Unearthed ( Dragonborn ) Unearthed is a quest that takes place in Kolbjorn Barrow , given to the Dragonborn by Ralis Sedarys . Ralis has an investor who wants the relics of Ahzidal , but they are buried inside Kolbjorn Barrow . Multiple investments and many days will be required in order for Kolbjorn Barrow to be excavated . Walkthrough . The quest can be activated by speaking to Ralis Sedarys , who can be found at the ruins of Kolbjorn Barrow . First Investment . After speaking with Ralis , he will ask to help fund his excavation . This will cost 1 , 000 . After a few days a letter from Ralis will be delivered by a courier asking for help back at the ruins . Speaking with Ralis will reveal that draugr have been awakened and the workers have been killed . In order to continue the excavation , all draugr must be dealt with . Ralis also requests scouting for a passage deeper into the ruins . Beyond the door to the barrow , the path heads generally northwest and is guarded by a draugr . Eventually , a room is found defended by leveled draugr . A large table in the center of the room contains a strangely marked skull . Removing it activates a mechanism which opens a door straight ahead to a large chamber filled with dust . Ahzidal ' s Boots of Waterwalking are in this chamber , on a pedestal . Otherwise , just beyond the table is an adept - locked chest up some steps against the left ( southwest ) wall . Once the draugr are killed and the door opened , the quest is continued by returning to Ralis . Second Investment . After the ruin has been cleared , Ralis will request more coin . This time he will ask for 2 , 000 gold . After some time has passed , a courier will deliver another letter asking the Dragonborn to return to the ruin . It turns out all the miners were again killed as they dug deeper into the ruin . Ralis requires the draugr to be killed so that the exploration can continue . This time , upon entering the barrow , a staircase on the right side is now open , with a novice - locked chest at the bottom . Otherwise , it is a dead end . A dead miner is at the top of the left side steps . In the first main room are four new draugr , plus several dead miners and chests to be looted . The room beyond the doorway to the northwest has been further excavated . A leveled draugr is on a catwalk surrounding a central pillar , which can be reached by jumping from a pile of ash near the doorway on the northwest side to a ledge just below the catwalk , then up to the catwalk itself . A doorway to the northwest is blocked by a gate that cannot yet be opened . The faint chanting of a nearby Word Wall can be heard , but it is buried under the rubble and cannot be reached yet . Below that doorway is an open doorway leading to a crypt area protected by two draugr , that contains the corpse of Bradyn . Another draugr and a pull chain that opens a door to the right ( northeast ) are in the second room . Behind that door is another crypt with a draugr and a pull chain that , when activated , opens a door to the southwest from the previous room . Behind that door is another chamber with another draugr and a Dwarven Greatsword . A passageway leads to the left ( southeast ) , but is protected by a floor trigger to a soul gem trap . There is a doorway to the left ( northeast ) blocked by three gates with four handles on the right hand side . Don ' t pull the third ( from the top ) as it releases a dart trap . Pull the switches in the following order : first , second , fourth , first . The corpse of Mireli lies in the center of the next room , but there are also four draugr . Once they are killed , the gate to the right ( southeast ) is opened ( this was the one that was seen to be locked earlier ) . In an alcove to the left of Mireli , a leveled battle axe can be found . Proceeding further northeast , on the right side behind a wall is a handle that , when activated , opens a secret area further to the northeast . Ahzidal ' s Ring of Necromancy is here on a pedestal . Third Investment . Once the search is complete , upon returning to Ralis and informing him the miners are dead , he will explain that the next stage of the excavation will cost 3 , 000 gold as he plans to hire some mercenaries to protect the miners . After some time has passed , a courier will deliver a third letter asking the Dragonborn to return to the ruin . Much like last time , more draugr awakened as the miners dug deeper into the barrow . Ralis asks that the draugr be killed so that the digging can continue . This time , the steps on the right ( northeast ) side are opened all the way , although this just leads to the same set of stairs used before . Several draugr appear when descending them , and while moving deeper into the barrow . In addition to dead miners , there are several Kolbjorn guard corpses scattered about . Much more of the ruin has been dug out at this point . A wooden bridge has been installed crossing