Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Dragonborn Walkthrough Part 1 (Dragonborn and The Temple of Miraak)

Author’s Note: After downloading the Dragonborn DLC, you may be tempted to journey to Solstheim immediately.  While not necessary, it is recommended that you complete the Main Quest of Skyrim before accessing this DLC.

This walkthrough is based off of a level 40 Dual Sword Wielding Redguard.

Getting to Solstheim

You may be tempted to look immediately for a way to the island as soon as you boot up the game.  However, that would be a mistake.  Start by taking a gander through a few of Skyrim’s larger cities (Whiterun was my location of choice).  While in one of these cities two strange, robed men, with spike-y masks will approach you and ask if you are the heretic claiming to be the Dragonborn.  You will be forced to answer in the affirmative and kill them.  After dispatching the mysterious men a quest heading will pop up reading:

Dragonborn

Start by searching the Cultist’s bodies.  Upon them, you will find a note that will make your new objective to travel to Solstheim.

The boat to Solstheim is docked in Windhelm.  Head down to the cities’ docks and use your marker to locate the correct captain.  You will know you’re close when the crew starts saying, “If you’re looking for passage, talk to Captain Gjalund.”  Unfortunately, the captain is a little reluctant to head to Solstheim.

The captain will refuse you passage to the island. Ask the captain why he won’t return and he will talk about the strange cultists whom he brought to Skyrim.  If your speech skills are high enough you might be able to persuade him or intimidate him. If not, you will have to pay 500 gold to convince him to make the passage.  After you have bartered your way to Solstheim you will get an additional objective to “Search for Information about Miraak”

Upon reaching Raven’s rock, an official named Adril Arano will ask you about your intentions.  Tell him that you are looking for a fellow named Miraak and he Adril will fall all over his words.  Keep him talking about Miraak and eventually you will get an objective to “Investigate the Shrine”

Take a left after exiting the boat and keep going straight to enter the Solstheim Temple.  On the bottom level of the temple there are doors on either side of the room.  Question the Elders who are in these rooms .  They will tell you that they do not remember much about the name, although it sounds familiar.  If you keep questioning them for long enough, eventually they will tell you about a temple that is built in Miraak’s honor in the center of the island.

Exit the temple and head for the marker on your map.  It should be fairly easy to find as the temple is preceded by large stairs and giant arcs that will lead up you up the mountain to the Temple of Miraak.  When you see Reavers busy working on the surrounding structures, you will know you are in the right place.

The temple is currently under construction.  Go up the wooden scaffolding to get a bird’s eye view.  Now enter the temple and walk to the center of the gazebo-like structure in the center.

The Temple of Miraak

After reaching the center of the gazebo you will get the objective to Talk to Frea.  She is at the eastern edge of the Gazebo talking to the Reaver workers. She’s easy to spot as she is the only person in the temple dressed in heavy armor.  Frea will tell you she is looking to save/avenger her people from a recent corruption in Solstheim.  Furthermore, she will tell you that Miraak has only recently returned to Solstheim and to find him you must find an entry into the temple.

After your chat, two cultists will emerge from the temple and attack. Follow the path they came out of, down in a winding circle of stairs until you come upon the entrance to Miraak’s Temple.

Once inside, you can follow Frea’s advice and check the first rooms on the left and right for supplies.  The first on the right has a bottle of resist magic potion and a couple skeletons with meager change on them. The right room splits into a grisly dungeon where three poor people have been burned to death and burial room where you can find coin purse.  The second room on the left has three different poisons.

After you have checked these rooms to your liking, follow the tunnel until you come to an open circular room.  A trap is waiting to be sprung immediately after entering, so tread lightly.  After stepping around the trap you will hear two cultists who are in the stairwell across the room.  Frea will charge them straight on, so if you are feeling overpowered you can let her to the dirty work or join her in the fray.

The stairs lead to a room with very little treasure, only a little better than the worthless cultists you just slew.  In the next room there are two pillars in the middle of the room, weave in between them to avoid the two traps in here.  Then proceed down the stairs and pull the chain to open the gate.

In this room Frea will comment about something valuable atop the balcony overlooking the room.  The stairs are gone and you won’t be able to climb up that way so go around to the other side of the room where you will find a Draugr Deathlord and a Restless Draugr. If you wander too far down the stairs you’ll trigger three cultists who will attack you with magic, so be careful and weasel through a triangle crevice between the Draugr Deathlord’s tomb and the giant, curved stone structure.  Now turn around and hop up on the structure you just crawled under.  It will take a dozen tires and Frea or another follower might make it even more difficult, but eventually you should get up atop the structure.  Now walk high above the balcony and jump down.  In a chest here you will find a couple decent weapons, a Chitin helmet, a Scroll of Mayhem, and some gold.

