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The ghost of Helgi
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Quick WalkthroughEdit
- Find the burned down house.
- Learn about the house fire from a local guard, the jarl, or innkeeper.
- After learning about the fire, talk to the Jarl of Morthal.
- Visit the house and find a lead.
- Follow up on the lead and learn who set the fire.
- Visit the culprit's home and obtain evidence of a plot against the town.
- Report your findings to the jarl and be tasked with eliminating the threat.
- Lead a group of townspeople in the defense of Morthal.
Detailed WalkthroughEdit
This Fire BurnsEdit
Just about everyone around town will be gossiping about Hroggar's house that recently burned down, with his wife and daughter inside. Since Hroggar shacked up with Alva the very next day, many townspeople suspect foul play. Once you've found the charred ruins of the house, next to Highmoon Hall, you can take your inquiry straight to the jarl, who will ask for your help in this matter: to sift through the ashes others are afraid to touch. Alternatively, after discovering the house, but before seeing the jarl, a guard will approach you, asking for help, and initiating the quest. Similarly, visiting Jonna at Moorside Inn before visiting the jarl will also set you on your way.
In any case, another search of the burned house will rouse the ghost of Helgi, Hroggar's daughter. She describes dying in the fire. Even though she is a ghost, she is still a little girl. Agree to play hide-and-seek after dark with her, and in return she will reveal who set the fire. She also tells you that the game will begin at nighttime, so the other player in the game can join you. When you ask about this other player, Helgi becomes fearful, saying the other is close and may hear her. Then, she challenges you "If you can find me first, I can tell you", and promptly disappears.
Hide and Seek with a GhostEdit
At this point, though it is not indicated with a quest marker, you have the option of going to the jarl to tell her you saw the ghost of Helgi. If you tell Jonna first about the spirit, she will direct you to the jarl to tell your tale. Speaking to the jarl will give you some insight into the game and direct you to the grave where Helgi was buried. You can also tell Hroggar that you saw Helgi's ghost and he will respond with chilling indifference. You will receive a quest marker indicating where to "find Helgi in the dark". Wait until nightfall to find Helgi "hiding" in her grave in a small plot behind the house. It's a short distance away, up and to the right, marked with cairns. Someone else will also be there, prepared to fight once they see you.
I've Been Expecting You...Edit
When you arrive, Thonnir's missing wife Laelette is already there. Defeat Laelette and activate Helgi's spirit. She will be pleased that you won the game and found her before Laelette. She will then tell you the heart-wrenching story of how an unwilling Laelette was forced to burn the house. Laelette, in an effort to save the child, attempted to turn her into a vampire, but Helgi was too far gone from the fire and perished. She will then tell you that she is tired and wants to sleep. Meanwhile, Laelette's husband, Thonnir, arrives at Helgi's grave, distraught at finding Laelette dead. Speak to Thonnir and he will tell you that he thought Laelette had left him to join the resistance. Ask him if there was anything strange going on before she left and he tells you that his wife had begun spending a lot of time with Alva, and was supposed to have met her on the night she disappeared. Alva claimed that Laelette never showed up. Here you inform the grieving husband your deductions about what really went on that night the women were to have met. Thonnir is incensed at the idea that Alva may be a vampire; he refuses to believe you and reiterates that you have no proof of Alva's undead status. A new quest directive invites you to investigate Alva.
The DetectiveEdit
Break into Alva's house across town, where Hroggar is now living as well. Hroggar will be immediately hostile if he is in the house when you arrive. If you break in during the day, Hroggar will not be there, though Alva will be—sleeping in her coffin. If you break in at night, Alva will most likely be outside of the house, and the coffin will be empty but for her journal. Whichever time of day you break in, make your way into the basement to discover Alva's coffin and her journal. If Alva is in her coffin when you visit, you will need to deal with her, but her demise is not necessary to advance the quest. Read the journal to discover how all the events unfolded, including how she was turned by the master vampire Movarth, the plot to enslave the townspeople of Morthal for their blood, and the beginnings of your investigation. Take Alva's journal back to Highmoon Hall and the jarl will reward you with a small sum of leveled gold. She then asks one more favor: travel to Movarth's Lair and eliminate the threat. She has gathered a small group of townspeople, led by Thonnir, to travel with you.
