You need to collect 15 Daedric Artifacts for this, you do not need to possess them all at once so you can sell or store them away as you get them. There are 16 Daedric Gods and each one has a quest attached. There are a possible 19 different Artifacts, but only 17 are obtainable in one playthrough and the achievement does not carry over through multiple playthroughs. The Skeleton Key obtained from Nocturnal is during a Thieves Guild quest and does not count as an Artifact. Also the Rueful Axe from the Clavicus Vile quest does not count either and so they will not count towards this achievement. And although you can only obtain one of the two Artifacts from Azura, you can gain two Artifacts from Hircine. Therefore there are a possible 16 that count of the 15 required Artifacts to unlock this.
Many quests are glitchy and some are missable, I’ve written this guide addressing every known bug prior to and resulting from all patches, so depending on what patch you currently have some of the bugs will be fixed, but to ensure total success heed all warnings for all bugs. It is advisable, and in some cases not possible, to begin certain quests until you reach a certain character level. I would recommend starting a new career for this achievement or at least be below level 9, although it can still be obtained above this level if you have not activated any Daedric quests or already completed some in the order and manner included in this guide. To show you what I mean; if you have finished or progressed too far in the ‘A Night To Remember’ quest for Sanguine before completing the ‘House of Horrors’ quest for Molag Bal, you may have triggered an un-fixable bug that will prevent you from ever being able to activate it, and possibly forcing you to start a new career.
If you follow this guide in the order shown you will not only get the achievement and the most advanced version of each Artifact, you will also completely avoid or remedy any bugs that can possibly be encountered. Be sure to take this guide ‘word for word’ as any improvisations may cause bugs. Also its much better to disable Auto-saves in settings and save manually as Auto-saves could leave you trapped in inescapable areas. Save whenever I’ve stated ‘Save’ using at least three different slots to fall back on.
PLACES AND PEOPLE TO AVOIDTo prevent activating unfixable bugs avoid the following places altogether unless you are prompted to go there specifically for the Daedric quest:
*Alftand, south-west of Winterhold
*Azura’s Shrine, south of Winterhold, don’t talk to Aranea
*Bloated Mans Grotto, north of Falkreath, north shore of Lake Ilinalta
*Bthardamz, north of Markarth
*Cracked Tusk Keep, west of Falkreath
*Dawnstar, Windpeak Inn, don’t talk to Erandur
*Dead Crone Rock, south-west of Markarth
*Falkreath, Barracks
*Fallowstone Cave, north-east of Riften
*Haemar’s Cavern, east of Helgen
*Ilinalta’s Deep, north of Falkreath, north shore of Lake Ilinalta
*Jorgen’s house in Morthal
*Knifepoint Ridge, north-west of Falkreath
*Largashbur, far west of Riften, avoid this area altogether
*Markarth, Abandoned House
*Markarth, Understone Keep
*Meridia’s Shrine, west of Solitude, do not approach it
*Nightcaller Temple, near Dawnstar
*Peryite’s Shrine, north of Markarth, don’t talk to Kesh
*Reachcliff Cave, south-east of Markarth
*Sacellum of Boethiah, east of Windhelm
*Septimus Signus’ Outpost
*Solitude, Graveyard, don’t talk to Dervenin
*Thieves Guild, do not complete the quest ‘Trinity Restored’
*After reaching level 10: Falkreath altogether
*After reaching level 14: Sam Guevenne, in a random inn, avoid talking to him altogether
*After reaching level 20: Whiterun’s Bannered Mare, Hulda
*After reaching level 20: Whiterun, Dragonsreach, don’t ask Jarl Balgruuf about his children
*After reaching level 20: Dawnstar, Silus Versuius house
ESSENTIAL NPC’SThese people are essential to Daedric quests and can die, DO NOT KILL THEM OR ALLOW THEM TO DIE.
*Chief Yamarz, west-south-west of Riften, Largashbur, Longhouse
*Dervenin, Graveyard or Temple of The Divines, Solitude
*Ennis, Rorikstead, Farm (Immortal after Patch 1.5)
*Eola, Markarth, Understone Keep, The Hall of The Dead
*Hulda, the Bannered Mare, Whiterun (Immortal after Patch 1.5)
*Jarl Balgruuf The Greater, Dragonsreach, Whiterun or the Blue Palace, Solitude
*Lod, Falkreath, Blacksmiths
*Nelacar, Frozen Hearth Inn, Winterhold
*Priestess of Boethiah, east of Windhelm, Sacellum of Boethiah
*Sam Guevenne, found in any random city Inn after reaching level 14
*Septimus Signus, north of Winterhold, Septimus Signus’ Outpost
*Sinding, Falkreath, Barracks, In a cell (Immortal after patch 1.9).
*Urag Gro-Shub, College of Winterhold, Arcaneum
*Ysolda, Whiterun streets or the Bannered Mare (Immortal after Patch 1.5)
DLC WARNINGAfter installing the
Dawnguard DLC, you will be subject to random and very dangerous vampire attacks that often occur in towns and cities. These are not particularly dangerous to you, but they can easily cause the deaths of quest and achievement related characters. There is also an unconfirmed rumour that having the Dawnguard DLC installed while completing the 'A Daedra's Best Friend' quest may exclude the Masque of Clavicus Vile from the Daedric Artifact checklist and it won't register (thanks to
https://www.trueachievements.com/DustierHorizon3.htm for this info). I therefore highly recommend you conclude all business involving any and all other quests and achievements from the base game, the Hearthfire, and the Dragonborn DLCs, before installing this DLC.
ADDITIONAL NOTES*If you find a flawless ruby anywhere DO NOT SELL IT, store it in a safe container (like in your house) or at least keep it on your person.
*Also store the following items for later, but do not keep them in your inventory: one Deathbell, one silver ingot, one Vampire Dust, one Daedra heart, and one Troll Fat.
Guides are in the recommended order and arranged thus:
Artifact = Short description of the artifact/s attained.
Daedric Lord = The prince or princess associated with the artifact/s.
Requirements = Minimum character level you need and should be at.
Mission name = Name of the mission as it appears in the journal.
*Notes = Additional information relevant to the mission.
CAPITAL = Words warning of bugs and glitches to avoid.
1.
SAVIOUR'S HIDE and THE RING OF HIRCINESaviour’s Hide – Magic and poison resistant Light Armour
Ring of Hircine – Additional Werewolf transformations ring
Hircine - The Huntsman and Father of Manbeasts
Level 1+
Ill Met By Moonlight*You’ll encounter levelled Bandit Hunters.
*You will gain two Artifacts.
*Don't transform into a werewolf yourself at any point during this quest. *Fixed in update 1.9 (8/4/2013).
1 = Go to Falkreath. Save.
2 = Go into the ‘Falkreath Barracks’ and then down into the jail.
3 = The only prisoner, ‘Sinding’, will approach the bars, (if he doesn’t, leave, then re-enter). Talk to Sinding and take the ring, WAIT FOR HIM TO TRANSFORM AND ESCAPE OR HE MAY BECOME STUCK THERE. (Note that the ring he gives you will not count as an Artifact until you complete his objective). Save.
4 = If you encountered a Dragon at Falkreath make sure the blacksmith ‘Lod’ is not dead before continuing (essential for Clavicus Vile quest).
5 = Go and kill the ‘White Stag’, KILL IT QUICKLY- IF IT ESCAPES TO A HIGH POINT ON THE THROAT OF THE WORLD AND SEEMS UNREACHABLE FAST TRAVEL TO HIGH HROTHGAR AND CAREFULLY SNEAK DOWNWARDS TOWARDS IT.
6 = Talk to the White Stag’s spirit and offer to kill Sinding.
7 = Head north to ‘Bloated Man’s Grotto’ its on the north-west shore of ‘Lake Ilinalta’, save.
8 = Once inside save, don’t attack the werewolf Sinding, a little way inside you’ll talk to him on a rock above you, offer to help him.
9 = Kill all the hunters, DO NOT HIT SINDING BY MISTAKE, NOT EVEN WITH NON-HOSTILE SPELLS LIKE HEAL OR HE WILL TURN ON YOU AND YOU WONT GET THE RING. When all the hunters are dead save.
10 = Talk with Sinding, tell him that the Hunters are dead, exit the cave and the Aspect of Hircine (the White Stag) will appear again, granting you the Ring of Hircine.
11 = Go back into the cave, kill Sinding, take his hide and receive the Savior's Hide from Hircine. Save.
*As a bug you may later encounter Sinding walking the roads, alive, or dead in Werewolf form back in his cell.
2.
THE SKULL OF CORRUPTION The Skull of Corruption – A health damage Staff
Vaermina - The Weaver of the Panoply
Level 1+
Waking Nightmare*This quest is very glitchy so save strictly.
*Get rid of any follower before starting this quest.
*You’ll encounter levelled Mage’s and Orc hunters.
1 = Go to Dawnstar, save, enter the ‘Windpeak Inn’ and find ‘Erandur’, speak to him and offer to help him end the nightmares of Dawnstar.
2 = There are many glitches involving Erandur, he can be very slow and annoying but be patient and walk beside him up to the top of the nearby cliff-top and don’t interrupt him. You’ll encounter a few higher levelled wild animals near the top, these could be very dangerous so be careful.
3 = After killing the creatures at the entrance of ‘Nightcaller Temple’ BUT BEFORE TALKING TO ERANDUR SAVE, then proceed inside.
4 = Erandur may disappear, the only solution is to reload previous save. Erandur will open a magic doorway, proceed through with him and up to the balcony. He will explain that the Artifact the ‘Staff of Corruption’, located below, needs to be destroyed, you’ll go downstairs and encounter two hostile Orcs, defeat them and Erandur will say that the magic barrier you encounter needs to be disabled, to do this he needs a book from the library.
5 = Head back upstairs with Erandur, (if he gets stuck on the stairs either push him up with Unrelenting Force or reload previous save). He’ll unlock the door, save before proceeding inside.
6 = In the library you’ll encounter multiple hostile Mages and Orcs, defeat them all then Erandur will ask you to find a book called the ‘Dreamstride’, its above you in the south-east corner on a pedestal, save.
7 = Take the book back to Erandur who’ll then say he needs ‘Vaermina’s Torpor’ which is located in the adjacent laboratory.
8 = The laboratory contains some more Mage’s and Orcs in close quarters, Erandur will help you to defeat them, once their all dead talk to Erandur again then find the Torpor, a red bottle located on the lower level on a bookcase just below Erandur, save.
9 = Take it to Erandur who’ll tell you to drink it, MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT OVER-ENCUMBERED before consuming the Torpor, you’ll be transported back in time and into the body of ‘Brother Casimir’.
10 = You’ll find yourself in a dreamy version of the Temple at the time when the Orcs attacked, you are told to activate the Miasma release chain. You can’t attack anyone and noone will attack you, so just run through till you reach the upper level and pull the chain on the wall.
11 = You’ll be transported back to the present and into your own body albeit on the other side of the magic barrier. When your quest updates to ‘Disable the barrier’, pick up the soul gem located to the left of the chain, save, then go and talk to Erandur.
12 = Now follow Erandur down to the Staff, you’ll be attacked a few times more, then Erandur’s old-friends will spawn then attack, defeat them then save before talking to Erandur. (If you cannot activate Erandur you can either reload previous save or exit the Temple and re-enter).
13 = Talk to him and he’ll then proceed to disable the barrier surrounding the Skull of Corruption, wait until he disables it, Vaermina will command you to kill him, YOU MUST KILL ERANDUR NOW!
14 = Activate the altar to receive the Skull of Corruption, save.
3.
THE RING OF NAMIRA Ring of Namira – Cannibalistic stamina and health improving ring
Namira - The Spirit Daedra and the Great Darkness.
Level 1+
The Taste of Death*Get rid of any followers prior to starting this quest.
*You’ll encounter levelled Draugr and a boss Draugr.
1 = Go to Markarth, save, from the main entrance go straight up following the little waterway, cross it using the second large stone bridge on the left, up the stairs on your right and into the double-doors marked ‘Understone Keep’.
2 = Talk to ‘Brother Verulus’ upon entering, ask ‘Why not?’ then offer to help him, DO NOT INTIMIDATE HIM.
3 = Follow the marker round the corner and into ‘The Hall of The Dead’, save.
4 = You’ll hear a voice, continue through the hall until you meet ‘Eola’, answer ‘Guilt, what are you talking about?’ then ‘Where is this place?’, and offer to help her.
5 = Leave the hall and tell Verulus its safe.
6 = Go to ‘Reachcliff Cave’ to the south-east of Markarth, save, accept Eola as a follow and help her clear out the Draugr, BE CAREFUL NOT TO KILL EOLA OR ALLOW HER TO DIE.
7 = After killing the boss Draugr talk to Eola, she wants you to bring Verulus to her, save.
8 = Use the newly opened tunnel on the left to make a quick exit and fast travel directly back to Markarth’s Understone Keep.
9 = The marker may not be on the Keep’s entrance but you will nevertheless find Brother Verulus in the keep, he’s sometimes further in, inside the Hall of The Dead.
10 = Tell him you have need of a priest, then convince him to follow you.
11 = Leave the keep and fast travel back to ‘Reachcliff Secret Entrance’.
12 = Go inside and lead Verulus to Eola, save.
13 = Once he’s lying down, SAVE! AS HE MAY SINK THROUGH THE ALTAR, then kill him anyway you like, but avoid damage to Eola or anyone else, activate his body and eat his flesh, you’ll receive the Artifact the ‘Ring of Namira’, save.
