The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Daedric Quests [Guide]

The realm of Oblivion is a dark one indeed. Demonic beings reside within its hellfire, and some people in Skyrim worship these dark entities, or offer sacrifices to them, hoping for riches in return. In the mortal realm, there exists Daedric Artifacts, and those that possess them wields true, supreme power.

I felt that the Daedric Quests in Skyrim deserved to have a guide of their own! If you are looking for a more comprehensive guide, featuring a full walkthrough for the Main Quest, all the Side Quests, and the Guild Quests, please refer to this guide:

http://www.cheatmasters.com/blog/2011/11/11/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-faq-walkthrough-guide/

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Daedric Quests
Written by Dalton “Horror Spooky” Cooper
Copyright 2011 CheatMasters

Contact Information
E-mail: [email protected]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. Daedric Quests

A. Waking Nightmare
B. A Daedra’s Best Friend
C. Discerning the Transmundane

2. Daedric Artifacts

A. Skull of Corruption
B. Masque of Clavicus Vile
C. The Rueful Axe

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1. Daedric Quests
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A. WAKING NIGHTMARE
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The small and freezing mountain town Dawnstar has been having problems with
nightmares lately. The residents of the town have been having horrible dreams
and they all feel like they are slowly going mad from these torments. There is
someone that knows the origin of these nightmarish visions, and his name is
Erandur. Visit the local inn to find him and speak with him about the plague
of sleeping horrors that has struck the town.

Erandur will explain that the Daedric God named Vaermina is the cause of the
nightmares. He then asks you to accompany him to the nearby Nightcaller Temple,
a temple located near Dawnstar that hasn’t been disturbed in decades. Follow
him there. I suggest running ahead of him, following the cobblestone path up
the mountainside until you reach the temple, as Erandur walks agonizingly slow.
You are likely to come across some spiders along the way, so deal with them
accordingly.

Once Erandur arrives as well, speak with him again. He then reveals more about
the temple. It seems that this temple was once home to priests that lived out
their days worshipping Vaermina. However, orcs, seeking revenge for the
nightmares that were placed on them, raided the temple. To save themselves, the
priests released a toxic gas into the air called Miasma that put everyone in
the temple to sleep, and they have remained like that for years upon years.

Erandur will head inside the temple, and you should follow him. As you follow
Erandur through the temple, the priests and orcs that have long been dormant
will begin to rise from their slumber. Kill them as quickly as possible. You
have a significant advantage since it takes a bit for them to even to get to
their feet, let alone swing their weapon or blast a spell in your face.

Erandur will point out the artifact that is causing the nightmares in a nearby
room. The artifact is called the Skull of Corruption, and it steals memories
of people while they are sleeping, replacing them with nightmares. Keep
following Erandur through the temple until the two of you reach a magical blue
barrier that keeps you from progressing.

It is at this time that Erandur admits to being one of the priests that resided
in this very temple. When the orcs attacked, Erandur panicked and fled from
the temple. He hopes to make up for his foolish actions by saving Dawnstar from
the nightmares and by spending the rest of his days praying at a makeshift
altar he set up for forgiveness.

Erandur deduces that there is a way to bypass the magical barrier, even though
it cannot be destroyed. He says that there is a book they need to find in the
library to confirm this, so follow him to the library. He will unlock a door
that you walked by to reach the barrier, and then continue following him. Kill
any enemies that decide to wake up as you make your way to the library. Follow
Erandur to the bottom floor of the library, and then speak with him again.

Erandur asks you to find the book entitled “The Dreamstride”. He decides to
investigate the bottom floor, and he asks you to search the shelfs on the above
floor. Your compass and objective marker will point you directly to it. Pick it
up, then return to Erandur with it. Speak with Erandur again as he flips
through the pages of the book.

He will discover his theory to be correct. You see, Erandur’s plan is to have
you drink a potion called Vaermina’s Torpor. This will allow you to transport
your physical self to a new location by traveling through the dreams of someone
else. He warns that this may be very dangerous, but agree to go through with
the plan. Erandur then asks you to follow him to the laboratory that is
adjacent to the library, where he hopes to find some of Vaermina’s Torpor.

