The Path of Knowledge The Path of Knowledge is a quest in . Walkthrough . Consulting Neloth . Storn Crag - Strider suggests heading to Tel Mithryn to ask Master Neloth about where to find the Black Books . After entering the door at the base , a magic elevator allows the Dragonborn to float up to the top , where Neloth is . He reveals that the books are artifacts of Hermaeus Mora , the Daedric Prince of fate and knowledge : In addition to the above option , one of two specific options are available , depending upon the status of Hermaeus Mora ' s Daedric quest " Discerning the Transmundane " . If " Discerning the Transmundane " has been completed : If " Discerning the Transmundane " has not been completed : Next the conversation follows with : Alternatively , Neloth may reply to the initial option with : " " Now that is a dangerous path indeed . Hermaeus Mora gives nothing away for free . You may end up like Miraak , of course . Two power - mad Dragonborn . It could be very interesting . " " Next the conversation moves towards the Black Books again . He admits owning one , and knows the location of another : After the conversation has finished , Neloth leaves for Nchardak , located north of Tel Mithryn , along the coast and relatively close . Upon leaving the mushroom tower , it is possible that the Dragonborn will be accosted by Talvas Fathryon and the side quest " From the Ashes " will start . If Varona Nelas ' corpse is outside Tel Mithryn ( " Reluctant Steward " ) , Neloth will ignore it completely . City of a Hundred Towers . Upon reaching Nchardak , Neloth will comment : " " The Dwemer certainly knew how to build for the ages . These towers have outlasted their creators by millennia . The book is housed inside that dome . I ' ll need to unlock the door for us . Lets get on with it . " " At this point , Neloth will follow the Dragonborn and may be accompanied by his own Ash Guardian . Up the main stairs , the various Reavers that have taken up residence in the grounds of the ruin need to be eliminated . Upon reaching the main door , Neloth will remark : " " The Dwemer of Nchardak appear to have been fond of these control pedestals . Luckily I found a cube to operate it inside on my last visit . I sealed the door when I left to keep out ignorant meddlers . Let me unlock it . The book is just inside . " " Nchardak Reading Room . Once he unlocks the door , the path to the Reading Room is open . Upon approaching the large gold ring in the center of the room , Neloth will comment : " " You can see the book right there . So tantalizingly close . . . But trust me , no magic will open that . I ' d have had the book already if I could . No , we ' ll have to do this the hard way . If we can restore the steam supply to this room , I ' m certain I can open it . As you ' ll see , that ' s easier said than done . This way to the boilers . " " Neloth then uses his cube to open another door that houses an elevator leading to the Nchardak Great Chamber . He commands the Dragonborn , " " Follow me " " . Nchardak Great Chamber . While following him down the halls , he will comment : " " The last time I was here , I only explored a small part of the ruins . I was here alone then , and I find an assistant is absolutely essential for this kind of dirty , dangerous work . " " Upon reaching the main chamber he will exclaim : " " Nchardak , The ' City of a Hundred Towers ' . In its day it was the largest of the great Dwemer Archives and perhaps the most advanced . In the old stories , when the Nords came to conquer it , it ' s said the Dwemer submerged the entire city beneath the sea until the invaders gave up . I have my doubts . But the city was a marvel of Dwemer engineering . Now reduced to this . As you can see , most of the lower levels of the city are flooded . but it isn ' t hopeless - the old Dwemer pumps still seem to work . Watch . " " Neloth then walks over to a control pedestal overlooking a large flooded area of the chamber and activates is with his cube . The water flooding the chamber partially drains out , however he reveals : " " The pumps only operate when a cube is in the pedestal . And unfortunately , I have only one cube . These four boilers provide steam to the room upstairs . They ' re shut down , but they still respond to the control cubes . So , if we can find four more cubes , we can turn these boilers back on and restore steam power to the room upstairs . Then I should be able to open the book ' s protective case . Bring that cube . We ' ll need it . " " After picking up the cube from the pedestal , Neloth can be followed to a display panel , where he explains : " " Yes . . . here we are . This device shows the location of four more cubes in this section of the city . It looks like most of the cubes were moved to the lower levels , perhaps to try to control the flooding before the city was abandoned . Interesting . That would suggest that the city must have originally sunk during the first cataclysm of Red Mountain . Or that the Dwemer ' s servitors continued to try to preserve the city after their creators ' disappearance . " " Next he walks over to the sealed door to the Nchardak Workshop and remarks " " Three of the cubes are through here . This seems like a sensible place to start . You should be able to unseal this door with the control cube I gave you . " " Placing the cube in the control switch will remove the seals and allow the Dragonborn to enter the workshop with Neloth . It this point , it ' s possible to ask him to explain the details again , via two dialogue options . These are : Nchardak Workshop . Upon entering the workshop , Neloth will be standing next to another control cube he has found . He remarks : " " I hope