4.
THE MACE OF MOLAG BAL Mace Of Molag Bal - Stamina damage and soul trap mace
Molag Bal - The King of Rape, the Harvester of Souls and the Lord of Brutality
Level 1+
The House of Horrors*COMPLETE THIS QUEST BEFORE STARTING THE ‘A NIGHT TO REMEMBER’ QUEST BY TALKING TO ‘SAM GUEVENNE’.
*If you are experiencing the ‘Crafting/object interaction bug’, where you are unable to interact with any crafting objects, avoid this quest, until it is fixed.
*You’ll encounter a lot of levelled Forsworn and a Forsworn boss.
1 = Go to Markarth, save.
2 = Walk up to the Abandoned House a little way into the city.
3 = You should see the ‘Vigilant Tyranus’ outside the entrance, offer to help him (you may need to leave Markarth and then return for him to spawn), save before entering the house and keep this save at least until you have left.
4 = Follow Tyranus, DO NOT INTERRUPT HIM, go through the house until you reach a locked door, a voice will soon ask you to kill Tyranus, do it by any means.
5 = Go down into the basement and through the tunnel behind the shelves.
6 = Activate the rusty mace, say ‘It’s an altar’, ask to revenge ‘Boethiah’.
7 = Follow your marker to one of the six random Forsworn redoubts to free ‘Logrolf’. Save once your there.
8 = Fight through and kill all the Forsworn, TAKE NOTE OF LOGROLF’S LOCATION WITH THE MARKER AND AVOID HURTING HIM, YOU COULD KILL HIM AND FAIL THE QUEST, MAKE SURE ALL FORSWORN IN THE AREA ARE DEAD, then free Logrolf, save.
9 = Fast travel back to Markarth, SAVE BEFORE ENTERING THE ABANDONED HOUSE, enter the Abandoned house.
10 = Follow Logrolf downstairs and wait for him to be captured, at this point you should activate a dialogue between Molag Bal and Logrolf, if it doesn't happen you will have to reload the previous save and try again. If it does happen wait for the dialogue to end then beat Logrolf into submission with the mace, but don't kill him.
11 = Another dialogue should trigger, wait for it to end then beat Logrolf to death and you’ll receive the Artifact the ‘Mace of Molag Bal’, save.
5.
WABBAJACK Wabbajack – Staff that changes beings into erm . . other things
Sheogorath - The Daedric Prince of Madness and Lord of the Never-There
Level 1+
The Mind of Madness1 = Go to Solitude, save, go straight ahead and to your right through the large arch, find the graveyard just to the right and behind the ‘Hall of The Dead’, find ‘Dervenin’ nearby, he circles the graveyard by day wearing brown and talking out loud to himself.
2 = Ask him ‘What do you need?’ then offer to help him, (if this dialogue option doesn't appear you may need to ask around Solitude for rumours concerning Dervenin).
3 = Head to the ‘Blue Palace’, ask ‘Erdi’ or one of the other marked servants to let you into the Pelagius wing, or pick one of their pockets for the key, and go in. MAKE SURE TO SAVE IMMEDIATELY AFTER ENTERING THE PELAGIUS WING, you are suddenly transported without any activation. You’ll find yourself in what is classed as an outdoor area where a Dragon may attack (*Fixed in patch 1.9 (8/4/2013)) and as you’ll have no weapons or abilities you will have to reload your save.
4 = Head upstairs and along the corridor where you will be suddenly transported into ‘The Mind of A Madman’ and lose all your items and abilities (temporarily).
5 = You’ll find Sheogorath and Pelagius III sitting at a table (reminiscent of the mad hatter scene from Alice In Wonderland), talk to Sheogorath and follow the dialogue until he gives you the ‘Wabbajack’, (press ‘X’ or ‘RT’ to equip it) you can’t leave with the artifact just yet though.
6 = You’ll have to use this mysterious staff in three trials to escape, walk through any one of the arches (it doesn’t matter which order you do them in);
6a = Confidence: You’ll find the personification of Pelagius’ Anger as a normal sized man fighting a tiny man named Confidence; you must restore the balance between them. Use Wabbajack to shrink Anger and enlarge Confidence, avoid the two spectres of Self-doubt while doing so. When they’re restored Sheogorath will say well done and Self-doubt will kill Anger. Save and move on to the next trial.
6b = Paranoia: You’ll find a stone fort, proceed up the steps to the arena where the two Atronachs are fighting. One of these is yours and the other belongs to the guy standing opposite you, you have to defeat your opponent. Don’t bother with the Atronachs, use Wabbajack on one of the guys sitting next to your opponent. Save and move to the next trial.
6c = Night Terrors: You’ll find Pelagius in a bed, use Wabbajack on him to start the night terrors. A series of increasingly difficult enemies will spawn one by one, use Wabbajack on them once they appear, you will turn them into non-hostiles, do not attack them further just use the staff on Pelagius to spawn the next one each time till there are no more, save.
7 = Go back and talk to Sheogorath, He’ll give you the Artifact ‘Wabbajack’ and you can keep the fine clothes, you’ll be transported back to the Blue Palace, save.
6.
AZURA'S STAR or the BLACK STAR Azura’s Star – Reusable soul gem that traps any soul except NPC’s
The Black Star – Reusable soul gem that despite it’s description can trap any soul
Azura - The Queen of Dawn and Dusk, the Mother of the Rose, and the Queen of the Night Sky
Level 1+
The Black Star*You can only attain one of the above Artifacts, choosing the Black Star is wiser if you use soul gems, choosing Azura’s Star will gain the option to recruit a good follower.
*You’ll encounter levelled Necromancers, Dremora and two Mage bosses.
1 = Most inn keepers will place the shrine’s location on your map.
The easiest way to reach it is by starting at Winterhold, follow the road south until you see a pass on your right, follow this under the stone arch. Keep close to the rocks on your left and proceed down, turn left when the rocks end and follow the faded snowy path winding up the mountain, you’ll soon see the very large stone shrine on your left.
2 = Climb the stairs and save before talking to ‘Aranea Lenith’ and offer to help her.
3 = Fast travel back to Winterhold, go into the ‘Frozen Hearth Inn’ and talk to ‘Nelacar’, he may be in a side room, bribe or intimidate him (persuasion may be bugged and will never work), save.
4 = Travel to ‘Ilinalta’s Deep’ to the north of Falkreath. (A boulder meant to prevent access to the second zone prior to this quest may still be present, the only known fix is to exit and re-enter the ruin).
5 = Once inside, save, clear out the Necromancers and undead, you’ll encounter a high level Mage boss, take care of him and proceed upstairs to the room with the dead skeleton of ‘Malyn Varen’, take the ‘Broken Azura’s Star’ from his lap (or on the floor) and exit via the ladders, save.