There will be more enemies to kill as you make your way to the laboratory.
When you reach the laboratory, kill the enemies in there as well, and then
Erandur will speak to you again. He will instruct you to search the lab for the
Torpor. Once again, your compass and objective marker will point you directly
to the potion. Once you have it in your possession, return to Erandur and tell
him about it.

Open up your menu, and then go to your items. You will be able to find the
Torpor under the “Potions” tab. Consume the potion to enter the dream of one of
the priests. They will be discussing with two high-ranking priests named Veren
and Thorek. The dream is about the night the orcs attacked the temple and the
Miasma was released, apparently, as you are then instructed to release the
Miasma.

Use your compass to lead you to the Miasma. You won’t be able to fight or
anything, so ignore the orcs and priests fighting all around you. You will be
lead to a chain that you have to pull to release the Miasma. Once the gas is
released, you will then awaken in your physical form. Use your compass to lead
you to the other side of the magical barrier.

Grab the item out of the torch holder on the wall that is producing the magic
to uphold the barrier. Doing so will release the barrier, and you will then be
able to reunite with Erandur again. Talk to him, and he will ask you to follow
him to the Skull of Corruption, so that he can destroy it once and for all.
However, as the two of you near the skull, the two high-ranking priests, Veren
and Thorek, will rise from their slumber.

They aren’t too happy that Erandur abandoned them, and they are convinced that
he is a traitor. Quickly kill the priests. With Erandur’s help, they aren’t too
much trouble, and honestly don’t even deal that much damage with their spells.
The only thing threatening about the two of them is that they have quite a bit
of health. Once they’re dead, speak with Erandur yet again. He will approach
the Skull of Corruption, and begins summoning a spell to destroy the barrier
protecting the artifact as well as the Skull of Corruption itself.

Vaermina will then get inside your head and your thoughts. She will try to lie
to you and convince you that Erandur is simply going to release the item onto
the world. You now have two choices here, with two very different outcomes
depending on what you choose.

1) Kill Erandur. Erandur is an easy kill. He will be focused on trying to
destroy the barrier around the Skull of Corruption, and you can attack him
from behind with devastating results. Once he’s dead, you can take the Skull of
Corruption for yourself.

2) Let Erandur dispel the barrier. If you wait around and let Erandur do his
business, the Skull of Corruption will be forever lost, sent back to the realm
of Oblivion where it came from. Erandur will then offer his services to you if
you ever want him to accompany you on quests.

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B. A DAEDRA’S BEST FRIEND
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This quest begins at Falkreath. You can start it by just journeying on the road
that leads into Falkreath and randomly being approached by a character in this
quest named Barbas, or you can start a Misc. Quest that will open up into this
quest. If you wish to get this quest rolling without the waiting around, simply
go to the front gate of Falkreath.

Upon arriving, a guard will stop you. He will tell you that a local named Lod
has lost his dog and is looking for it. Inquire further about this matter, and
then go speak to Lod. Lod will give you some meat to lay down as bait to
attract his dog. You will be directed to the place on the road where the dog
has been seen, and upon arriving, he will walk right up to you.

Oh, and he talks. Doctor Doolittle up in here, apparently. This dog is Barbas
and he wants your help to get to his master. No, not the dude that’s actually
looking for him! It’s a talking dog, for the sake of Pete! His actual master is
the Daedric prince named Clavicus Vile. Barbas will then lead you to Clavicus’s
Shrine at Haemar’s Shame, a cave that’s not-so-nearby.

Your compass won’t point you to the cave, so you have to follow Barbas. He will
mostly just keep going, but he annoyingly stops to bark at stuff now and again.
Just keep following Barbas through the mountainside, taking care of any hostile
wolves or people that you may cross paths with. When you eventually reach
Haemar’s Shame, be prepared to deal with some vampires, and not the sexually-
oppressed kind that kids these days are used to!