the rest of the cubes are this easy to find . Although knowing the Dwemer , I rather doubt it . " " Taking the cube from the pedestal will stop the fire traps ahead , allowing Neloth to be followed to the next area . After defeating some Dwemer Spiders , a bridge is reached . As Neloth walks across the bridge , he observes the automatons lining the walls and comments : " " These must be the " Great Workshops of Nchardak . Impressive even in ruins . In the city ' s days of glory , it was reputed to be able to assemble a complete automaton in a single day . Much of the Dwemer army at the Battle of Red Mountain must have come from here . " " At the end of the bridge are two more control pedestals . Neloth remarks : " " It looks like we ' ll need to lower the water level to make any more progress . " " Placing a cube in either pedestal will lower the water . Several automatons will attack . Once they are defeated , placing a cube in the control switch immediately at the bottom of the stairs will make a set of stairs to the north appear . However , the stairs are blocked by a brass bridge . Heading up and around the walkway to the brass bridge and placing the cube in another control switch will raise the bridge . It then is possible to return to the previous control switch and climb the stairs to the door . Up the stairs to the right ( east ) then right again ( south ) leads to a room with an adept - locked chest . Going to the left ( west ) . then south leads to a small enclosed cage where another control cube can be found . Taking this cube will cause the water to rise again and a few spiders to attack . Heading back up to the east end of the bridge and taking the original cube from the pedestal causes the water level to raise much higher than what it was originally . Neloth then leads the Dragonborn to a door on the south side of the room . Upon opening it , a series of underwater halls are seen . Swimming through the halls , fighting off the Dwemer Spiders , leads to the fourth cube found in a pedestal against the north wall of the room . Taking the cube will cause the water level to raise again and a Dwarven Centurion to awaken and attack . Once it has been defeated , the nearby staircase against the west wall leads up to the south , then east . Another Dwarven automaton protects a control switch to the north that , when activated , drops a bridge that leads to a door back to the Great Chamber . The Final Cube . Once in the Great Chamber , Neloth will walk over to the large flooded area and mention the last cube is through the northern door , but the water level must be lowered to reach it . Placing two cubes on the pedestals on the upper area will completely drain the water from this chamber . Neloth will now lead the Dragonborn down the stairs . After defeating the two Dwarven Ballistas guarding the northern door , the control switch nearby can be activated to open the seal to the Nchardak Aqueduct . Inside the aqueduct , Neloth spots the pump activator where water can be drained , but reaching it requires solving a small puzzle to lower the three bridges that lead to it . Turning around to the south , there is a ramp leading up to the three control switches overlooking the aqueduct . The combination to lower all three bridges is simply the right switch , then the left switch . Once the bridges lower , several automatons appear . Across the bridges from the floor level , a control switch is now visible on the western end of the room . When activated , it will open a door that leads up a ramp and turns left ( south ) to a small room lined with traps . The first trap is a pressure plate that activates iron bars that slam shut near the entrance . The next is two spinning blades in front of the gate that holds the final cube . Finally , another pressure plate lies near the pedestal ; it activates poisoned arrows when stepped upon . Taking the cube will cause the water level to rise . Swim back to the main aqueduct chamber , where Neloth was waiting . Once he sees that the final cube has been obtained , he will remove the control cube from the pump activator to raise the water much higher than before . It is then possible to swim back to the entrance to the Nchardak Great Chamber . At the top of the southern ramp ( upon which there are more automatons ) are the main control pedestals . After taking one of the original cubes already in the pedestals , a circular platform to the lower west will be revealed ; upon it are the boiler control pedestals . Placing the remaining four cubes in the pedestals will start all the boilers . A bridge will then lower on the far west of the chamber to reveal a Dwarven Centurion . Once it is defeated , Neloth will remark : " " I ' m going to head back upstairs and see if the reading room has steam . If so , it should be a simple matter to release the book . " " Before heading back to the Nchardak Reading Room , a chest found in the centurion ' s holding area across the bridge can be searched for some leveled loot . After that , proceeding east , then south , leads to a lever that , when activated , brings the Dragonborn to the reading room . Retrieve the . In the reading room Neloth will be waiting by a control pedestal . Pressing the button results in four beams of light appearing from the floor to focus on a large crystal above . This causes the room to rumble and the book to raise out from the sealed compartment . Neloth remarks : " " At last . I hope it was worth it . Please . . . be my guest . You deserve the first look . Besides , it could be very dangerous . These books are known to drive many people insane . " " This completes the quest and immediately starts the next quest - " The Gardener of Men " .