Online:Gurlak

Gurlak is an Orc who can be found in Salas En, imprisoned there by a curse.

Millennia ago, Gurlak was the slave of an Altmer named Nuralanya. When their affair was discovered, they were magically shackled within Salas En. While they could always see one another, they could never touch. To prolong his torment, Gurlak was placed under a spell that unnaturally prolonged his life. Nuralanya, however, was allowed to age at a natural rate, forcing Gurlak to watch as she grew old and died over centuries.

When the Ra Gada invaded in the First Era, Gurlak watched them battle and slay his Altmer captors, but the spells that imprisoned him persisted. Many explorers and adventurers have discovered him over the ensuing centuries, but none have been able to release him.

If you solve the spell's puzzle and free him, Gurlak will be astonished, but he will stay put, claiming that the room where he was imprisoned is all he really knows. The spirit of Nuralanya will then appear from a portal, claiming that Mara has allowed her to take him into the afterlife. He will follow her into the portal and disappear.
 
Related Quests


Quest-Related Events
In one of the chambers you can find Gurlak bound in a kneeling position within a dome of blue light. If you talk to him, he will tell you his story.
:"Before you speak, stranger, I would have words with you. For centuries, this cell has held me. You are not the first. Others tried to free me and failed. No key will open this lock. No weapon will break these bonds."
:I can try to free you.
:''"Did you hear me? This is no common spell. It was cast by Altmer wizards long since dead. This is a true curse. The task is beyond you. Of course, a fool would still try! Do as you wish. I won't harbor faint hope."
:I'll see to it that you're freed.
:"For centuries, amateurs like yourself have tried to release me. Fools! All of you! You'd have a better chance of becoming the next emperor."
:How did you end up here?
::"It pains me to speak of the past.  Would you force me to relive such bitter memories?"
::Please, tell me what happened.
::"Ha! "Please!" There's a word I remember well. "Please," she said to me. "No one will know,"" she promised. She was wrong."
::Who was she?
::"Nuralanya, she was called in her High Elven tongue. She was just "Nura" when we were together. I could deny her nothing. I was enthralled: a slave madly in love with his master."
::So what happened?
::"Our secret was eventually exposed, and the Elves were furious. Our love was an abomination in their eyes. They decided execution was too kind a punishment for our crime."
::They imprisoned you here?
::"Aye! I was here, and she was there. To see one another, but not able to hear … or touch … or hold …. Yet even that torment was   for their retribution. The Elves wove a spell to extend my life and prolong my torment."
::What do you mean?
::"Elves live a long time, but not forever. I sat and watched as Nura slowly grew old and died. Some time after that, the Ra Gada came and slaughtered the other Elves. But even with them dead, the spell held strong."
:Why are there some many dead down here?
::"It was the Ra Gada, the "warrior wave." The warriors sought vengeance. The swords of Yokuda passed through these halls, and the High Elves were washed away."
::You survived?
::"They would have killed me, were it not for this spell. Instead I watched, safely ensconced within this prison as my captors were slaughtered. Many centuries passed before I learned who the warriors were or from whence they came."
::What did you learn?
::"A foreign people had arrived on these shores. They came from a distant land: Yokuda, it was called. Yokudan warriors set out to conquer the new world they found. Singers named them the Ra Gada."
:Do you have any idea how the spell works?
::"If I knew, don't you think I would've escaped by now?   All I know is the tiles must be used in the right order, and the order was determined by time, whatever that means!"
:I want to ask you about something else. (Appears during any point of the three dialogue branches.)

As you slowly press the constellations tiles in the right order, Gurlak will notice something actually happening and will comment at certain points:
:Gurlak: "I … didn't expect that to work."
:Gurlak: "How are you doing that?"
:Gurlak: "You may be on to something!"

However, if you keep pressing the tiles in the wrong order, Gurlak will instead berate you:
:Gurlak: "I told you it wouldn't work!"
:Gurlak: "Idiot. That's how the last one got killed."
:Gurlak: "You should just give up."
:Gurlak: "I'm never getting out of here."

When you press the last tile in the correct order, the magic field will disappear and Gurlak will stand up for the first time in centuries:
:"By the bloody fangs of Mauloch! By the stench of Mauloch's gaping maw! What have you done? How can this be? I'm … free?"
:Yes, free to leave this place.
:"I-I should thank you, but I don't even think this is what I wanted.  It's been so long since my life was my own … this is all I know. I don't want to leave."

At this statement, a voice will call out to Gurlak:
:Nuralanya: "The Orc I know and love would never utter such words."
: 
:Gurlak: "Nura? Is it really you? It's been so long."
:Nuralanya: "We've suffered enough of this curse."
: 
:Nuralanya: "By the grace of Mara, I've been allowed to take you beyond this mortal realm."
:Gurlak: "Finally, a release from the suffering of this world."
: 
:Nuralanya: "Come, my love. We have the rest of eternity to be together."''