6 = Now you can either fast travel back to the Shrine and talk to Aranea to receive ‘Azura’s Star’, or to Nelacar in Winterhold to receive ‘The Black Star’. Both count for the Achievement and whichever you choose you will have to enter the Star itself and destroy Malyn’s soul. MAKE TWO SEPARATE SAVES BEFORE YOU SPEAK WITH EITHER ARANEA OR NELACAR.
7 = Enter the star, destroy Malyn’s Dremora minions first (harvest and retain a Daedra heart for later (if you're really having trouble with the Dremora you can lower the setting to Novice) then kill Malyn, (If you’re killed by a Dremora in the Star after killing Malyn, you may spawn at your last save with both the repaired Star and the broken Star in your inventory, if this happens do not continue as if you are done, fall back on your older save and do it again). Once Malyn is dead you’ll be transported back to Skyrim with the complete Star that you chose, save.
*Whichever Star you chose a group of Necromancers will later track you down to kill you in revenge.
7.
THE MASQUE CLAVICUS VILE The Masque of Clavicus Vile – Bartering heavy armour helmet
Level 10+
Clavicus Vile - Granter of power and wishes through ritual invocations and pacts.
A Daedra’s Best Friend*The Rueful Axe does NOT count as an Artifact.
*Complete any active quests for the Companions before starting this.
*You’ll encounter difficult levelled Vampires and a boss Mage.
1 = Go to Falkreath, save, talk to the town blacksmith ‘Lod’ and offer to help find his dog.
2 = Set out after Lod’s dog ‘Barbas’, once you find him he will engage you in conversation, offer to help him, DO NOT TALK TO BARBAS AT ANY POINT AFTER THIS. Make sure the ‘A Daedra’s Best Friend’ quest is active in your journal.
3 = You can then either follow him to ‘Haemars Cavern’, (which can be very glitchy, and irritating, as he wonders off all over the place and attacks everything), or you can just meet him there. It’s located at the dead end of a mountain pass east of Helgen, south-west of Ivarstead.
4 = To get there without following Barbas, fast travel to Helgen, follow the road east, you’ll soon see the cave on your compass, the road will take you there.
5 = Once inside, save, then battle through levelled Vampires and their thralls, enter ‘Haemar’s Shame’, save again, then continue on to the ‘Shrine of Clavicus Vile’, you’ll meet Barbas fighting a few levelled Vamps and a boss Vampire, help him kill them, then activate the shrine, DO NOT TALK TO BARBAS.
6 = Clavicus will ask you to retrieve the ‘Rueful Axe’ from ‘Rimerock Burrow’ located far to the north-west along the high west road from Solitude, exit via the passage behind the shrine (pull the chain on the right) and make your way to there.
7 = Once inside, save, then kill the powerful mage ‘Sebastian Lort’ and his Atronach, retrieve the axe and return to the shrine, save.
8 = Upon returning to the shrine activate it, Lord Vile will give you a choice; choose ‘No deal, take back . . etc. Hang around for Him to talk a bit and you’ll receive the Artifact the ‘Masque of Clavicus Vile’, equip it at least once, save.
8.
SPELLBREAKER Spellbreaker – Heavy shield with excellent magic resistance
Level 12+
Peryite - The Taskmaster
The Only Cure*If you have a Vampire Dust, Silver Ingot, Deathbell or Flawless Ruby, store them away in a safe place before beginning this quest.
*It’s ok and advisable to have a follower with you on this quest, ideally not a mage. Lydia, Cosnach, Ahtar, Argis The Bulwark, Kharjo or any Companion would be ideal. You will have to clear a very large ruin and battle a difficult magic resistant Spellsword boss.
1 = After reaching level 12 if you’ve not met an ‘Afflicted Refugee’ on the roads, then just head to the ‘Shrine of Peryite’, located north of Markarth and just north-west of Karthwastern.
2 = Upon reaching the shrine, save, if you have any of the items listed above drop them in a safe place nearby before talking to ‘Kesh The Clean’. Talk to him and ask to commune with ‘Peryite’. Kesh will tell you that you need the four ingredients to summon Daedric Lord and he’ll activate the quest properly for you.
3 = To find the ingredients: Fast travel or walk back to Karthwastern, some silver ingots are scattered around near the smelter. Fast travel to Solitude, go into ‘Angelines Aromatics’ and buy a Deathbell and a Vampire Dust, if she has no Deathbells steal one from her shop. If you already have a flawless ruby and Angeline has no Vampire dust either try ‘Arcadia’s Cauldron’ in Whiterun or the ‘Mortar and Pestle’ in Dawnstar. Alternatively if you really can’t find any dust and you need a ruby, you can find both in ‘Shriekwind Bastion’. It’s located just north-east of Falkreath.
Upon entering save, (you have a 3% chance of finding ‘Meridia’s Beacon’ inside Shriekwind Bastion, if you do, it’s OK to take it now). Shriekwind is inhabited by Vampires so you can obtain a dust from any one of them. Halfway through you’ll find a small throneroom with blood all over the floor, a flawless ruby is always here; at the foot of the unlit fire pit to the right of the throne.
For whatever reason you can't even find one there try:
Approximately 430 feet north-northwest of Reachwater Rock, a small cave southeast of Markarth and south of Sky Haven Temple there is an abandoned rowing boat with a Flawless Ruby in it. This map will show you where:
http://srmap.uesp.net/?locx=-145834&locy=4272Drop down into the river and you should spot it near the rocks.
Armaund Motierre carries one in his pocket. He can be found during the 'Silence has been broken' quest in the Dark Brotherhood questline in the tomb of Volunruud, north-northwest of Whiterun. After completion of the quest, he moves to the Bannered Mare inn in Whiterun. Simply pickpocket him.
Korvanjund, Korvanjund Crypt - Northeast of Whiterun: The crypt is the centermost area of the temple. This is where you will find the word wall for a word of the Slow Time shout. Following the path further will lead to a shortcut to the beginning of the Korvanjund Temple area. On the east side of the room, you may spot a couple of bowls placed higher than you can normally reach. They are both on stone shelves: one above a bookshelf, the other close to the stairs. They hold valuable loot and one will contain a Flawless Ruby. Although they may be difficult to reach by jumping, they can be toppled through ranged attacks. Use the Unrelenting Force shout to shake each bowl. Just remember to look around the entire room, for the gems fly out very far in different directions.
The Katariah - This ship is encountered during the 'Hail Sithis' quest in the Dark Brotherhood questline. The Flawless Ruby will be found in the
4 = Once you have all your ingredients fast travel back to the shrine, save, hand the ingredients to Kesh and allow him to knock up the mixture, DO NOT INTERRUPT HIM, (if you mistakenly glitch the quest by interrupting Kesh and for some reason forgot to save before, you can still continue; kill Kesh and loot the ingredients back, activate the cauldron and mix them up yourself). Activate the cauldron.
