Several Whiterun citizens are missing and need rescueing. These are individual quests, nothing to do with the main questline.
You get these quests by reading notices on the doors of their shops or by talking to the innkeepers who are still around. There shouldn’t be a dependency between these quests.
This module also includes provisions for coach travel as well as all the new locations, exterior and interior, that are required for the rest of the quests.
Roads and Coach Travel
We add coach travel to Skyrim, which means that each major city gets stables with coaches and you can travel from one city to another by talking to the coach driver the same as you talk to the ship captain. This requires a review of the roads because not all of them are suitable to navigate by coach. In places where I put staircases I should make bypasses or replace them by more flat terrain.
Implementation: add a seat for each of the destinations to the lower class carriage parked outside. This seat is a door, the same as we use with smaller boats. The dialogue presents a choice of destinations which sets the pointer to the correct seat.
Horse sales: the drivers should also offer horse sales. One of the horses in the stables has a saddle on – that’s the one for sale. Make all horses hardy but not immortal – raise their level as well as life and allow them to heal over time. Upon death respawn, so that the player could buy it again. Sale is offered if the horse is found next to its origin marker and is not owned by the player. Give these horses saddlebags (activate while sneaking, but only if the horse is owned by the player). This is a single common saddlebag accessible from each horse, but it is not a bottomless container – weight limit applies.
Travel routes are as follows:
- Falkreath to Riverwood, Whiterun, Bowerston Inn.
- Riverwood to Riften, Falkreath, Whiterun, Windhelm.
- Solitude to Snowhawk, Bowerston Inn.
- Snowhawk to Solitude, Whiterun, Morthal.
- Whiterun to Riverwood, Snowhawk, Bowerston Inn, Nightgate Inn, Valkyrie Inn.
- Riften to Riverwood, Bruma.
- Nightgate Inn to Morthal, Dawnstar, Winterhold, Windhelm, Whiterun, Valkyrie Inn.
- Morthal to Snowhawk, Nightgate Inn.
- Dawnstar to Nightgate Inn.
- Winterhold to Nightgate Inn, Windhelm, Valkyrie Inn.
- Windhelm to Nightgate Inn, Winterhold, Whiterun, Riften, Valkyrie Inn.
- Bowerston Inn to Falkreath, Solitude, Whiterun.
- Valkyrie Inn to Windhelm, Winterhold, Whiterun, Nightgate Inn.
- Bruma to Riften.
Bowerston Coach Inn
A hook for the Jarl’s quest – a location to be developed at this time – the entrance to Bowerston (to come at a later release) and a passage into Bowerston Catacombs (Buchhaim – Librarium). The manor is really just an inn and a coach house, it’s where it leads to which is interesting. It needs to be situated along a ridge, that is along a road. Behind it should be a narrow mountain pass into the “beyond” which is to become Bowerston later. This is where the Jarl of Whiterun entered the catacombs in search of the dragon tongue books.
Location is on the Eastern side of a mountain ridge in The Reach. There is a North-South road in the valley and another one on top of the ridge. I need to make a dent in the mountain ridge so that there is a passage into Western Reach, then the upper road can go over a bridge. Bowerston itself will be likely in Hammerfell.
Sky Haven Temple
Not really a quest for the citizens of Whiterun, but needs to be developed at this time. It should have the location and monsters in it, with all the doors sealed. This is the state before Delphine tells you to clear it which will require a special seal from her to unseal the doors. If you go now, you can fight the monsters and get to the top plateau, but you cannot enter, and the monsters will respawn until the temple is unsealed.
Includes a word wall that teaches the dragon Resurrection shout needed to raise the souls of buried dragons. Includes one dragon to rise automatically to fight you when you learn the word.
High Hrothgar
Dark-coloured Mr Siika’s Griffon Fortress style fortress.
To include a library with a secret section with one dragon book and also a word wall. Both are to be hidden from the player. You don’t have to fight the monks to get to them, but the traps are designed to stop you. Killing the monks serves no purpose.
