Lost Legacy

Lost Legacy is a quest in . Tharstan of Skaal Village commissions the Dragonborn with protecting him while he explores the tomb of Vahlok the Jailor.
==Background==
I met Tharstan, a historian living in the Skaal village who discovered the recently-unearthed entrance to an old nordic crypt. He offered to hire me as protection while we explored the crypt, and asked me to meet him there if I was interested.
==Objectives==
#Travel to Vahlok's Tomb
#Talk to Tharstan
#Explore Vahlok's Tomb
#Find the main burial chamber
#Defeat Vahlok
#Talk to Tharstan
==Walkthrough==
Upon completion of "A New Source of Stalhrim," a historian by the name of Tharstan in the Skaal Village will ask the Dragonborn to help him explore a tomb.
"I heard from Deor how you went in search of Baldor. That was very brave, and in fact, that's just the kind of courage I'm looking for."
Let me guess, you need me to do something dangerous. "Quite right! Quite right! This, however, is paying work. Allow me to explain."
I helped a man in need, that's all. "Modest as well as brave. Most admirable! I can see why the Skaal think highly of you. Yes I think you're just the adventurous sort I need. I have a job offer for you."
:"As a scholar of history, I've always found Solstheim to be most intriguing. I've made many forays into the ancient ruins that cover the island. I've come to know those ruins so well, I could draw you a map from memory. That's why I noticed the new passage the moment I laid eyes on it."
:A new passage to what? "An old tomb, I think. It must have been opened by an earthquake that accompanied one of the Red Mountain's eruptions. I'd love to have a closer look, but those old ruins can be dangerous and I'm no adventurer. I'll pay you to watch my back down there. I'll be heading back there soon. If you're interested, meet me at the ruins and we'll see what we can find. Now I'm off to pack for the expedition!"
After the conversation is over, the quest will begin and Tharstan will head off to Vahlok's Tomb.
===Vahlok's Tomb===
The entrance is sunken in a rift in the ground that runs north from the tomb itself. Enter the tomb and talk to Tharstan. He will mention: "Remarkable, isn't it? This tomb has been hidden for... well, who knows how long. Many centuries, I would think."
Down a short pathway is an etched tablet overlooking a trapdoor fire pit. Below the tablet is a handle. To the left and right are paths that lead to other sections of the tomb. Tharstan remarks:
"I've had a look around and the only interesting thing I've found is this inscription here, and a switch below it. Now, I'm not sure if you can read the dragon language, but this seems to be a riddle of some sort. "A sacrifice will bring you closer to that which you seek." I wonder what it means."
The puzzle can be solved by dragging the corpse of a nearby draugr onto the trapdoor and pulling the handle located under the tablet to provide a sacrifice. This will open two routes off of the platform, marked by torches.
===Retrieving the first key===
Crossing the left (south) bridge leads to tunnels deeper into the ruin. The tunnel turns left (east), then leads to an iron door. Beyond the door is a crypt heading off to the right (south) containing several draugr. The path turns left (east), then left again, and leads to an iron gate. Pulling the chain will open the gate to the next room. Through this door will be a glowing monolith, with a bow, a sword, and a staff on the floor at the bottom of the three different faces of the monolith. Tharstan remarks:
"Hm... three pillars. Other than that plaque, there doesn't seem to be anything else worthy of note. Lets see what the inscription says. "All men must die, often by their own means." Sounds rather grim, if you ask me. The inscription must be a reference to these pillars. Three pillars surrounding a central one. Perhaps they are connected somehow. They also have glowing stones of some kind at the top. They look vaguely similar to drawings I've seen of objects called Impact Stones. Well, see what you can figure out. I'm going to inspect these pillars further to see if I've missed something." 
In order to unlock the north door of the room, the pillars opposite each of the faces of the central monolith must be struck with the weapons that were found on the floor and correspond to the symbol shown on the corresponding face of the monolith – i.e. sword strike for sword side, etc. Once all three glowing stones are activated, the gate in the north wall to the next room will open.
