, but will also attract the attention of residing historian Tharstan who will seek you out with a new assignment.

Notes
The stalhrim source that the Thalmor are seeking is in the mountains to the south of Northshore Landing, and will be added to your game map if you read the Stalhrim Source Map. There are another two stalhrim deposits just east of the ship, on a small unmarked island surrounded by horkers.
If you have completed The Gardener of Men, all the villagers including Baldor will be "busy" until you complete At the Summit of Apocrypha. Make sure to talk to Baldor before you talk to Storn if you wish to complete this first.

Bugs
 
 If the quest fails to start, use   to kick it off.
 
This can be fixed by typing   into the console where "xx" is the load order number of the Dragonborn add-on.
 
This can be fixed by waiting 48 hours outside of the abandoned lodge. The compass marker will move to the correct location and Baldor will spawn inside the lodge.
 
You can force the quest to start by using  . 

Quest Stages