Dragonsreach
A standard castle but consisting of double height halls mostly in order to accomodate the dragon. There must be a dragon-sized exit to the back terrace as well. The upper part of the castle is the interior of Cloud Ruler Temple, doubled. These are quarters of the Jarl and his steward, as well as his knights – the Dragon Knights. This is a joinable faction for the Dragon Tongue quest. You find these knights in the catacombs as they went with the Jarl to look for the books.
There are two escape passages from the castle leading out at the bottom of the mountain. One is from the dungeons, coming out under water in the White River. The other one is from the Jarl’s quarters filled with Dragon Guard – draugr guard friendly to the Dragon Knights faction. So they will attack the player if you didn’t join. They are stronger than regular draugr. This passage comes out at the Northern end of Whiterun, right by the stables. It is not secret and not locked – the guard make sure no unauthorised people get through.
The castle has a library in one of the towers. It’s on two levels: one is more secret than the other. The secret level should have something about that scandal with “capturing” a dragon back in the day, as well as some other quest-related items.
There is also a War Room accessible to the Dragon Knights. To be used in quests.
Windhelm Watch
A castle with ghosts in it located on the tall mountain in the North Western corner of Windhelm (Misty Castle). The entrance is from outside of town. This castle has a word wall but is otherwise not connected to any quest.
Wizard’s Fury
A castle on the top of the ridge that edges the Eastern shore of the Hjaal River in the North. It has a new road going over the ridge and straight to Snowhawk, and on the other end it descends to one of the forts below in Morthal (Castle of Night).
The castle was built by a mage who got scorned by society. She turned to necromancy and became a lich, still ruling in that castle. The halls are filled with dark Welkynd stone traps. There is a word wall in the tall tower, as the mage aligned herself with a dragon priest.
The access from the ground is through a square tower. A straight door, no interior.
The castle has skeletons and wraiths in the courtyard, barracks, kitchen, towers – everywhere. There are many interiors, many connections. Eventually you make it to the master bedroom in the tall tower where you have to defeat a Revenant – the owner of the castle. Once the Revenant is defeated, all undead are removed. Some doors are locked with keys hidden, so it’ll take some searching, but then the castle lies quiet and you can take it for your own.
There is an Ayleid ruin under the castle with a Word Wall guarded by a Dragon Priest. It is however not necessary to defeat the Revenant to get to the Word Wall, so you can leave the castle be if you’re not interested in it. Add a book explaining these things about the castle.
There is also a barrel of special powerful wine in a locked cellar. The key is hidden somewhere as well.
The Gourmand
The ower of this restaurant is a Breton named Belethor and he’s gone to High Rock for… restocking? New recipes? Inspiration? That’s unclear. Whatever it is, he’s been gone for too long and people are concerned. You need to track him down. Start in Dragon Bridge as he would have certainly crossed it.
Yes, he passed through there. Went North, as you would expect. You follow the path and find a mound with a skeleton sitting by it. Our Breton? No, but the skeleton has a clue – a letter to someone from the Breton. He’s waiting “in the usual spot by the Dwemer ruin”. You go there.
No Breton, but another note by the entrance: got tired of waiting, went inside. You start getting seriously worried. You go in.
In there there’s the usual assortment of enemies. Finally in one of the nooks you find our Breton in a cage captured by the falmer. The Dwemer lock won’t budge, you need to find the key.
Delve deeper in, one of the falmer has got it.
Rescue the Breton, he thanks you heartily, and now just wants to return to Whiterun, but what happened to the person he was supposed to meet? It was his supplier of “secret Breton spices”. Something must have happened to him, would you go check? He sends you to a particular cave where this supplier is known to stay.
In the cave you find trolls and a half-eaten body – this must be the supplier. A crate of “spices” also found in the corner – drugs of some sort. So that’s that. You return to Whiterun and the Breton shakes his head saying that those “spices” weren’t actually for cooking, they are for his sister – another attempt to make her find herself.
Belethor’s sister is in Vetur Castle – a place that cares for people who lost themselves. It’s a castle in Haafingar, it’s got several patients like that. Read more on the Haafingar page.