5 = Peryite will appear as some ghostly Skeevers and after some dialogue will point you to a very large nearby Dwemer ruin called ‘Bthardamz’ to kill ‘Orchendor’, save. It’s not far so just walk towards the marker.
6 = You’ll encounter hostiles surrounding the entrance called ‘Afflicted’, kill them off and enter the ruin, save, battle or sneak through the Afflicted and occasional Dwemer machine until you reach the ‘Workshop’.
7 = Once inside save, continue through and into the ‘Upper District’, once inside, save, (your compass indicator may be incorrect at this point but) just continue up to the ‘Lower District’, go through and into the ‘Study’, save and proceed through the study and back into the ‘Lower District (upper level)’ continue through again until you reach the last area the ‘Arcanex’.
8 = Once inside save, battle through the machines including a Centurion until you reach a gassy room with pipes, save before facing the powerful Spellsword ‘Orchendor’, (he is highly resistant to magic), once he’s dead collect the key and head up to the elevator and back outside, save.
9 = Fast travel back to the shrine, talk to Kesh first and ask to inhale the fumes (or if he’s dead just inhale them anyway), do so and Peryite will appear again and reward you with the Artifact ‘Spellbreaker’, save.
9.
DAWNBREAKER Dawnbreaker – One-Handed fire damage sword, most useful against undead
Level 12+
Meridia - The Glister Witch and Lady of Infinite Energies
The Break of Dawn*You may have come across ‘Meridia’s Beacon’ accidently by now, if you have, skip to point 4 below.
1 = Find Meridia’s Shrine, it’s located on ‘Mount Kilkreath’;
Follow the road west from Solitude and watch for a side road to the north. Follow that road, after a while, there will be a small side road on your right, follow it to the shrine, save.
2 = Meridia will request you retrieve her beacon, it can be located at any one of 32 random dungeons. Your quest marker will show you which one. (If there is no quest marker for the beacon it is either in the ‘Dawnstar Sanctuary’, near Dawnstar, or aboard the ship ‘The Katariah’, both of these require the completion of the Dark Brotherhood quest ‘Hail Sithis!’), either pick it up during this quest or go to the marked dungeon.
3 = Once inside save, proceed through and retrieve the beacon, save.
4 = KILL ANY DRAGONS BEFORE returning the beacon to the pedestal at Meridia’s Shrine (west of Solitude), She’ll talk to you in the form of a sphere of light, and ask you to clear out the ruins below Her shrine and kill the Necromancer ‘Malkoran’. (If a Dragon appears when you are above Skyrim, Meridia and the dragon will fight, and you will be stuck in the sky indefinitely. You can use sneak to hide and wait 24 hours, the dragon should go away and Meridia will continue talking).
5 = Drop down and enter the ruins, save, proceed through and activate the light pedestal’s to re-direct the beam through the rooms, you’ll go back outside to the balcony, and then into the ‘Kilkreath Catacombs’, THE NEXT BIT IS VERY BUGGY SO READ ALL OF POINT 6 BEFORE CONTINUING INTO THE CATACOMBS:
6 = Once inside save, proceed through, ‘DO NOT SAVE AGAIN IN THE CATACOMBS UNTIL EVERYTHING IS DEAD, DO NOT USE PARALYSIS ON MALKORAN, DO NOT USE BEAST FORM TO KILL MALKORAN, AND DO NOT FEED ON MALKORAN’S CORPSE’. When he’s dead his shade will appear, kill it anyway you like, MAKE SURE YOU COLLECT ALL THE LOOT AND EVERYTHING IS DEAD BEFORE SAVING AND BEFORE YOU ACTIVATE THE FINAL PEDESTAL TO RETRIEVE THE SWORD ARTIFACT ‘DAWNBREAKER’ as Meridia will transport you back to the shrine. She’ll ask you to keep the sword and wield it in Her name, save.
10.
SANGUINE'S ROSE Sanguine’s Rose – Staff that summons a Dremora for 60 seconds
Level 14+
Sanguine - The Daedric Prince of hedonistic revelry, debauchery, and passionate indulgences of darker natures.
A Night To Remember*DO NOT TALK TO SAM GUEVENNE BEFORE COMPLETING THE QUEST FOR MOLAG BAL ABOVE.
*You’ll encounter a difficult Giant, a Hagraven, and multiple higher levelled Mage’s
1 = Once you reach level 14 you will soon encounter ‘Sam Guevenne’, He’ll be standing at the bar in any one of the main city inns. Save before you talk to Him, He’ll challenge you to a drinking competition to win a staff, keep drinking until you win and you’ll blackout. Here is a checklist of the main 15 inns that Sam can appear in: Eastmarch: Kynesgrove's Braidwood Inn, Windhelm's Candlehearth Hall or New Gnisis Club, Falkreath's Dead Man's Drink, Haafingar Hold: Dragon Bridge's Four Shields Tavern, Solitude's Winking Skeever, Hjaalmarch: Morthal's Moorside Inn, Dawnstar's Windpeak Inn, The Reach: Markarth's Silver-Blood Inn, The Rift: Riften's The Bee And Barb, Ivarstead's Vilemyr Inn, Whiterun Hold: Rorikstead's Frostfruit Inn, Riverwood's Sleeping Giant Inn, Whiterun's Bannered Mare, and Winterhold's Frozen Hearth.
2 = You’ll awake inside the ‘Temple of Dibella’ in Markarth and talk to the priestess ‘Senna’, she’ll be very annoyed with you claiming that you messed up the temple. You can either clean the mess up (picking up two bottles of wine, a giant’s toe, a Hagraven feather, and a note from Sam claiming that you need these items to get the staff), or you can bribe Senna DO NOT USE PERSUADE. Bribing her is advisable as you do not need any of these items and some can fail to spawn or be unobtainable.
3 = Talk to Senna again and she’ll point you to ‘Ennis’ in Rorikstead. Now you have a choice to bypass a lot of this quest, skip to point 7 if you're not bothered, it doesn’t bug if you decide to skip.
4 = Go to Rorikstead, save, talk to Ennis, he wants you to retrieve his goat ‘Gleda’, you can pay 1000 Gold for the goat or try to intimidate him DO NOT USE PERSUADE, but its easy to retrieve his goat from the nearby hillside. Gleda is being guarded by ‘Grok The Giant’, you can talk to the goat to make it follow you back to Ennis, which will set Grok onto you, or you could sneak up to Gleda, talk, then run back to Ennis, or you could use a calm spell on Grok, once you have Gleda return to Ennis.
5 = Ennis will direct you to ‘Ysolda’ in Whiterun, (If you’ve married Ysolda she’ll be in the home you told her to stay in).