As you work your way through the cave, kill all the vampires. There will also
be a couple of bandits. Barbas will likely run ahead of you at this point, and
he will probably kill a couple of vampires for you along the way. You’ll
eventually reach the head vampire, so kill him, and then approach the large
shrine to Clavicus Vile. Interact with the shrine to speak with him.

Clavicus refuses to take Barbas back. He wants Barbas to earn his spot, and he
wants you to complete a task for him in return for taking his dog back.
Clavicus tasks you with finding a powerful Daedric artifact called the Rueful
Axe. Your map will be marked and Barbas will accompany you on the journey, so
head there now. You’ll want to fast-travel to a location near the cave where
the axe is located, by the way, because it’s super-far away from Clavicus’s
shrine.

When you finally reach the next dungeon, kill the wizard in the first room.
Then approach the Rueful Axe, which is just sitting on a nearby table. Grab it,
then exit the cave. Fast-travel back to Clavicus. Speak with him, and he will
give you two options. No matter which option you choose, you will get a Daedric
artifact in the end, so don’t worry about it. The two different options and
their consequences are laid out below.

1) You can kill Barbas. Kill Barbas and then speak with Clavicus. He will take
Barbas back anyway and somehow be returned to “full power”. It’s all very
confusing and honestly doesn’t make much sense. You will be allowed to keep the
axe as your reward.

2) You can refuse to kill Barbas. If you choose this route, you forfeit the
axe and Clavicus absorbs Barbas without him being murdered first. He also
rewards you with the Masque of Clavicus Vile, a pretty helpful mask that can
prove to be very useful in capable hands.

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C. DISCERNING THE TRANSMUNDANE
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You will actually pick up this quest simply by doing the main quest of the game. When you go to the College of Winterhold to find out more about the ElderScrolls, you will speek with an orc that operates the College’s library. After your conversation is over, he will bring you two books that involve the Elder Scrolls. Take and read both of them, and this quest will be added to your adventure.

The next steps are the same as if you were doing the main quest. You need to go to Septimus Signus, a crazy man that may know where to find the correct Elder Scroll, living in an ice cave near the College. Once you reach his cave, speak with him to learn that the Elder Scroll is likely in a Dwarven ruin called Alftand. However, that has to deal with the main quest. Septimus wants you to do something else for him, as a part of this Daedric Quest.

Septimus wants you to transcribe what is known as the Lexicon. At the end of
the main quest that this quest follows along, you will use the Lexicon to solve
a puzzle. For more information on that, please refer to my FAQ/Walkthrough.
There is a link at the top of this guide.

Anyway, after the Lexicon has been used and the Elder Scroll obtained, don’t
forget to pick the Lexicon back up from its pedastal. Then return to Septimus.
Give Septimus the Lexicon. It seems he has discovered a way to open the giant
dwarven lockbox that is in his cave. He’ll need blood that resembles dwarven
blood to open it, so you have to go and harvest the blood of a multitude of
races so he can mix them in an effort to create something similar to dwarven
blood.

As you prepare to leave the ice cave, you will see a large black and purple
vortex. This dark abyss will compliment you, then reveal that after Septimus
opens the lockbox, it wants you to kill him. Accept this thing as your lord and
savior to keep this Daedric Quest rolling at a steady pace.

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2. Daedric Artifacts
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A. SKULL OF CORRUPTION
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Location: Nightcaller Temple
Quest: Waking Nightmare (Dawnstar)

DAMAGE – 2
WEIGHT – 10
VALUE  – 1680

Description: 20 points damage, increases to 50 if powered with dreams collected
from sleeping people.

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B. MASQUE OF CLAVICUS VILE
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Location: Haemar’s Shame
Quest: A Daedra’s Best Friend (Falkreath)

ARMOR  – 32
WEIGHT – 7
VALUE  – 1277

Description: Prices are 20% better. +10 Speechcraft. Magicka regenerates 5%
faster.

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C. THE RUEFUL AXE
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Location: Haemar’s Shrine
Quest: A Daedra’s Best Friend (Falkreath)

DAMAGE – 24
WEIGHT – 10
VALUE  – 1183

Description: Does 20 ponits of Stamina damage.

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