The Dunmer trader
Dervayn Adlenar went to Morrowind for supplies, and there’s been no sign of him. He’s gone to Dunkreath. There you find out that he’s gone to the Valkyrie Coach Inn to arrange road transport. At the inn they say yes, he was here and arranged everything, but he went to Laintar Dale to pick up something else. Never returned.
You go to Laintar Dale, and that village is overrun by bandits. You kill all bandits and track them to the nearby Laintar Dale Castle (Mountain Fortress). There you find the villagers and the trader holed up in a higher portion of the castle, with bandits holding the lower portion. You defeat the bandits and kill their leader, then everyone comes out and resumes their normal activities. The castle is abandoned and is yours for the taking, but there isn’t much to it – it is a ruin, really, although it has a few nice Bruma style houses on the premises.
With the trade route re-established, you return to Whiterun and the Dunmer’s shop is open for business again.
The tall fat tower on the top has a word wall inside. It is guarded by several draugr and a dragon priest. You enter the tower from below, the interior has two tall sections without a floor in between, with a staircase from Vetur Castle. At the top there’s the word wall, guarded by a dragon priest and his coffin. A dragon statue is on the roof.
The Alchemist
Well, Arcadia got Ataxia. She needs ingredients to make medicine, but seeing that she’s self-isolating, she can’t go get them. Collect various herbs and leave them in a chest by the door. She then brews herself a medicine and reopens her shop after a few days.
The catch here is that Skyrim isn’t rich in various herbs, and what she needs grows back in Cyrodiil… However, there are several gardens here and there, including one not too far away – Monkshood Cloister (Strotis New Castle with my own retextured interiors).
You come there – the monks are all too willing to help, no issues. This is a large cloister and the point of sending you there was that you could discover their library – it is used in the Dragon Tongue quest.
The Bannered Mare repairs
The inn is partly closed for refurbishment. But they ran out of materials and need help procuring more. Go to Dragon Bridge, Windhelm and Helgen.
In Dragon Bridge the wood carvers are stuck because someone’s been stealing their tools. They are being dragged into a nearby cave, but why? You go to investigate and discover a troll with a collection of tools. Kill the troll, return the tools to the workers.
In Windhelm the wool and fur business is in trouble because the hunters won’t go hunting. Instead they are just sitting in the pub. You talk to them and discover that large beasts are now prowling their usual hunting grounds, and they think those are daedra. You go to investigate.
Indeed, you come across a scamp, but surely that can’t be it. You search some more and discover a bunch of trees all broken. This was done by someone huge. An extra large ogre. He’s hiding in a secret grove (an interior worldspace without a ceiling but with a sky). Kill him, bring back his huge head. Job done.
In Helgen the smith was supposed to supply metalworks. You talk to her, she replies that she needs some rare ore, but the Oakwood mine is closed. Perhaps there’s some in the Southern mine instead. You go fetch some (and there are issues with that).
With all three traders talked to, you return to Whiterun and the inn is fully refurbished after a few days.
The Battle-Borns
Their mansion is closed and they are off on holiday. Gone to Anvil to take a trip to an untouched Ayleid ruin from there… or something along those lines. But how do you best get to Anvil from Whiterun? You can go overland via Helgen, Bruma and the Imperial City which is quite a trip. Or you can go via Falkreath, Elinhir, Rihad, then turn South to Anvil – this sounds more likely. No one heard from them for over a year, which is too long for any kind of holiday. Something must have happened. You need to track them down.
The road to Falkreath passes through the wilderness and there aren’t many places to rest for the night. Except a castle or two, notably the Battle-Born Castle – the seat of their old and a bit odd grand-uncle.
The family has two members – spouses, but they travel with two servants – a maid and a valet. As you follow the road, you find a site of an attack with an overturned carriage and boxes on the ground, but no one nearby. You look around and find a cave entrance with more boxes nearby. Inside is the valet, locked up by the goblins. Kill the goblins, get the key, release the valet. He tells you they got attacked by goblins, the Battle-Borns and the mai ran away but he got captured. He returns to Whiterun.
You continue looking and come to the castle. There’s no one in sight and the doors are locked. You start looking for another entrance.
