The Lost Expedition The Lost Expedition is a quest available in . Summary . The Lost Expedition is a quest to restore the ancient power of the city of Nchuand - Zel and discover what happened to the expedition party that went exploring within the city ' s depths . The quest is obtained by reading Alethius ' s Notes ( found next to his dead body in the Nchuand - Zel Excavation Site ) . The player can start this quest by reading the note after killing the Frostbite Spider Nimhe during Calcelmo ' s miscellaneous quest Nimhe , the Poisoned One or during the Thieves Guild quest Hard Answers . Also , Calcelmo will ask the Dragonborn to kill the spider if asked to see the ruins . The note is found right up the stairs from where Nimhe is confronted . Walkthrough . The Dragonborn can begin the quest by reading Alethius ' s Notes , which can be found at the end of the Nchuand - Zel Excavation Site and close to the entrance to Nchuand - Zel , next to Alethius ' s corpse . After obtaining the quest , the Dragonborn must cut through a spider web to get into Nchuand - Zel . The Dragonborn must follow the quest marker to the Nchuand - Zel Quarters , with Falmer and traps being encountered along the way . Go down the first set of stairs and follow the path until reaching the dead body of Stromm by a tree . After reading Stromm ' s Journal the Dragonborn is now tasked with finding the three other journals of the missing expeditioners , belonging to Erj , Krag and Staubin . Falmer and dwarven mechanisms will be encountered throughout the ruin . The quest marker will guide the player back into Nchuand - Zel . From there , the Dragonborn must go to the bottom level and swim to the door across the water to enter the Nchuand - Zel Armory . ( When crossing the main hall Whirlwind Sprint could be used as a shortcut to get to the door of the armory ) Once inside , the path to the left will lead to a locked gate . Once unlocking the gate , the Dragonborn will climb a flight of stairs and find Erj ' s dead body and his journal , and a chest with leveled loot . After reading his journal , the Dragonborn must continue following the path and quest marker until reaching a door and exit back out to Nchuand - Zel . After exiting , straight ahead will be Krag ' s dead body and his journal at a makeshift campsite . At the campsite there are many bloodstains on the floor and the bodies of two dead guards who were overseeing the expedition , indicating an ambush and slaughter by ( most likely ) Falmer . To the left , on a bench , is the Alteration skill book , " Sithis " . After reading Krag ' s journal , the path to the left will lead up to the door to Nchuand - Zel Control . After following this path , the Dragonborn will eventually find Staubin ' s dead body and journal . The Dragonborn is now tasked with re - activating Nchuand - Zel ' s automated defenses , which is done by activating the lever at the end of the path , by Staubin ' s corpse ( activating this will start a battle between any Falmer in the ruin and the re - activated Dwemer defenses ) . After re - activating the defenses and exiting the control room , the Dragonborn should exit the ruin and head back to Understone Keep . Strangely , at this point , the quest marker will lead the Dragonborn around the dungeon again . This can be bypassed by ignoring the quest marker and heading out of the ruins . When the Dragonborn enters the great hall , they will be at the bottom level . Falmer will begin fighting with the defenses around the great hall . To get out of Nchuand - Zel , the Dragonborn should swim across the cavern and take the pathway back upwards . To complete the quest , the Dragonborn must speak to Calcelmo in Markarth Keep . Calcelmo will talk about warning the expeditioners against going , and then he will give the Dragonborn the sum of money he would ' ve given to the expeditioners ( if they had survived ) . Rewards . A large number of dwarven metal pieces can be found throughout the ruin and smelted to obtain Dwarven Metal Ingot s . Leveled loot can be found in the chest next to Erj ' s corpse in the Nchuand - Zel Armory . Lastly , Calcelmo will give a leveled amount of gold for completing this quest .