Skyrim:Missing In Action

Quick Walkthrough
# Learn of the ongoing feud in Whiterun. 
# Talk to Avulstein Gray-Mane.
# Find a revealing missive in the Battle-Born house.
# Optional: Recruit Avulstein Gray-Mane as a follower.
# Journey to Northwatch Keep and rescue Thorald from his abductors.
# Return to Fralia Gray-Mane for your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough
An Ongoing Feud
thumb|right|A confrontation in the streetsWhile in Whiterun, you will likely overhear an argument between Fralia Gray-Mane and two Battle-Borns, Idolaf and Olfrid, by her stall in the market. 
:Olfrid: "Foolish old woman! You know nothing! Nothing of our struggles, our suffering!"
:Fralia: ''"Nothing? And what of my son? Hmm? What of Thorald? Is he nothing? So don't talk to me about suffering!"
:Idolaf: "Your son chose his side, and he chose poorly. And now he's gone. Such is the way of war. The sooner you accept his loss, the better."
:Fralia: "I will never accept his death! My son still lives. I feel it in my heart. So tell me, Battle-Borns, where is he? Where are you holding my Thorald?"
:Olfrid: "Do you believe this old hag? "Holding him"? Why I've got him in my cellar. He's my prisoner. Face it, cow! Your stupid son is dead! He died a Stormcloak traitor. And you... you best keep your mouth shut before you suffer the same."
:Idolaf: "Come on, father. There's nothing more to be said here."''

If you talk to Idolaf or Olfrid about the argument they will explain about how the Battle-Borns and Gray-Manes had been friends once, but because of the ongoing civil war the families have had a falling out due to them taking opposing sides. After the argument is over proceed to talk to Fralia; she will say that Thorald isn't dead and when asked how she can be so sure of that fact will comment that it isn't safe to talk there and will ask you to meet her in her house later if you want to help. 

House Gray-Mane 
thumb|right|Avulstein Gray-Mane
Head up the hill and enter House Gray-Mane where an armed man will rush at you, but Fralia calls out for him to stop; he is her son, Avulstein Gray-Mane, who has been hiding in the house for fear of being arrested by the Imperials if discovered. He tells you more of the story and what he wants done: ''"I know that Thorald's not dead. I just know it. The Imperials have him, and are keeping him somewhere. But I don't know where. Those damned Battle-Borns... they know something. They're hiding it. They practically taunt us with it. They must have some sort of proof! There's got to be something in that house of theirs. I just know it. I don't dare leave the house myself. So I need your help."''

Missing In Action...
thumb|right|The Battle-Borns' secret
To find out what really happened to Thorald, you'll need to get your hands on an Imperial missive in the possession of the Battle-Borns. There are basically three ways to do this, each of which leverages a stealth skill: Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, or Speech.

Lockpicking method: The missive is in the Battle-Borns' house on the first floor in a small office adjoining a bedroom; it's to your left if you enter the house through the front door. The office door is locked and there is no key for it; the keys that can be taken from Battle-Born family members only open the exterior doors. You can gain free access to the house by helping Lars Battle-Born with his bullying problem or answering "Battle-Born" to Idolaf's initial greeting, but the lock to the office door must still be picked although sometimes a Battle-Born will have been in that room and left the office wide open.
Pickpocket method: Jon Battle-Born is carrying a love letter from Olfina Gray-Mane. Steal it from him, then talk to him about Thorald. He'll initially refuse to say much, but with the letter you can blackmail him into retrieving the missive and meeting you at the Talos statue to hand it over.
Speech method: The quickest way is to pass a high level (75) persuasion check in dialogue with Idolaf Battle-Born. He'll tell you that the Gray-Manes are better off believing Thorald to be dead than knowing the truth. He looked into the situation as Thorald was once his friend, and found out that the Thalmor have him at Northwatch Keep... a place people don't ever come back from. The Legion told him to mind his own business after that, and he'll give you a copy of the missive as proof of his story.

Alternatively, the player can also become a friend to the Battle-Borns through one of these methods.

Speak with the child Lars Battle-Born. With a little coaxing, he eventually divulges that Braith is bullying him, and he asks for help with the situation. You can speak with Braith and convince her to stop, making you a friend to Clan Battle-Born.

When first greeting Idolaf, he asks "Gray Mane or Battle-Born?" A Battle-Born response gains the Clan's friendship.

Selling any crops to Alfhild Battle-Born gains the clan's friendship.

In any case, return to the Gray-Manes' home with the missive. If the door is locked, wait until Eorlund returns home at 9pm. Once you're inside, speak with Avulstein, who will want to round up some men (Geirlund and Vidrald) to go rescue his brother; you can agree to meet him there or tell him to stay put and let you handle it yourself. After making your decision, it's on to Northwatch Keep.

