The Final Descent The Final Descent is a quest in . Walkthrough . Raven Rock Mine . After entering Raven Rock Mine , Aphia Velothi and Crescius Caerellius can be seen arguing about venturing into the mine . After talking to Crescius , the quest starts . The path heads down until a platform with a cave to the left side is encountered . Here lives a skeever and a skeleton . Further on , a cave can be seen to the right containing some minor loot and a Frostbite Spiders . The path across the wooden platforms leads to another spider . Down the stairs is another spider . Inside the next corner is a fire trap . Continuing down the next set of stairs , the path appears blocked , but the wood can be broken . There ' s an expert - locked East Empire Company strongbox on the chest next to the iron gate . After unlocking the iron gate with the Raven Rock Mine key , it becomes obvious that the miners accidentally broke into an old tomb , similar to what happened at Soljund ' s Sinkhole . The path continues to some water , near which several Draugr live . A chest can be found in the left crevice after entering the room with water . The next corner contains a trap . Around the corner and up the stairs , two thrones can be seen in the next room , with a draugr seated on the left one . Around the thrones and through the door at the end are more draugr . They can be killed easily at low levels by using the trap ( pressure plate with swinging door ) . The next room contains many draugr sitting on thrones . To the left side of the room is a master - locked chest . Through the door at the other end of the chamber , to the right , a stalhrim deposit can be found in the draugr crypt on the left . However this can only be mined with an Ancient Nordic Pickaxe . Further down the path is an alchemy lab with all sorts of ingredients , including some added by " Dragonborn " , specifically two netch jellies which are needed for a miscellaneous quest to retrieve five of them for Milore Ienth . Further on is a lightning trap at the place with two torches . Through the water to open the door on the right , the next room contains more draugr , some of which may be Draugr Deathlords . Again , they can be easily killed by leading them back to the trap . The archer can be taken care of by sneaking at the entrance and sniping it with a bow because it only stays on the bridge ahead . In the waterfall , a door leads to Bloodskal Barrow . Inside are two urns and a stalhrim deposit with a searchable draugr under it . Heading back and going upstairs to the right is a door that must be opened . The button for that door can be found on the opposite side of the chamber . There is an expert - locked chest beneath an arcane enchanter . Through the door to the left is a chamber with a spell tome for Ice Spike on a pillar . To the right is a ramp with an adept - level chest underneath . There is a lightning trap at the end of the chamber . Through the already opened wooden door is a walkway with pressure plates just beyond . At the end of the walkway is a door with an adept - locked chest behind it . Turning around , a little alcove is on the right side . The next room contains the destination . Note that , after jumping down , there is no return until the Dragon Priest Zahkriisos is defeated . After jumping down , the water can be followed to the end , where there ' s a chest . Afterwards , taking " Gratian ' s Journal " off of his corpse and reading it will give the optional objective . Passing Through the Bloodskal Door . To open the door , equip the Bloodskal Blade . When doing a power attack , a red beam will come out of the blade . If doing a horizontal attack ( done by moving to the side while doing a power attack from a standing position ) , a horizontal beam will come out , while a straight power attack results in a vertical beam . From the top of the stairs , with the reticle aimed at the glowing red fissures found at the left and right sides of the door , a horizontal power attack will unlock a horizontal red fissure . When a vertical fissure appears , a vertical power attack will unlock it . The sections of the walls will alter themselves along with the red fissures ; continuing to aim the reticle and matching attack with the red fissures will eventually result in each side having no visible red fissures left . Now the door can be hit vertically with the reticle aimed along the new , centered red fissure . This will open the door . Through the unlocked door and the swinging blade traps , the lever at the end of the hallway opens a door . In the middle lies a chest . But this appears to be a trap , because it only contains two gold , and approaching it spawns Zahkriisos . Zahkriisos is able to spawn seeker s to his aid , and can use the master level Destruction spell Lightning Storm . Zahkriisos can be killed by crouching behind a fallen pillar and using the blade ' s special effect to hit and hide . Having a follower with a bow will also distract him . Alternatively , he can be baited into a tight area , then the Dragonborn can morph into a werewolf . He must be cornered so he can ' t float over the water . After he is defeated , the Word Wall teaches a word of the shout Dragon Aspect . Back at the west end of the room , the exit to the right leads to a stand with a . Reading this will send the Dragonborn to Apocrypha . Apocrypha . Walking forward ( being careful of the tentacles that come out of the water ) starts the quest " . " After completing the quest , the Dragonborn is teleported back to the place where the black book was first picked up . Raven Rock Mine ( second time ) . A chest at the left side of the room holds leveled loot . Up the stairs is the door to Bloodskal Barrow . At the end of the passage , activating the chain on the left side opens the stone door . Multiple enemies are present that need to be killed . At the end of the path is a door back to Solstheim . All enemies in both towers need to be killed , in order to allow fast travel . Don ' t forget the adept - locked chest on top of the second tower . Fast traveling to Raven Rock and returning to Crescius at his house causes him to give a reward of 250 – 750 when the journal is handed in . The Bloodskal blade cannot be removed from the inventory until the journal is returned to Crescius . After this , Raven Rock mine will be reopened , which now serves as a large source of ebony .