6 = Fast travel to the city she’s in, save, find Ysolda, she claims you bought a Wedding ring from her on credit and she wants the 2000 Gold for it, or the ring back. You can pay, intimidate or go find the ring, DO NOT USE PERSUADE.
7 = Retrieve the Wedding ring, from ‘Witchmist Grove’, located south of Windhelm, just past Kynesgrove, where you’ll find ‘Moira’ your fiancee. Kill her and get the ring from her beautiful body, save. (If for some reason you cannot find the ring go back to Ysolda and bribe her).
8 = Convincing or returning the ring to Ysolda will direct you to ‘Morvunskar’ a fort located on the mountain south-west of Windhelm, go there.
9 = Once inside save, you’ll be facing a lot of high levelled Mage’s, battle through them until you reach the portal to ‘Misty Grove’, SAVE BEFORE entering by walking into it, not by activating it.
10 = Walk through to find Sam and some guests sitting around a table, He’ll reveal Himself to be none other than the Daedric Lord ‘Sanguine’, any of the items you may have picked up in the temple lose their quest value and you are rewarded with the Artifact ‘Sanguine’s Rose’ and returned to the inn where it all began, save.
*Never return to Misty Grove, you may become trapped indefinitely.
*Later you will encounter an Argonian named ‘Deep-In-His-Cups’ who’ll claim that you owe him 10,000 Gold, you can persuade it down to 750 or kill him, anything you do will yield no after effects of any kind.
11.
OGHMA INFINIUM Oghma Infinium – Skill boosting book
Level 1+ to activate, Level 15+ to complete
Hermaeus Mora - The Daedric Prince of Fate
Discerning The Transmundane*This will be activated during Main Quest ‘Elder Knowledge’.
*You will encounter a lot of levelled Falmer, Dwemer Machines including a Centurion, levelled Chaurus, and you may encounter a Giant.
1 = You can wait for the prompt to go to ‘Septimus Signus’ Outpost’ to find the ‘Elder Scroll’ during the main quest, or activate it earlier by just going there directly, walk north from Winterhold.
2 = Go inside and talk to Septimus. (This may seem obvious but DO NOT kill Septimus at any point, he is mortal and you’ll fail the quest). Offer to help him and he will give you the ‘Attunement Sphere’, a blank Lexicon, and point you towards a very extensive Dwemer ruin called ‘Alftand’. (If you’re level 30 or above this is a good opportunity to activate the Daedric quest ‘Boethiah’s proving’, by reading the book on the shelf).
3 = Make sure you’re well prepared Alftand is quite large. Travel there, it’s south-west of Winterhold, you can reach the entrance to the ‘Glacial Ruins’ by ascending the mountain and using the makeshift wooden walkway clinging to the cliff side.
4 = Once inside save, battle through the Falmer and machines in the ruins, then through the ‘Animonculory’, then the ‘Cathedral’ encountering a Centurion, until you get to ‘Blackreach’.
5 = Save and continue through Blackreach (encountering Chaurus and a possible Giant), until you reach a lift in the far south-west leading to the ‘Tower of Mzark’, save and continue through, go up the spiral ramp to find the Dwemer puzzle, save.
6 = Place the blank Lexicon in the slot on the pedestal. To decipher the code, press the fourth button from left to right repeatedly until the centre panel lights up. Then press the second button until you see the overhead lenses directing light onto the sphere, and the first button lights up. Press the first button to complete the puzzle and pick the Lexicon back up before you retrieve the Elder Scroll, use the lift underneath you to return to the surface. DO NOT READ THE SCROLL AT ANY POINT AND DO NOT RETURN THE SCROLL FOR THE MAIN QUEST UNTIL YOU COMPLETE THIS QUEST.
7 = Return the runed Lexicon back to Septimus Signus at his outpost.
8 = Talk to Septimus, he needs the blood of a Dwemer, unfortunately no known Dwemer still lives, so you have to harvest the blood of every other type of Elf to make a simulated facsimile. Leave the Outpost, at the exit you will be stopped by ‘The Wretched Abyss’ (Hermaeus Mora), selecting any options are fine.
9 = Now you’ll need the blood of a Bosmer (Wood Elf), Altmer (High Elf), Orsimer (Orc), Dunmer (Dark Elf), and Falmer (Ancient Snow Elf). Return to Alftand Glacial Ruins, save, you can harvest Bosmer blood from the corpse of ‘Endrast’, his body is hidden behind a gate and some steam pipes in the lower half of the first room in the Animonculory, save.
10 = Proceed into the large open vertical room full of spiral ramps and jump down to the corpse of ‘Yag Gra-Gortwog’ for the Orsimer blood, save. Continue downwards to the room just before the elevator, to find the corpses of ‘Valie’ (for Altmer blood) lying on a torture table, and get the Falmer blood from a permanent corpse around the corner, save, you can then use the lift for a quicker exit back outside.
11 = For Dunmer blood there is a Dark Elf Conjurer that’s been killed by trolls in the west-most room of ‘Bleakcoast Cave’ located east-south-east of Winterhold. Also a permanent corpse of a Dunmer can be found in the water at ‘Evergreen Grove’ located north-east of Falkreath. Also there is normally a Dunmer Necromancer/Conjurer who can be killed and harvested camped at the ‘Ritual Stone’ located east of Whiterun across the White River or the Shadow Stone located just south of Riften. And if you still can’t find a Dunmer or require other Elf blood try looking in outdoor camps, forts, shipwrecks etc, there are varied Elves around these places and killing them does not conflict with other quests or raise bounties. Once you harvest your last blood sample save and return to Septimus’ Outpost.
12 = Once inside SAVE before giving Septimus the samples, he’ll open the cube, the Daedric Artifact is the book entitled ‘Oghma Infinium’. (If you wish to glitch the book for infinite points see the link below, *This is not possible as of patch 1.9 (8/4/2013)). Reading it normally once will grant you 5 points to: Choosing ‘THE PATH OF MIGHT’: Archery, Block, Heavy Armor, One-handed, Smithing, and Two-handed. Choosing ‘THE PATH OF MAGIC’ will boost Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Enchanting, Illusion and Restoration. And choosing ‘THE PATH OF SHADOW’ will boost Alchemy, Light Armor, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Sneak and Speech.
13 = The quest is now complete, the Book will count towards the achievement once its in your inventory, so you don't necessarily have to read it yet for it to unlock, save.
*Do not sell the Elder Scroll you’ll need it for the Main quest, you can sell it after completing the main quest to Urag Gro-Shub at the Arcaneum in the College of Winterhold.
*It’s possible to use the Oghma Infinium more than once to raise your skills. Depending on what patch you have (not possible after patch 1.9) this will be different check out:
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Oghma_Infinium_(item) to find out how.
12.