from the second room ' s entrance to the central column , and a set of ramps now lead to the bottom of the room . At the bottom of the ramp , the chanting of the word wall is even louder , and on the left ( southwest ) side of the room , there is a point where the edges of the word wall animation can be seen - however , the wall is still buried . Also , on the right ( northeast ) wall is a drawbridge that cannot yet be opened , with a gate behind it . Across the catwalk to the northwest , through the doorway that was opened the last time , to the left ( southwest ) is an expert - locked iron door . Beyond that door are two albino spiders and a poisonous cloaked spider . There is also an emerald geode to the right ( northwest ) , a trapped chest straight ahead , and shelves on the left containing random potions and soul gems . Back in the previous room , a doorway to the right ( northwest ) is rigged with a floor trigger for a swinging log trap . In the room beyond is another draugr . The path turns right ( northeast ) , leading down a few steps and through doorways that were opened the last time ( pull chains on the right , then left , open the doors if they are closed ) . Proceeding past the second pull chain is a dead end room , with another pull chain that opens and closes the door between the first and second pull chains . Back at the second pull chain , turning to the southeast leads to another opening into the large room with the central column and the wooden ramps . An alcove on the right ( southwest ) has a leveled axe lying on the ground . To the left ( northeast ) is another room with two more draugr , an iron door that leads straight ahead , and another pull chain on the right . The pull chain opens a hidden door to the northeast in the previously seen " dead end " room . Behind it are Ahzidal ' s Gauntlets of Warding on a pedestal . Taking them off the pedestal unleashes a poison dart trap . Back at the room with the door , beyond it the path slopes sharply downward , and there is a falling rock trap . There are numerous leveled draugr . If the quest is active in the quest log , these draugr will be marked with quest markers . After they are all killed , the objective to clear out the barrow is complete , and it ' s now possible to return to Ralis . However , proceeding on , the path turns right ( southeast ) and proceeds up a set of stairs to a large room with several dead miners and Kolbjorn guard s . In the center of the room is a strange series of pressure pads that emit a blue glow when stood upon , however the light fades after a few seconds . Lighting all of the plates at once will open the gate on the left , where Ahzidal ' s Ring of Arcana lies on a pedestal . This can be done by running across all the plates quickly before their lights go out . ( Having the Sneak perk Light Foot does not interfere with triggering the plates . ) At the southeast side end of the room is an embalming table with random loot . Up the wooden ramp to the right are several soul gems , and a gate with a chain to its left . Activating the chain opens the gate , but also starts a swinging axe trap ahead . A short path forward leads to a set of stairs up to the right ( northwest ) , then turns left , where the swinging axes protect the other side of the gate with the drawbridge that was seen earlier . A pull chain is directly above the gate which , when activated , stops the axes , opens the gate , and drops the drawbridge , providing a shortcut to get back out of the barrow . Fourth Investment . Once the draugr are defeated , upon returning to Ralis and informing him of the situation , he will mention that the next step of investment will cost 5 , 000 as they have gained quite a reputation . He plans to hire some stronger mercenaries this time . After some time has passed , a courier will deliver a final letter requesting a return to the ruin . Upon arrival at the campsite outside the ruin it appears there has been some sort of massacre as the corpses of several miners and guards are strewn about . Reading Ralis ' journals , volumes " 19 " - " 23 " , found on a table in a tent , reveals the chilling fate of the miners and Ralis ' true intention all along ; Ralis has been manipulated by the voice of Ahzidal since the beginning . Ahzidal has been talking to Ralis , controlling him , driving him to madness and forcing him to sacrifice the miners in order to resurrect Ahzidal . The first part of the barrow appears unchanged , but there are ugly scenes like a miner ' s body on the first table . However , the second major room has been excavated to the floor . This has exposed the once buried Word Wall . A word of the Cyclone shout can be learned from it . The quest marker to locate Ralis is straight ahead to the northwest , but it is not reachable via that path . Instead , the path from the second room to the right ( northeast ) across the dropped drawbridge needs to be followed . There are several draugr along the way . In the room with the pressure plates , the staircase to the northwest leads down to a newly excavated area straight ahead . This next room contains three sleeping draugr on thrones and a pillar puzzle . Upon entering the room , a gate immediately closes behind the Dragonborn , which can lock out a follower ( the gate does not close until the Dragonborn enters ) . Once the draugr are defeated , there are two gates to be opened : one on the floor in the middle of the room , and the other in the south corner . The chains on the opposite walls ( southwest and northeast ) each control a rotating stone with a hole that , once visible , reveals a pillar that provides a clue to the puzzle ( each shows a whale ) . The south corner gate can be opened by aligning both pillars behind the throne to the whale totem , then activating the lever between the pillars . The gate will raise to reveal Ahzidal ' s Armor of Retribution sitting on a pedestal . The clues to open the gate on the floor are on the shields visible across the room from the thrones , near the ceiling near the southeast wall . The gate opens when both pillars behind the thrones are turned to the hawk and the lever activated again . At the bottom of the spiral stairway are a table with various potions , and then down more stairs to the northwest , more draugr , a stalhrim deposit ( in the alcove to the northwest ) , and another pillar puzzle to the right ( northeast ) . Pulling the chain with the incorrect symbols will send flames out of the wall that may ignite the oil on the floor . The correct alignment is two snake symbols . The gate will open to reveal Ahzidal ' s Helm of Vision sitting on a pedestal , but there is a floor trigger for a spear trap just beyond the gate . Taking the helm will cause the pedestal to shoot out a powerful jet of fire from the bottom of the pedestal . Back at the bottom of the stairs , there is a tomb to the left ( southwest ) at the bottom of the ramp up to the southwest that contains a valuable weapon . However , there is a floor trigger for a poison dart trap directly in front . At the top of the ramp is an iron door , at which Ralis can be heard repeatedly saying , " It is time , " and " Ahzidal - awaken ! " A Rude Awakening . Ralis will be found in the middle of a large room . He is standing on top of a circular stone structure , which is inscribed with similar runes as seen in the room where the Bloodskal Blade is found . The edges of the structure are filled with a large pool of blood , and the area is littered with sacrificed miners . Ralis is attempting to summon the Dragon Priest Ahzidal using the energy from the miners ' blood . He is successful ; the ground shakes and he is flung to one side of the room . Ralis is knocked unconscious as Ahzidal emerges and battle begins . During the battle several draugr burst out of the surrounding sarcophagi to aid Ahzidal . If the draugr are killed , others will awaken to take their place . He may also raise the corpses of defeated draugr and miners lying in the chamber . Ahzidal primarily uses fire based Destruction spells including a unique pulse of fire similar to Fire Breath that cause large amounts of damage . Once he has been defeated his ash pile can be searched for his mask . Ralis will wake up at this point and seems confused by what has happened : Choosing to kill Ralis will result in him becoming hostile and fighting back . Choosing to spare Ralis will cause him to run out of the ruin and back to The Retching Netch in Raven Rock . Either option completes the quest . Once Ahzidal is defeated , a tunnel opens at the southwest end of the room . Beyond the opening , the tunnel curves left ( southeast ) . There is a chest with leveled loot , then there is a gate opened by a chain . The circular room beyond contains the " " , as well as a chest with leveled loot to the right ( southwest ) . Continuing on the path left ( northeast ) of the room with the Black Book , at the end of the short tunnel , there is a stalhrim deposit in a sarcophagus behind the spiral staircase opened by the lever ( which is to the right as the Dragonborn enters ; the deposit is to the left ) . The stairs lead up to the second large room in the barrow . Upon exiting the ruins , the entire campsite will be gone . Reward . Along with finding a word for the Cyclone shout , and obtaining the Ahzidal ' s Armor set and Ahzidal ' s mask , if Ralis is spared he will offer his services as a follower . If he is killed , the only notable item he carries is a unique Ancient Nordic Pickaxe called Hoarfrost . However , if he is spared , the pickaxe can still be acquired from him by sharing inventory items while he is a follower . This quest will cost 11 , 000 altogether . You may be able to find a few septims on looted bodies or loot bodies and sell the items in order to recover some of the cost . The relics themselves are worth 9430 .