Now head down the stairs and enter the tunnel.  To the left of the portcullis is a handle to open it, activate the handle and enter a burial chamber.  If you’ve played any Skyrim by now, you should know to never trust the dead.  This is no exception as a skeleton and four Draugr will come to life as you are passing through.

The exit to this room is in the northeast corner.  Two more Draugr are wandering down the hall toward you.  Watch out for the trap on the floor that will trigger a spike wall and second that will lose a battering ram.  Snake through the traps, kill the first two Draugr, then dispatch the remaining three.  Aside from a shouting spell that knock you backwards, the Draugr aren’t so hard.  If you are struggling, let Frea draw their attacks and sneak in behind her.  You can also use the dungeon traps on the Draugr by luring them toward you.

There are two ways out of this room, after taking either, turn left and watch out for the fire trap in front of the door.  Either Frea or a follower are bound to set off the fire trap, so just try to make it through the doors as fast as possible.  Inside this room is a swinging blade trap. Frea will inform you that she will wait for you to deactivate the trap.  Tell your follower to do same.

If you have the Become Ethereal shout this is a walk in the park, just trigger the spell and walk through the blades to the back of the room. If not, try to time the blades correctly to reach the lever at the end of the hall, to the right.  Each ridge marks a safe spot in between the swinging blades where you can catch your breath and regain your timing.

Follow the winding stairs and enter through the doors.  Take a left behind the rubble and pull a chain on the wall to open a secret passage. This passage will lead to soul gems, a stamina potion, and gold.  Exit back out of the passage and take another left, then go left again once through the open door which will lead you to another handle.  Activate the handle to open the portcullis.

Take the stairs into the next room and kill the two Draugr Scourge and cultist adept.  The adept will attempt to hang back why the scourge attack.  Dodge the scourge as their arrows don’t do much damage and kill the adept. Then turn your attention to  the pesky undead archers.  Heal up and enter the Temple of Miraak’s Sanctum.

Once inside the sanctum, go down the stairs and cross the bridge.  Here you will find about six skeletons.  Once they’re dead, two Draugr will pop out of their tombs.  Kill the Draugr and watch out for the traps at the bottom of the stairs.

Follow the path up and you will find some old ruins.  Frea will say they are worth exploring, but a restless Draugr is all to be found atop of them.  Continue down the stairs and kill the Draugr, then return up the stairs to kill two cultists.  Watch out as you descend the stairs the cultists attack from, as there is a battering ram trap just before the first step.

To exit the room take the stairs that lead deeper into the temple.  In this chamber you will receive a new dragon shout. After getting the shout, the six tombs will burst open and a Gatekeeper Draugr plus five others will attack.  Whittle their numbers down, one at a time, and avoid getting double teamed. Search the Gatekeeper to find his key and unlock the door inside his tomb.

The next room is some sort of dining room.  You can look around, but there’s not much to find.  Take what you want and open the next door to a room that contains more of the same.  Finally you will come to a ruined kitchen where Frea will speculate you have come to dead end, then will instruct you to look for an alternative route.

To the right of the alchemy table you will see a path.  Take it and check to the left of the path to find a handle.  Use the handle to open a secret passage in the dining area.  Follow the tunnel which will lead you to a large round room encircled by ruined books.  There is another room to the southwest corner of the room which contains a handle.  Activate the handle and take the winding stairs deep into the temple.

At the bottom of the stairs you will have to cross the room to another set of stairs.  Continue down and weave through the eire braisers in the center of the room.  At the end of the room follow the path to the left and activate the handle to reveal more stairs.  Take them down and open the wooden door once at the bottom.

The door open to large, slowly ascending stairs.  Halfway up the top you will be attacked by skeletons, Draugr, and a Draugr Overlord.  Avoid getting caught in the middle of the Overlord and his minions, keeping the fight one-on-one. You will probably have to  heal yourself at least once in the middle of the fight, so come prepared.  Draugrs’ biggest weakness is their slowness, so use it to your advantage.  After they are dead, collect you spoils and pull the chain behind the overlord’s tomb to open the door.

The door opens to a long, winding tunnel leads to a room that looks like the inside of of an oven.  In the center of the room is a Black Book.  Pick it up and read it. Upon doing so you will be transported to another dimension, where Miraak will question you.

Upon being sent back to Solstheim Frea will have some questions.  After talking with her, the Temple of Miraak will be completed.  Exit the temple.