You find a rock on the right, but it is barred from the other side. Eventually you find a rock at the back and enter. Fight through the bandits, find the maid locked up. She says that the uncle got potty in his old age and dismissed all the guards and staff – he didn’t need them to run his castle. This was probably why the doors were locked. So they looked for another way in, but this cave was now taken over by bandits. She says the Battle-Borns had gone further in, but she got captured. They promised to come for her, but so far no one appeared. She fears something happened to them.
You proceed through the dungeon. Necromancers and undead greet you. It seems that the necromancers have taken over the castle.
You find the old uncle in one of the cells. He is cursing like heck and vows to kill every single necromancer in his castle if you let him out. You have to search for keys. He says that his nephew and his wife went fighting and must be somewhere in the castle.
You get into the castle proper, keep fighting. There you find that the guards are fighting the necromancers. They are telling you that even though the old lord dismissed them all, they didn’t think it was a good idea and stayed, but out of his way. Then the necromancers took over the castle, and now they’re trying to fight them but without much success. The other staff are hiding in the castle cave and won’t come out untill the necromacers are defeated.
You keep searching through the castle and eventually find the Battle-Borns locked up in their uncle’s chamber with some dead necromancers. Apparently the others had barred them from the other side, but now that you’re here, they’ll come out and go fighting the necromancers. They ask you to find the keys to the cell where their uncle is locked up, and also to kill the ringleader of the necromancers, because then the rest of them will disperse too. You recognise him by his Necromacer Amulet. At this point the ringleader is enabled.
Once the ringleader is killed, nothing happens yet. You still have to find the key to free the uncle. When that is done, the uncle and the Battle-Borns go to the castle great hall where the uncle waits for you. Talk to him and he thanks you and says that he will reinstate his staff and guards. He grants you visitors’ rights to the castle, meaning that you can eat and sleep on the premises. The staff and guards start going about their business, and the rock exit from their cave is unlocked.
Talk to the Battle-Borns and they thank you too and say that they will now return to Whiterun, and you should visit them there in a few days.
When you visit them in Whiterun, they thank you again and give you a reward.
The Priest of Kynareth
Gone on a pilgrimage into The Reach – there is an abbey of Kynareth he wanted to visit, North West of Granitehall. They don’t know where it is exactly, but there’s a road to it, apparently.
You get there eventually, but they haven’t seen the priest at the abbey. He didn’t make it there, so you need to retrace your steps and try to find some clues what happened. They advise you to examine any caves or grottos along the way. You find a grotto (a cell behaving as exterior), the priest locked himself up in a cage, there are bodies of bears and spriggans and a huge frost troll roaming around. Kill the troll, free the priest.
The priest then goes to the abbey and suggests you come as well since the Primate will want to thank you. When the priest makes it to the abbey, you can talk to the Primate and be offered to join the Order of Kynareth for your service in saving the priest. The priest stays at the abbey for a week, then goes to Whiterun.
The Order of Kynareth
The abbey is actually open to everyone. You can take meals there and sleep in the monks’ dormitory for free, or you can pay for a nice guest room. You can also buy books, scrolls, wine and mead (their own). The meal you get for free, is set for you – you can’t just take anything you see. The same with the bed – the cell belongs to the faction, but some beds are usable for PlayerFaction, the others are used by the resident monks. Add a food cupboard owned by PlayerFaction to the dining hall. This is where you can get free food. Have the monk at the reception tell you that. That way when you join their order, your followers will still be able to eat by taking the food from that cupboard.
The Order of Kynareth has three grades: Acolyte, Devote and Disciple. As an Acolyte, you are allowed to take anything you see in the Dining Hall and in the monks’ dormitory – that is, food and some items that include monks’ robes. You are also given a set of green monk robes like the ones the monks wear (a retexture of monk robes). You can take iron and steel weapons and iron and chainmail armour. When you save the priest, you become an Acolyte.
After another quest (yet to be written), you are promoted to Devote. You are now allowed to also take books from the library, as well as additional wine and mead from the kitchen. You can sleep in a nicer bed in the monks’ dormitory – in a separate room.
After a few more quests you are promoted to Disciple. You can now stay in the guest room for free and use chests there for storage.