Inside the room, various draugr burst out of coffins. Among them, there is a draugr deathlord that holds the Amethyst Claw, Left Half. A Word Wall is in the back of the room, providing the first word of the shout Battle Fury. Two chests are in front of the wall to the right and left. Tharstan remarks:
"Let's have a closer look at these runes. These runes have faded a bit, but I believe I can translate the inscription. The writing describes a guardian who defeated someone named Miraak. In fact, if I'm reading this correctly, it says that Miraak was a traitor. Most interesting."
A well-lit but small opening to the left (west) leads to a tunnel. At the end, a pull chain on the wall opens back to the central cavern with the fire pit.
===Retrieving the second key===
The right (north) bridge leads to a dirt path to the left that eventually comes to a set of stairs against the north wall. Proceeding up those stairs leads to a tunnel entrance to the north, which comes to a table with two burial urns and a soul gem. The path turns left (west) down some stairs, then turns right again. On the right side is an adept-locked chest. The path continues to the left (west) down more stairs to a room with another etched tablet and nine stone squares on a raised platform, along with another inscription which Tharstan is able to read:
"I expect there's another riddle in here, along with a puzzle. "Continue along the path, don't tread where you've been." Interesting... Well I'm pretty sure about two things. One, the riddle is most likely referring to these flat stone squares. And two, I'm not going anywhere near them."
The puzzle can be solved by starting at the bottom left (southeast) square and walking in a spiral pattern to the right (north), then to the top (west), then to the left (south), then left (east) only one square, and then left (north) one more square to the center. If done correctly, each square should have been walked across exactly once, and the spears blocking the next room will retract.
This room contains several draugr and a second boss-level draugr deathlord. After they have been defeated, the deathlord's body holds the Amethyst Claw, Right Half. A word wall for the second word for the shout Battle Fury is against the west wall of the room, with a chest in front. Tharstan remarks:
"Look! Here's another wall with dragon language inscriptions on it! Let's find out what's written here. This writing refers to a guardian who inspired both men and dragons. I wonder if the guardian was himself a man or a dragon?"
As before, a narrow doorway to a shortcut has opened against the south wall that leads back to the main chamber. The Amethyst Claw halves fit into the keyholes on either side of the steps to the central caged platform. The gate will open, leading to another inscription and a handle. Tharstan says:
"Here's another riddle. "Stay your course. To idle is to die." Well, at least it's straightforward. There appears to be a switch of some kind here. I'll just stand over here while you flip that switch. I'm sure everything will be fine."
===Vahlok's bridge===
Turning the handle activates a series of magical platforms which act as a bridge to reach the far side of the chamber. Each panel will disappear after a short period of time, so in order to prevent falling, it is necessary to travel across quickly, stepping onto the furthest available panel. Once the far side has been reached, a straight, solid path of panels form that lead back to the first platform. This allows Tharstan to cross. At the same time, an iron gate opens in the west wall. Just past the gate, a wooden door in the left wall is barred from the other side. If the Dragonborn falls from the bridge, there is a pathway from the water below that leads back up to the level of the bridges, through that wooden door.
The next three bridge sections of the ruin are much the same. Pulling the handle activates the moving bridge. Each bridge will move slightly faster than the last. In the canals below are several Corrupted Shades that will attack anyone that falls down to them. After the first, another wooden door to the left is barred from the other side, and a table is straight ahead (west) with two burial urns and several gems. After the second, yet another barred wooden door is found, along with a soul gem. Again, if the Dragonborn falls off any bridge, there is a path back up through the barred wooden doors to the bridge level.
