Forgotten Wastes

Is this the location of the sixth great Dunmer House? Though the outside mine door is unassuming, once you enter this place, you’ll find a load of exploring to do.

Interior 1 (Forgotten Wastes): Here you find a natural tunnel, a Dunmer named Tythis Nirith to chat to, and the beginning of the quest associated with this dungeon. Head south, battling a variety of beasts, to reach a door to Kora Dur, manned by Dunmer of an unknown house. Head west at the junction, encountering Shalk, and enter the Drinith Ancestral Tomb. Or keep going, winding through a path of beasts to reach a massive cavern where Sixth House Dunmer are defending their stronghold from encroaching lava. Expect a massive battle at this location: is that an Iron Atronach? Although the stronghold’s interior isn’t accessible, there’s a wooden scaffold to the southwest that is, offering a route up and into a high tunnel that leads down to the Forgotten Depths.

Interior 2 (Kora Dur): Explore this set of caverns, where the Sixth House is hard at work excavating (and battling you, obviously). To the west, a lava flow pierces the cavern. Conflagrator Llaals, a powerful Dunmeri mage, is here, along with his summoned Iron Aronach Mynar Igna. Head north to face more Sixth House Cultists digging the walls, and gain access into the Caverns of Kogoruhn.

Interior 3 (Drinith Ancestral Tomb): Enter from the Forgotten Wastes to start at the top of this tomb. Enter via the Caverns of Kogoruhn, and you begin at a rough mine tunnel. This tomb is teeming with Sixth House foes, as well as a couple of vicious Hungers and a boss named Voracity. Seek clues to the quest throughout these narrow halls, and watch for traps.

Interior 4 (Caverns of Kogoruhn): A large blue torch lights the entrance to a precarious set of ledges and down to a massive excavation area, where you battle more Dunmer. Walk the plank to reach a skyshard sitting on a mine cart. At the base of the ledges is a mining camp where Sixth House foes and Atronachs congregate. Push on past the giant lava flow to the south, and through the massive Daedric gate (southwest), to reach access to the Forgotten Depths. Or head northwest into a narrow mining tunnel to a secondary camp and a dead end. Don’t forget two more quest clues along the way.

Interior 5 (Forgotten Depths): This is a ceremonial bell chamber of the Sixth House, accessed either from the Caverns of Kogoruhn or the Forgotten Wastes. It’s a short hack-and-slash into this main chamber, where Confessor Dradas, Coaxer Veran, and Castigator Athin are ready to repel intruders, along with other Dunmer from this cursed house.

Ring the bells in the proper order (1, 2, 4, 3, 6, 5—the runes on the gate in front of the bells show you the order) to reach the final chamber, the Wakener’s Hall. Here you face Wakener Maras, a powerful Dunmeri mage.