To Movarth's LairEdit
Thonnir, enraged by the events that took his wife's life, leads the charge whether you're ready or not. Once the party arrives at the lair, however, everyone but Thonnir flees in terror. Thonnir offers you a choice of whether he accompanies you or not. He's essential, so he won't die, but he can't hold his own well, and you don't require his assistance to advance the quest. Whatever you choose, enter the one-zone lair and dispatch the vampire thralls and Movarth. Movarth is a vampire boss that can regenerate health, and is generally pretty tough. If you didn't take care of Alva in her own house, she will be in the lair, and possibly aid you in killing the other vampires. You can then kill her yourself if you'd like, though this may result in a bounty if Thonnir sees you do it (this sometimes can occur even if he's outside).
Return to the Jarl of MorthalEdit
As you leave the lair, Helgi's ghost will appear and thank you for avenging her mother's death. Return to Morthal and the jarl will reward you with a leveled amount of gold and the jarl's increased disposition towards you.
RewardEdit
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First payout:
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Second payout:
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NotesEdit
- If you cast Clairvoyance before finding Helgi's grave, it will prematurely lead you out of town to Movarth's Lair.
- Alva's journal will only appear after the objective to investigate her house is set. It won't be in her coffin unless you've talked to Thonnir about her.
- If you break into Alva's house during either night or day, right after taking her journal, you may see her rushing towards Movarth's Lair (usually she starts from the inn). Afterwards her dead body might be seen within the lair —she is killed by Movarth if the two meet.
- If Hroggar dies before the quest starts, the quest will still proceed as normal.
- Thonnir, as a follower, will refuse to stop following you before reaching Movarth's Lair. (His presence will also remove any bonus damage from sneak attacks if he can see you.) However, when you and the mob are near Movarth's Lair, you can speak to Thonnir and the mob (except Thonnir) goes home. Then Thonnir can also be asked to stop following you.
- You can inform both Alva and Hroggar of your findings at two points in the investigation, being the first encounter with Helgi and Laelette's death, resulting in two very different reactions. While Alva will be intrigued by the revelation that she's the town's suspect and evidence points toward her, Hroggar will be largely uncaring and ultimately express his unwavering support of Alva at the mention of his daughter's ghost. He buys into the story that Laelette said goodbye to only Alva before leaving town, regardless of the evidence contradicting that.
- Although never confirmed, Thonnir's reluctance to believe Alva had anything to do with Laelette's vampirism possibly suggests that Alva had enthralled him to an extent as well.
- Inside of Thonnir's House, there's a miscellaneous item known as Michaela's Flagon, internally known as
MS14FlagonA. Similarly, in Jorgen and Lami's House, there's a wine known as Jessica's Wine to be found, internally known asMS14WineAltoA. Their internal names tie these items to this quest, but it is unknown what their relevance was. The names of their apparent owners aren't tied to any existing NPCs either, used or otherwise. - After the quest is complete, Helgi´s coffin will be buried and a proper grave put in place.
BugsEdit
Before killing LaeletteEdit
- Idgrod may tell you that need to "find evidence about the accusation against Alva" prior to you reaching that point in the quest, including immediately after receiving the quest. ?
- Laelette can be found before dusk, where she would normally spawn, above the burnt house. She is invisible, but not hostile, and you can speak to her. She doesn't have anything interesting to say.
- She can even be visible and invulnerable to any kind of damage, although she can turn hostile if targeted by magic or arrows, at least in the Special Edition ?
- In very rare cases, when playing "hide and seek" with Helgi, you may not fight Laelette because she will be killed by unknown causes. This does not stop or hinder the quest though.
- When playing "hide and seek" with Helgi, Laelette may not be at the coffin. When activating Helgi's coffin, you will still hear her say "Make Laelette go away" though. Laelette can be found on the cliffside just above the coffin, completely unresponsive and temporarily invulnerable. She may also be wandering Morthal, and hostile.
Before taking the journal to the JarlEdit
- Speaking to Thonnir after killing Laelette, but before examining Helgi's coffin, prevents you from doing so afterwards and prevents the ghost of Helgi from appearing. Seemingly though, the quest can still be completed once all other stages are done, and you will still receive your reward from the jarl.
- Hroggar may not be hostile when you enter Alva's house at night. However, if you talk to him, he will still yell about how he won't let you hurt Alva.
The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 2.0.6, fixes this bug.
After taking the journal to the JarlEdit
- If you ignore the mob and go to the cave without talking to anyone they will still follow you there. If you enter the cave and clear it without help, the mob will be waiting outside after Movarth is killed. You won't be able to talk to Thonnir. The game may move the entire mob to Fort Greymoor upon quest completion.