After crossing all of them, the iron door opens on a long hall with a Dragon Claw combination door at the end. Tharstan remarks:
"Ah, the hall of stories. These are found in many ancient Nord tombs. There must be hundreds of years of history etched into these walls. Too bad they seem to be too damaged to read.Hmm... looks like it needs some sort of key. Maybe those half claws you found would fit in here if you put them together. It seems these rings can be moved. Perhaps there's enough undamaged text in these etchings to tell us the combination. Ah yes, here's something. The first one has to do with a breeze, or maybe it's wind. The second one mentions the night sky, and the moon. And the third has something to do with fire. It also seems to mention scales. That's all I can make out from this etching. I'll check the rest and see if there's anything else. You keep trying out the combination."
The combination is Hawk - Wolf - Dragon (from top to bottom), which does not appear on the claw, but which are hinted at by the etchings Tharstan found. Once the door opens, up the stairs is an iron gate opened by a pull chain that leads to the main burial chamber where Vahlok the Jailor rests. The third word wall for Battle Fury is also found at the north end of this chamber, along with a small amount of leveled loot in a chest in front of it.
===Final battle===
The paths on either side are covered with fire traps. Approaching Vahlok's sarcophagus, much is the case with any other dragon priest, will cause him to awaken and attack after making his shriek upon rising from his sarcophagus. As battle begins he will summon a Flame Atronach and activate his Flame Cloak. During battle he uses fire based Destruction spells, including Firebolt, Incinerate and Flames.
Once Vahlok is defeated, Tharstan will pay 1,000 gold for escorting him through the dungeon, completing the quest. He will then run up to the Word Wall and begin studying it:
"Aha! Here's another of those dragon language inscriptions! I wonder what it says. Just let me study these runes for a moment. Hmm, here's another mention of the guardian. I can only assume that this is the guardian's tomb we are standing in now. It says that he was loyal, and his reward was an honorable death. Quite fascinating."
Once he has finished, he can be asked further about the origins and details of the tomb and how it relates to Vahlok and Miraak.
"How amazing! A real Dragon Priest! In all my years as a historian, I never though I'd see anything like that. I suppose that was Vahlok. He must have had this entire place built for him so that he could maintain his vigil, even beyond death."
He must have been someone important. "Indeed. I knew that the Dragon Priests were thought to have been powerful men of great will, but I had no idea. Well, I suppose I've seen everything I came for, and you kept up your end of the bargain. I promised payment and here it is."
:What have you learned about this place? "This is clearly a tomb, if a rather elaborate one. I would guess it was built for a Dragon Priest who achieved great fame in his time. It seems he was held in high regard by both men and dragons, because he defeated a traitor named Miraak. Perhaps Miraak was also a Dragon Priest, probably a contemporary of this guardian. He must have turned against his own order. After his defeat, Miraak was banished to Solstheim and the guardian was made his jailer."
:Do you think this place has any connection with the Skaal? "I've been thinking about that, and I believe it does. I believe it was the ancient ancestors of the Skaal who built this tomb for their master, the Dragon Priest they called the guardian. In all likelihood, these people were ancient Nords who came with the Dragon Priests to live here on Solstheim. Separated from their people on the mainland, they developed a distinct culture that became the Skaal we know today. Of course this is all just theory and conjecture. It is likely we will never know the truth."
:Why all the traps and puzzles? "A good question. Partly to keep unwanted intruders away, I suppose. they might also have been meant as tests, to ensure that only the truly worthy can reach the main burial chamber. Who can say, really? The motives of the Dragon Priests are as inscrutable as those of the Dragons they worshipped."
Tharstan will stay behind, purportedly to study the Word Wall, where he will mention "There's enough here for entire volumes!"
The only exit from the dungeon is all the way back through to the beginning.
===Dragon-Rune Tablets===
Throughout Vahlok's Tomb there are three tablets displaying text in the ancient Nord language which gives hints to the three puzzles found within the tomb. The following are the direct quotes from the tablets.
Tablet I: "A sacrifice will bring you closer to that which you seek."
Tablet II: "Continue along the path, don't tread where you've been."
Tablet III: "All Men must die, often by their own means."