MEHRUNE'S RAZOR Mehrunes Razor – A dagger with 1% chance to kill anything in one hit
Level 20+
Mehrunes Dagon - The Daedric Prince of Destruction, Change, Revolution, Energy, and Ambition.
Pieces of The Past*This quest is the best one to avoid if you already have the two artifacts from Hircine.
*You will encounter a lot of levelled Forsworn, Mages, Orc bandits and chiefs, and two higher levelled Dremora.
1 = Upon reaching level 20 a courier will find you in any major city, inviting you to visit a museum in Dawnstar. Go to Dawnstar and enter ‘Silus Vesuius’' house, speak to him and offer to help retrieve the three fragments of ‘Mehrunes Razor’, save.
2 = The ‘Pommel Stone’ is in ‘Dead Crone Rock’, a dungeon swarming with a lot of Forsworn and Mages located south-west of Markarth, the journey there can be troublesome but can be completed with good navigation (you could go south-west from ‘Dushnikh Yal’ and through ‘Hag Rock Redoubt’ or manoeuvre your way through the hills heading south-west).
3 = Once inside save, ascend a series of tiers, battling Forsworn and Mages, at the top of the second flight of stairs a metal gate must be unlocked by a lever in another room. Continue back outside and upwards to the pinnacle of the ruin, where ‘Drascua’ the Hagraven leader possesses the pommel, MAKE SURE YOU KILL DRASCUA AND LOOT THE POMMEL BEFORE ACTIVATING THE WORD WALL, and then save.
4 = The ‘Blade Shards’ are located in the Orc fort ‘Cracked Tusk Keep’, its found west of Falkreath. There are three entrances into the keep. The best entrance is a locked door to the right of the main entrance.
5 = Once inside save and proceed down some steps. This opens directly into an unguarded room where you’ll find a sliding panel on the wall to the right of the cage barring access to the ‘Cracked Tusk Vaults’. If you can pick the expert lock it can allow you to access the vaults and the quest item without encountering any enemies in the interior. Otherwise you’ll have to get the key from the Orc Chief in the other room. Once inside save, activate the levers to the left and right of the final barrier to open the way, watch out for the multiple floor traps and find the blade shards on the pedestal. Once you’ve retrieved the shards save.
6 = The ‘Hilt’ is in ‘Jorgen’s’ house in Morthal, travel there, save, either pick the locks on his house or persuade Jorgen to give you the key, (Jorgen may have died but its still possible to) find the Hilt in the chest, save.
7 = Return to the museum in Dawnstar, save, give Silus all the fragments and he’ll ask you to meet him at the ‘Shrine To Mehrunes Dagon’, go there and save.
8 = Upon arriving Silus will tell you he’s unable to re-forge the blade and ask you to do it, activate the altar (Talk Mehrunes Dagon), and Lord Dagon will command you to kill Silus, YOU MUST KILL SILUS and as quickly as possible to recieve the Artifact. Kill him in any way you like and then activate the altar again. Dagon will give you the Artifact and summon two Dremora to test you, kill them as well and loot the interior of the shrine for some major treasure, save.
13.
EBONY BLADEEbony Blade – One-handed sword charged by attacking followers
Level 20+
Mephala - The Webspinner, the Teacher of the Secret Arts, and the Queen of the Eight Shadows of Murder.
The Whispering Door*Must have completed Main Quest: ‘Dragon Rising’ to initiate.
1 = Go to the ‘Bannered Mare’ in Whiterun, save and then ask the barkeep ‘Hulda’ about gossip and/or rumours (if she won’t start the quest go to point 4 below (but it’s better to start it from here)), she’ll point you to ‘Jarl Balgruuf The Greater’.
2 = If he’s still in Whiterun after the siege go find him in Dragonsreach, if not he’ll be in the ‘Blue Palace’ in Solitude, save and then talk to him about his children.
3 = Speaking to Balgruuf will point you to his cheeky son ‘Nelkir’.
4 = Nelkir is a Nord child usually found in the main hall of Dragonsreach or wandering the streets of Whiterun (activate Whispering Door quest to help find him), talk to him.
5 = Nelkir will reveal the existence of a secret door in the basement of Dragonsreach. Go find this door, go through the kitchen on the west side of Dragonsreach hall and proceed down the stairs, open the closet door (with hay at the foot). At the back of this small room is a locked door covered in blood. Activate the door and a voice will reveal itself to be the Daedric Lord ‘Mephala’. She’ll tell you that some of Her power is locked behind the door and She needs you to release it, pointing you back Nelkir.
6 = Save and then go speak to Nelkir.
7 = Pickpocket the ‘Whispering Door’ key from either ‘Farengar Secret-Fire’ or Balgruuf then head back down to the basement and open the door, you will find the journal ‘Admonition Against Ebony’ warning you against taking the sword laying next to it, ignore the warning and pick up the Artifact the ‘Ebony Blade’, quest complete, save.
*Farengar will later send a group of heavily armed thugs to track down and kill you for your thievery.
14.
EBONY MAILEbony Mail – Heavy armour that does poison damage in close proximity
Level 30+
Boethiah - The Prince of Plots, the Deceiver of Nations, the Queen of Shadows, and the Goddess of Destruction.
Boethiah’s Calling*If you have remapped your controller buttons, reset them to default.
*Get rid of any followers prior to starting this quest (see point 4 below).
*You’ll encounter levelled bandits and a boss bandit.
1 = If you didn’t activate this quest during ‘Discerning The Transmundane’ by reading the book ‘Boethiah’s Proving’ and you havn’t yet been attacked by a ‘Boethiah Cultist’ after you reached level 30 and read the book on his corpse, you’ll have to go directly to the ‘Sacellum of Boethiah’.
2 = Go to the Sacellum of Boethiah, it’s located east of Windhelm;
Follow the east road to ‘Traitor's Post’, a side road nearby turns up the mountain and leads you up to the Sacellum.
3 = When you arrive save, you’ll hear the game’s danger music and see two cultists fighting but no one will attack you. Speak to the priestess, DO NOT KILL OR ALLOW THE PRIESTESS TO DIE. She will tell you that you need to prove that "Your tongue can wield a lie". Basically this entails leading a follower to Boethiah’s altar to be sacrificed. (If you refuse the quest or for some reason have killed all the cultists re-load previous save).
4 = You will lose your follower forever, and this will not work if your follower is ‘Essential’ meaning they are vital to a specific quest and are therefore immortal, (like Delphine). Also DO NOT USE A COMPANION, (even if you have completed the Companion quest line). It will work with these potential followers without completing a prior quest: ‘Belrand’ located in the Winking Skeever in Solitude, ‘Jenassa’ located in the Drunken Huntsman in Whiterun, ‘Marcurio’ found in the Bee And Barb in Riften, ‘Stenvar’ found in the Candlehearth Hall in Windhelm, and ‘Vorstag’ found in the Silver-blood Inn in Markarth, also your housecarl offered as a follower after helping the Jarls of Skyrim, such as Lydia, Argis, Calda or Iona will work, choose and recruit your preferred follower.