- If Alva is not killed before raiding Movarth's Lair, she will be found there, fighting against other vampires, and will not be hostile toward you. Attacking her there will be considered a crime.
- The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 2.0.6, addresses this issue. She is no longer hostile towards the other vampires and is hostile towards you instead.
- When Alva is defeated, but still alive, the cave will be marked as cleared. You may need to try entering the cave alone or loading the autosave from inside the cave to have Alva and others reappear (the Vampire lord might even respawn due to this bug). ?
- If Alva is not killed in Movarth's Lair at the end of Laid to Rest, she will be found back in Morthal a few days later. Attacking her is considered a crime at this point.
- The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 2.0.9, addresses this issue. She will no longer return to Morthal once she goes to Movarth's Lair.
- If Alva is left alive in the cave, Hroggar will not update to the next phase of the quest and, once becoming thane, the game will crash as Hroggar is scripted to appear in the Hall. ?
- If you shoot Movarth undetected, he may run and eventually get stuck in a wall where you cannot hit him. Leaving and reentering the dungeon will reset him to his initial position in his chair. ?
- There is a bug that prevents Movarth's Lair from becoming cleared.
- The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.3.2, fixes this bug.
- If you want to update the "cleared" status, enter the following command in the console:
SetLocationCleared 0001BDFC 1
PersistentEdit
- Idgrod may not engage in dialogue with you.
- Clear any delivery mission listed here first, then return to the Jarl.
- After killing Alva while she is in her cellar, Hroggar might still be hostile upon entering the house at night. He will also talk like he's still a thrall if you talk to him outside.
- If you encounter Alva in the main area of the house as she is returning home or leaving, she may not be hostile, but will still shout that she is going to kill you.
- If you enter Alva's house while Hroggar is in it, and you calm him with a calm spell in order to get the journal and continue the quest, Hroggar will still be hostile if you enter Alva's house again, where he seems to remain. Even after completing the quest he will attack you on sight.
- Calming him again and then waiting seems to fix this issue and he'll be friendly again, thanking you for freeing him from Alva.
Quest StagesEdit
| Laid to Rest (MS14) | ||
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| Stage | Finishes Quest | Journal Entry |
| 20 | A mysterious fire killed Hroggar's wife and child. Hroggar took Alva as a lover immediately after the fire, and many in the town think he did it. The Jarl might pay me to investigate it.
Objective 20: Talk to the Jarl
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| 30 | Morthal's Jarl has asked me to investigate the house fire that killed Hroggar's wife and child. Hroggar took Alva as a lover immediately after the fire, and many in the town think he did it.
Objective 30: Investigate the burned house
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| 35 |
Objective 35: (Optional) Tell the Jarl about Helgi
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| 40 |
Objective 40: Find Helgi after dark
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| 50 |
Objective 60: Ask Thonnir about Laelette
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| 60 |
Objective 60: Ask Thonnir about Laelette
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| 70 | Morthal's Jarl has asked me to investigate the death of Hroggar's wife and child. Hroggar took Alva as a lover immediately afterward. I suspect she may be a vampire, but I need proof for the Jarl.
Objective 70: Investigate Alva's house
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| 95 | Morthal's Jarl has asked me to investigate the house fire that killed Hroggar's wife and child. The vampire Alva enslaved Hroggar and had his family killed in a house fire. Alva's master in Movarth's Lair plans to enslave the entire town.
Objective 95: Show Alva's Journal to the Jarl
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| 100 | Morthal's Jarl asked me to investigate the house fire that killed Hroggar's wife and child. The vampire Alva enslaved Hroggar and had his family killed in a house fire. Alva's master in Movarth's Lair plans to enslave the entire town. The Jarl now wants me to destroy Movarth and put an end to his plot.
Objective 100: Kill the master vampire
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| 120 |
Objective 120: Return to Morthal's Jarl
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| 200 |  |
Morthal's Jarl asked me to investigate the house fire that killed Hroggar's wife and child. The vampire Alva enslaved Hroggar and had his family killed in a house fire. Alva's master in Movarth's Lair planned to enslave the entire town. |
| Unknown |
Objective 50: Ask around about Laelette
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- The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 25, 80, 90, 97, 110, 130.
- Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g.,
<Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game. - Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
- Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.
- If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
- On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering
setstage MS14 stage, wherestageis the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest usingresetquest MS14.