==Journal==
Lost Legacy – DLC2SV01	Lost Legacy – DLC2SV01
ID 	Journal Entry
10 	I met Tharstan, a historian living in the Skaal village who discovered the recently-unearthed entrance to an old crypt. He offered to hire me as protection while we explored the crypt, and asked me to meet him there if I was interested.
*Objective 10: Travel to Vahlok's Tomb
20 	
*Objective 20: Talk to Tharstan
30 	I arrived at the old tomb to find Tharstan waiting for me. He was eager to start exploring the place, and he asked me to lead the way. First, I need to figure out how to open the doors in the main chamber. Once that's done, we can explore the tunnels beyond.
*Objective 30: Explore Vahlok's Tomb
40 	I met Tharstan, a Nord from the Skaal village who discovered an old Draugr crypt. I agreed to accompany him in exploring the old crypt. After we discovered a pair of Word Walls, as well as two pieces of an ancient claw, we gained entry into a sealed chamber. Tharstan's translations suggest that we'll find a Dragon Priest's sarcophagus nearby.
*Objective 40: Find the main burial chamber
45 	
*Objective 45: Defeat Vahlok
50 	I met Tharstan, a Nord from the Skaal village who sidcovered an old Draugr crypt. I agreed to accompany him in exploring the old crypt. Inside, we found the tomb of a Dragon Priest left behind long ago to guard against a traitor from his own order.
*Objective 50: Talk to Tharstan
200 	I met a historian named Tharstan in Skaal village and he hired me to help him explore an old tomb he'd discovered. It turned out to the tomb of a Dragon Priest named Vahlok, who I fought and defeated.
*Quest completed
==Trivia==
*Vahlok is the only named Dragon Priest who does not drop a mask.
*The Dragonborn can ask Tharstan to repeat the inscriptions, and can also ask him for insight on how to solve the puzzles.
*Except for the last one, all magical bridge puzzles may be solved by using Whirlwind Sprint. If the Dragonborn manages to get into the pit, they will be stuck. At this point loading a save will be required.
**Tharstan or the Dragonborn's any essential followers will carefully avoid the trapdoor fire pit. By using Ice Form and pushing against the frozen character with another object Tharstan and any followers can be pushed in the fire pit. This will, however, not help the quest to proceed and the characters will just teleport out of the pit.
==Bugs==
*The Deathlords holding the two halves of Amethyst Claws may not have the amethyst claw halves on their bodies once killed, making the quest impossible to complete.
* Vahlok may rise from his sarcophagus, but cannot attack.
* Tharstan may not have the speech option to give the code for the puzzle door.
*The Dragonborn may not be able to activate the three door rings.
**This can be fixed by exiting then reentering the tomb.
* After completing the quest, the game may freeze when exiting the tomb.
*After taking heavy damage, Tharstan will start crawling but will be unable to stand back up after recovering.
**Waiting a few hours until he reaches a word wall and then speaking to him will complete the quest.
* The rings will move, but when the Amethyst Claw is inserted, door may not open even with the correct combination (Hawk, Wolf, Dragon).
* The doors that are barred from the other side may be opened. If the Dragonborn stands directly in front of one, the "Open Wooden Door" label for the X button may be periodically replaced for a fraction of a second with "Activate Door Bar." Continually hitting the X button will eventually cause the button to be hit at the time the door bar message appears, allowing the door bar to be undone.
* The Deathlord holding the Left Amethyst Claw may fall through the floor before retrieving the claw, making the quest impossible to complete.
**Reloading a previous save will fix the bug.
* After unlocking the cell doors with the Amethyst claws, the doors may close and lock again and be unable to be reopened.
**Reloading a previous save will fix the bug.
* After the two amethyst claws are inserted into the key slots and the player crosses Vahlok's bridge, the bridge disappears making it impossible for Tharstan to cross to the the players side and continue the quest.
==Appearances==
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de:Verlorenes Erbe (Dragonborn)
ru:Утраченное наследие
Category:Dragonborn: Side Quests
Category:Dragonborn: Skaal Village Quests