Prisoner of War
Northwatch Keep is occupied by Thalmor Guards, who will all turn hostile if you ignore the warnings to stay away. If you talk to the guard at the front entrance, you will have an option to ask for the release of Thorald. The guard will respond with, ''"Are you joking? Even if we had a prisoner by that name, the only way he'd be released is by order of the Imperial Legion." You can travel to Castle Dour in Solitude and talk to General Tullius, who will deny the request: "The Thalmor? Do you have any idea what you're asking? I'm sorry, that's just not possible. It would cause far too many problems."'' The peaceful method of solving the quest is incomplete, however, and cannot be pursued further. Once the diplomatic approach fails, return to Northwatch Keep and consider your remaining options. 

 

The Interrogator
thumb|right|The Northwatch Interrogator
Near the end of the dungeon you'll reach a T-shaped intersection; to the left is the interrogation chamber where Thorald is being held, to the right is a cell block beyond which is the exit door. There are also racks of weapons in this area. Head left and kill the interrogator if you haven't done so already to get the Northwatch Keep key, then loot the big treasure chest and free Thorald. Lead him up through the cell blocks to the exit (you can release the prisoners here but they won't actually leave, though they will fight the Thalmor next door causing a distraction) and use the interrogator's key to unlock the door.

Freedom!
thumb|left|Gray-Manes Reunited
Once outside in a safe location, Thorald will thank you for releasing him, saying ''"I cannot thank you enough for rescuing me from this place. I suspect I'd never again see the light of day otherwise. But why would you risk your life for me, a stranger?"'' Once the details are explained he will ask you to get word to his mother and will give you a message that she should recognize. He'll then leave to join the Stormcloaks, as he doesn't feel safe in Whiterun anymore. If Avulstein is with you, they'll exchange a few words and he'll agree to follow Thorald; if not then Thorald will tell you that Avulstein should leave Whiterun too as the Thalmor will surely come looking for him (in which case Avulstein will already be gone by the time you get back to Whiterun).

Return to Fralia and she'll ask you where Thorald is. After you tell her that he's not coming, she'll say ''"What? After all this, I can't even see him? How... How do I know you're telling me the truth, and not just what I want to hear?", giving you a chance to use the secret message "suffer the winter's cold wind...", which she completes: "...for it bears aloft next summer's seeds." That's my boy. So it's true, then. For now, it's enough to know that he's alive. I can find peace in that. Thank you, dear friend. You've given me back my son."'' She'll then reward you with an enchanted weapon that Eorlund had made for Thorald. In the case that Eorlund is dead, she will instead give you 200 gold as a reward.
 

Notes
The quest can be started by entering the Gray-Manes' home and talking to Avulstein, skipping the conversations with Fralia.thumb|Thorald in the Palace of the Kings
This quest counts towards the Sideways achievement regardless of how you choose to complete it (i.e., both quest stages 200 and 201 qualify).
While Thorald and his family are aligned with the Stormcloaks, an Imperial-aligned character can complete this quest without additional difficulty. 
If you find Thorald before the relevant stage of the quest, he will simply say "You there! What are you doing?" and you will not be able to release him.
Even if Whiterun is under Stormcloak control, Thorald and Avulstein will still believe that it is not safe for them there.
If you follow Thorald after rescuing him, you will find that he will travel to the Palace of the Kings in Windhelm, although there is no further interaction between Thorald and the other Stormcloaks.
If Northwatch Keep has been cleared before and the peaceful path is chosen, then the guards will not respawn and thus the peaceful path will automatically fail upon arrival at Northwatch Keep. There is however a way to go onto the peaceful way using console commands. First, add yourself to the Thalmor faction using the command  , then spawn in a Northwatch Guard to trigger dialogue using  . You will then be able to continue as if you had never wiped Northwatch Keep before.
 
If you try to rescue Thorald in werewolf form, he will free himself and become hostile.

Bugs
 
 
 
 
 To fix this, use the pair of console commands   and   in succession to make Avulstein spawn at your location. You can then talk to him outside the house, where he won't be hostile.
If it happens before meeting Fralia in the house, you may need to advance the stage using console because she will not speak to you outside. To fix this type on console:   and you will be put inside the Gray-Mane household.
The easiest way to fix this is first running away from him until he loses track of you and then either sleep in the bed available not far to the west or to fast travel from the location and then back again.
 
  
 It is possible to go through, type   using the console to temporarily add yourself to their faction. Once you have freed the prisoner and are out of reach, type   to remove yourself from the Thalmor faction.
 An alternative solution if the   command above doesn't work can be achieved by selecting a Thalmor soldier and typing   in the console, although this solution can be time consuming if the player wishes to remove the aggression factor from every single Thalmor soldier.
 
Thorald can be forced into action by "pushing" him (walking, running, or rolling into him until he moves) away from the dungeon and down the hall toward the next room. Eventually he will begin to run on his own.
Thorald was scripted to pick up a weapon as soon as he is free before following you out which may be the reason for his static behavior. Dropping a weapon near him may result in him picking it up and being ready to move. The weapon cannot be marked "stolen".
 
Once any nearby enemies are dealt with, talk to him to advance the quest.
 
 
  This may be caused by Fralia dying. Using the console to find her may reveal her corpse. Reverting to an earlier save can fix this. Making her essential through the console command   could prevent the bug from happening.
 

Quest Stages