Online:The Shadow Cleft (quest)

Quick Walkthrough
#Speak to Adjunct Daro.
#Enter the portal to the Shadow Cleft.
#Find Variah's journal entries.
#Investigate the scarecrows.
#Defeat Night Sister Kamira and destroy the shadow array.
#Return to Daro.

Detailed Walkthrough
Just southwest of the Sanctuary Wayshrine, a nervous Breton named Adjunct Daro is standing by a dark portal. Speak to him to learn that he was on patrol with another Clockwork Apostle, Variah, when they noticed the portal. It had some sort of attractive force, which made them want to enter it; though Daro resisted, it drew the reckless Variah in and she has not returned. He asks you to find her and gives you a perception tabulator, a device used by the Apostles in their research. It will automatically record your experiences.

Step through the portal to find yourself in a realm of eternal night. This is the Shadow Cleft. Follow the path east until you come across a broken barrel and some torches. The ''Acolyte's Chipped Scroll Plate'' is on the ground nearby. It is part of Variah's journal. After looking at it the quest will update to lead you north, past many wolves made of shadow. You'll find the next part, the ''Acolyte's Lost Scroll Plate'', at a fork in the road, in a little shrine inhabited by a waft. To the left is a direct route across a bridge and up a hill, while the right path cuts east for a ways before turning north to cross the other bridge. The quest marker points right, and the final part of Variah's log is just before the bridge. Variah apparently used her perception tabulator on one of the strange scarecrows in the pumpkin patch beyond the bridge, and it spoke to her. There's still no sign of Variah herself, however, so you'll have to continue following in her footsteps.thumb|right|Destroy the strange shadow array

Three scarecrows guard the pumpkins. It doesn't matter which order you talk to them in, and you'll have to talk to them all to advance the quest, so start with the one closest to you, in the southeast corner of the field. It's a creepy-looking thing — in fact, it's a corpse! When you activate it the ghost of an Altmer will appear. He berates you for interrupting his "vigil", but when you question him he can't quite recall why he's guarding the field in the first place. But whatever devious sorcery took his memories, it seems to be permanent, and you can't help him further right now.

The next scarecrow is in the northeastern corner of the pumpkin patch. This is the body of an apostle all right, but not the one you're looking for. Lector Erisia is a great deal more coherent than Sortam, but she still has gaps in her memories. She's able to tell you what you may have already suspected: that the Shadow Cleft is part of the Evergloam, the realm of Nocturnal, and the portal's presence represents an attack on the Clockwork City. You need to get the perception tabulator to a Clockwork Apostle before you, too, are transformed into a scarecrow.

That leaves the scarecrow on the northwest side. You've found Acolyte Variah, too late. However, when you use your tabulator on her, you'll find that she is all too aware of what is going on. She implores you destroy the shadow array, the very device that lured her into this realm and bound her to a scarecrow. Destroy it, and they will be set free.

The shadow array is up the hill to the west, guarded by Night Sister Kamira, a powerful shrike who is capable of summoning night terrors. Defeat her and destroy the array. When you do, the ghosts of Sortam, Erisia and Variah will appear, thank you for your deed, and fade away.

Return to Daro, who will take back the perception tabulator for study, and give you the  . With the completion of this quest, Novice Holli in the Brass Fortress will now offer two daily quests involving the Shadow Cleft: Again Into the Shadows and A Shadow Malfunction.

Quest Stages