The staff of the abbey consists of: the Primate, the Healer, the Caretaker, monks, brothers in arms, and kitchen aids. The Primate and the Healer occupy the two nice bedrooms in the Chambers, the Caretaker occupies the smaller bedroom on the upper level there. Both monks and brothers in arms sleep in the dormitory. The difference is that the monks work in the garden while brothers in arms walk around the abbey – they are guards. Kitchen aids work in the kitchen. The Caretaker also sells scrolls, books and wine, and can rent you the guest room and explain which meal is ready for you for free (stuff on the tables).
There are gardens on the Southern slope – vegetables and grapes. There is a back entrance into the abbey from there – straight into the kitchen.
There is also a dungeon that leads to a long winded passage coming out on the Western side of the mountain, far below. This is normally a peaceful passage – an escape route for the monks. However, it can become infested and be used in quests to do favours for the Order.
Quest 1: Clear the escape route dungeon
The dungeon is normally peaceful but it got infested with some creatures. Clear it in the name of Kynareth.
Quest 2: A pilgrimage to the three shrines of Kynareth
There are shrines of Kynareth dotted around Skyrim. You are given a map and told to visit three of them. Some will be inside caves with monsters, others will be outdoors guarded by a large troll or something. Fun stuff.
Quest 3: Kynareth under water
A large shark has been terrorising smaller fish in the Karth River. Go and kill the shark. Ha.
Quest 4: Bear protection
A tribe of goblins are trying to take possession of an ice cave with a lair of a polar bear inside. They are fighting ice wolves in the area. You are to go there and drive off the goblins without killing any of the wolves or bears. You will get help – an Aura of Kynareth from a nearby shrine. But it only works for a time, so hurry up. Done with a special faction for the wolves and bears that has a disposition of 100 towards the PlayerFaction for a period of time.
Quest 5: Troll terror
Everyone’s favourite Udyrfrykte has been terrorising a neighbourhood of wilderness. Go get her.
The Mages Guild
Someone tells you that the mages went to visit a local warlock living in a high spire in the Reach. You go there.
The mages are sitting at the table with the warlock and completely refuse to return to Whiterun. Huh? Something is off. The warlock is a vampire and he turned these mages into thralls.
You have to search the warlock’s bedroom to find his journal where he noted how he decided to create this luxurious cloister promising to teach the formula for the Elixir of Youth. Once someone arrived, he’d turn them into thralls, so they won’t leave. Besides, his extensive library offers them plenty of reading – they are still searching for that formula somewhere in those books.
You confront the warlock and he laughs in your face. “Yes, you got it. Now try to kill me.” He dissolves into a flock of vampire bats and you have to defend yourself.
You confront him again, he does the same thing, but now the bats are rather more powerful.
On the third try he tells you: “Look, you can’t kill me. So, I’ll offer you a deal for your two mages. I have infected you with Porphiric Hemophilia. Let it develop into full vampirism, and I shall lift the spell from the mages, they’ll come with you. Alternatively, if you don’t want to become a vampire, you can kill someone for me. So what will it be: vampirism or murder?” If the player is already a vampire, he simply lets the mages go.
You can walk away at this point, but the mages stay in the cloister.
Choose vampirism: talk to him again when you are a full vampire and he lets the mages go.
Choose murder: he sends you to kill the mage living in the Wizard’s Fury. You need to bring her eye to him as proof. You arrive there and discover that the mage had long turned into a Revenant… If you’ve already killed the Revenant, he lets the mages go saying that he heard of your deed.
Once one of these conditions is fulfilled, the mages start walking back to Whiterun. Come and find them there, although they will keep talking about possibly returning to the cloister at some point in the future because they still hadn’t found the formula for the Elixir of Youth. You get no fame points for this quest.
Whiterun houses
A dozen or so houses to be filled in, some large, some small. Add a market near the chapel too.
Whiterun notice Board
I should also add a selection of simpler quests for the notice board. Nothing world-shattering, just a filler, also known as the basic radiant quest. Send the player to explore the various ruins nearby. See also generic Skyrim Quests page. The notice board can be filled in at the end, when it becomes clear what needs filling.