5 = Bring your follower back to the Sacellum, save, use the command ‘I need you to do something’ and select the ‘Use The Pillar of Sacrifice’. The follower will become stuck to the altar, kill them by any means you wish (you don’t have to use the ‘Blade of Sacrifice’).
6 = Boethiah will use your follower’s corpse as a conduit to talk, DO NOT USE YOUR JOURNAL OR MENU DURING THE BLURRED VISUALS AT THIS POINT. She’ll state that the last person standing will be given a task, resulting in everyone fighting each other (including you) to the death, kill everyone.
7 = Once they’re all dead Boethiah will posses another corpse, (If the corpse Boethiah possesses enters combat mode for any reason or refuses to continue dialogue re-load previous save), She’ll tell you to kill Her old champion to become Her new champion, pointing you to ‘Knifepoint Ridge’ located far north-west of Falkreath and west-south-west of ‘Bannermist Tower’ take the small north-west path from here, save when you arrive.
8a = Continue through the bandit’s camp and enter ‘Knifepoint Mine’, (when you enter (possibly due to having been there before you began the quest) you may find a wall of Iron Ore blocking your path, making the quest unable to be completed. A known workaround is to look at the bottom left corner of the wall of Iron Ore and mine the Corundurum Vein. This will pull you through the wall allowing you to continue with the quest. However this will only work once, so make sure you have completed everything before heading back up this path, as soon as you have walked through the location of the wall it will reappear, making the rest of the mine unreachable).
8b = Despite Boethiah's order to kill the bandits stealthily, being detected does not result in any penalty. However most of them inside the mine are busy with their backs to you and can be assassinated. Once you defeat Boethiah's Champion, you must equip the ‘Ebony Mail’. Boethiah will then speak to you one last time telling you that you are Her new champion and give you the Ebony Mail Artifact as your reward, save.
*If you got the two Artifacts from Hircine and did the ‘Mehrunes Dagon’ quest you should unlock the achievement now, otherwise complete one more.
15.
VOLENDRUNG Volendrung – Stamina absorbing hammer
Level 9+ Required, Level 32+ Recommended
Malacath - The keeper of the Sworn Oath, and the Bloody Curse
The Cursed Tribe*If you have a Daedra Heart or any Troll Fat store them away prior to starting this quest.
*Get rid of any followers prior to starting this quest.
*You’ll encounter Giants, Bears, and Trolls in close quarters
1 = You may overhear rumours in Riften about trouble at an Orc stronghold named ‘Largashbur’, this will place it on your map, its located to the south-west of Riften.
2 = Go to Largashbur but be careful- as you approach you’ll trigger a giant to attack the Orc’s at the gate, distract and quickly kill the giant avoiding any damage to the Orc’s, DO NOT LOOT THE ORC CORPSES NEITHER, once the Giant is dead, save, DROP DAEDRA HEARTS OR TROLL FATS NEARBY, and talk to ‘Atub’ or ‘Ugor’. (If you’ve already discovered Largashbur and Ugor is dead, try reloading to see if he is alive. If that doesn’t work for you and you are unable to enter the stronghold, climb up the inclined wooden beam on the west side to get in and talk to Atub).
3 = The Orc’s will explain that they are cursed and require a ‘Troll Fat’ and a ‘Daedra Heart’. If you hav’nt dropped them nearby and didn’t store them away you can visit an alchemical store. If they have none you can pick up two hearts back at Mehrunes Dagon’s shrine, alternatively permanent Daedra Hearts can be found: one on a plate outside Kodlak’s room in the Jorrvaskr Living Quarters in Whiterun, two are sold by Enthir at the College of Winterhold, two in the west side of the first room of ‘Nightcaller Temple’ just east of Dawnstar, one on a table in the ‘Hall of The Vigilant’ located south of Dawnstar past ‘Red Road Pass’. Permanent Troll Fats can be found: seventeen can be found inside the ‘East Empire Trading Company Warehouse’ near Solitude, two in Sadri’s Used Wares in Windhelm, and two can be found in the ‘Hall of Countenance’ in the ‘College of Winterhold’.
4 = Give the ingredients to Atub, follow her, and allow her to summon the Daedric Lord ‘Malacath’ for guidance, He will command that the ‘Giant leader’ be killed and his club retrieved. The Orc Chief ‘Lamarz’ asks for your help, agree to help him, save.
5 = The Giant Leader is in ‘Fallowstone Cave’ located north-east of Riften, you can follow Yamarz as he haphazardly makes his way there (again like Barbas he’s slow and wanders off) its better to fast travel to ‘Riften Stables’ and walk there. You’ll meet Yamarz at the entrance, KEEP A SAVE OUTSIDE OF THE CAVE also DO NOT USE BEAST FORM AT ANY POINT WHILST IN THE CAVE.
6 = Follow or lead Yamarz through the cave encountering Giants, Cave Bears, and Trolls, DO NOT HARM YAMARZ. You’ll go down several ledges following a stream to a pool on the lowest level. Continue to follow the stream deeper into the cave. A dark path on the right leads up to an area filled with bones and the exit to the ‘Giant’s Grove’.
7 = Once inside save, Yamarz will offer to pay you more gold if you kill the Giant yourself and let him take credit. If you agree, he will betray you afterwards, persuade him to perform his duty and he’ll charge the Giant Leader and be quickly killed. After the Giant and Yamarz are dead Malacath will praise you and ask you to take ‘Shagrol's Hammer’ from the Giant’s corpse. He wants you to bring it back to Largashbur and whip the Orcs back into shape. (If you are unable to activate the Giant’s corpse re-load the save outside the cave entrance). Exit the grove and turn left, go through the pass and follow the ledge all the way back to the entrance. Return to Largashbur.
8 = Once there SAVE before speaking to Atub, Malacath will ask that you place the hammer on the shrine, save again before placing it, the hammer transforms into the Daedric Artifact ‘Volendrung’. MAKE SURE YOU PICK IT UP FROM THE SHRINE NOW, it will be floating above the skull between the antlers, failing to pick it up now may cause it to disappear forever, save.
*If you skipped ‘Mehrunes Dagon’s quest you should now have 15 Daedric Artifacts and the achievement unlocked, congrats!
Credit to www.uesp.net/skyrim for some technical information.
Special thanks to:
Uber Epic Elite,
THE IRISHMAN 35,
https://www.trueachievements.com/BIGFATCODY420.htm,
ScottyDaHotty2,
Praggers, and
Mickey KinPlease PM me with any significant improvements or to point out any mistakes, or new bugs.
And don’t forget to leave positive feedback if you used this guide successfully. Thank you