Most Temple Quests are available from the moment you begin your adventure, and there are no prerequisites to complete first. Temple Quests aren’t inextricably linked to one another; you can start them at your leisure.
The Nine Divines
Akatosh: First of the gods to form in the Beginning Place: the ultimate god of the Cyrodilic Empire, embodying endurance, invincibility, and everlasting legitimacy.Arkay: God of the cycle of birth and death, of burials and funeral rites, and of the seasons.Dibella: Goddess of beauty, women, and art.Julianos: Associated with Jhunal, an extinct Nord god of hermetic orders and scholars, and unimportant to most of Skyrim’s inhabitants.Kynareth: Nordic goddess of the storm, widow of Shor, and favored goddess of warriors. Also known as Kyne.Mara: Goddess of love and fertility, handmaiden of Kyne, and Shor’s concubine.Stendarr: God of ransom and brother of Tsun; venerated by soldiers and veterans of wars.Talos: Tiber Septim, the Dragonborn. Heir to the Seat of Sundered Kings. Also known as Ysmir.Zenithar: God of Work and Commerce. Another divine that the Nords have little interest in.
The Shrines of Skyrim
There are shrines to the Divines throughout Skyrim. Their locations are detailed throughout the Atlas. Praying at a shrine cures any diseases you may have, and you gain a unique bonus (or “buff”) that lasts eight hours. You can have only one such bonus active at a time, and praying at a different shrine supersedes any previous bonuses.
Visit Markarth and locate the beggar named Degaine (he’s usually by the main gate near the market stall); he’s happy to insult you after you hand over a gold piece but is more interested in a possible money-making opportunity if you ask him. He explains the womenfolk up in the Temple of Dibella are keeping a treasure from his prying hands. He wants you to steal it and offers to pay you half of what his man in Riften has offered to pay for it. This begins a miscellaneous objective.
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIVE: Steal the statue in the Temple of Dibella
TARGET: Statue of Dibella
Clamber up the stone steps until you reach the Temple entrance. Unlock (Lockpick [Expert]) the Temple doors, and step inside. Inside the altar chamber, a priestess named Senna mentions that her relations are communing with Dibella and should not be disturbed. You may wait or ignore the advice, pass the altar, and open the doors to the Inner Sanctum. Head down the steps and into the main sanctum corridor, where a priestess soon stops you and summons Mother Hamal.
She is angry about your unannounced visit, and especially annoyed if you’re male, as this is a breach of Temple rules. Stay pleasant with your responses, and ask what the penalty is. You are tasked with locating Dibella’s Sybil, a Reachwoman selected as a child to spend her whole life in devotion and communion with the goddess. Your transgression will be forgiven if you can find the next Sybil. Hamal tells you her location was foreseen in a vision. As an added incentive, you will receive the Blessing of Dibella if you’re successful.
A Father, Inferior
The settlement hewn into the rock that Mother Hamal saw in her vision is the mountain hamlet of Karthwasten. Journey there and wait until daylight hours to pester the townsfolk (as they don’t appreciate you lockpicking and sneaking into their homes). Speak to either Mena, who is withdrawn and refers you to her husband, or Enmon. His daughter was taken by the Forsworn, and after you inform him that his daughter is the Sybil of Dibella, Enmon tells you where he thinks Fjotra is and offers to accompany you. Bring Enmon along or tell him to stay in Karthwasten.
Follower: Enmon
Forsaking the Forsworn
Trek to the Broken Tower Redoubt and prepare for battle! Enter the stone structure, and fight through the Forsworn milling about inside. Open the wooden doors and avoid a swinging gate trap as you proceed deeper into the dwelling and up the two floors of spiral stairs inside the main tower. Beware of a boulder trap and more enemies as you ascend, and exit onto the upper battlements.
Enter the second tower atop the battlements, and engage the Forsworn Briarheart in the sacrificial chamber. Then inspect the prison door by the goat’s head and candles. You can:
Search the gray corpse for the Prison Key, and use it to unlock the door.
Or pick the lock (Lockpick [Expert]). Once you free Fjotra, explain that she has been chosen as the Sybil, and she agrees to accompany you back to Markarth.
Broken Tower Prison Key
The Sybil Entranced
Return to Markarth with young Fjotra. Head up to the Temple of Dibella, enter the inner sanctum, and speak with Mother Hamal, who has made all the arrangements for Fjotra to begin her life of communing with the goddess. As a gesture of thanks, she requests you pray at Dibella’s Altar, back in the entrance chamber where you met Senna.
Quest Conclusion
Once Fjotra is delivered to Mother Hamal, and you pray at the altar, you receive the following:
