Prima Games eGuides Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition eGuide

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Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Guide The Atlas Hold 1: Haafingar

[1.04] Volskygge

[1.04] Volskygge

Related Quests

  • Side Quest: Masks of the Dragon Priests*
  • Dungeon Activity

Recommended Level: 24

Dungeon: Dragon Priest Lair

Dangers

  • Battering Ram Traps (pressure plates)
  • Swinging Blade Trap (pressure switch)
  • Swinging Wall Trap (pressure plates)
  • Dart Trap (pressure plates)

Puzzles

  • Nordic Pillars (Snake, Bear, Fox, Wolf)

Collectibles

  • Dragon Priest Mask: Volsung [3/80]
  • Skill Book [Lockpicking]: Surfeit of Thieves

Special Objects

  • Word Wall: Whirlwind Sprint [1/2]
  • Chest(s)
  • Potions
  • Loose gear

Along Haafingar’s southwest edge, a collection of crumbling ruins surround a shattered staircase that leads to ancient burial tunnels.

Exterior

Search the outdoor ruins to the north and south of the staircase to find a few urns with some coin; then scale the stairs and enter the interior ruins.

  • Loose gear

Exit to Skyrim

Throne Room

A couple of bandit scouts patrol the first fire-lit chamber. Beware the pressure plate near the elevated throne—stepping on it causes arrows to fly out from the surrounding walls.

  • Danger! Dart Trap (pressure plate)

Swinging Wall Passage

Avoid the pressure plate on the ground in the center of this hall—take a side passage to avoid being impaled by a swinging wall of spikes. Slay a few more bandits and raid a chest at the hall’s far end.

  • Danger! Swinging Wall (pressure plate)
  • Chest (Locked: Apprentice)

Lever Nook

Dispatch a couple of bandits at this dead end, then swipe a Skill Book off a shelf and unlock an Adept-level gate to access a lever that opens a secret passage in the nearby wall. Go through to discover some potions and a chest.

  • Skill Book [Lockpicking]: Surfeit of Thieves
  • Chest
  • Potions

Dining Hall

A grotesque scene of a bloody Draugr splayed across an elegant dining table greets you here. Swipe a few potions from the shelves before entering the northern caverns to slay more bandits, score a few more potions, and loot some urns.

  • Potions

Nordic Pillars Chamber

Gates slam shut as you enter the passage’s end, trapping you near a sort of glyph puzzle and forcing you to solve it. The book on the pedestal provides clues as to the puzzle’s solution. Activate the glyphs in the following order: Snake, Bear, Fox, Wolf. Don’t miss the chest in the stairwell chamber beyond, and pull a lever before heading downstairs to open a secret passage. Explore the passage to reach a trapped room that features an urn and a few valuable potions.

  • Danger! Battering Ram Trap (pressure plate)
  • Chest
  • Potions

Door to Volskygge Passages

Door to Volskygge

Lever Chamber

Pulling a lever in this quiet chamber opens a nearby holding cell, but there’s no need to do so. Press onward and wipe out a Draugr so you may safely raid a chest in the next room. The chest is rigged with a trap hinge connected to the chest’s left side. Unlock the hinge trap before opening the chest to avoid a dart trap.

  • Chest

Trap Door Chambers

Avoid the pressure plate in the center of this odd chamber and avoid falling into the next room’s central pit, or you’ll have to take a dangerous Draugr-filled passage to the next chamber. Assuming you avoid the pitfall, look for the dead bandit next to a lever. This leads to a secret chamber with a chest and a health potion on a pedestal. Careful when grabbing the potion: it triggers a spear trap from the grate below.

  • Danger! Swinging Blade Trap (pressure switch)
  • Chest

Burial Chamber

Loot the many urns and resting Draugr in this chamber, but beware the trap that’s triggered by a central pressure plate. Don’t miss the chest in the passage that follows, and beware a host of Dragur that ambush you on the way to [9].

  • Danger! Swinging Wall (pressure plate)
  • Chest (Locked: Apprentice)

Altar Chamber

A lone Draugr guards a quiet altar chamber here. Loot the many urns, then beware a battering ram trap as you scale the stairs that lead toward [10].

  • Battering Ram Trap (pressure plate)
  • Potion

Spider Passage

Slay a host of Frostbite Spiders and rip through thick webs on your way through this long, winding passage, harvesting ingredients from egg sacs as you go. Don’t miss looting the chest or urns just before you arrive at [11].

  • Chest

Brook Chamber

A gentle stream flows through this Draugr-filled chamber. Find a chest at one end of the brook along with an Orichalcum ore vein. Loot a few urns after laying the undead to rest here.

  • Chest

Exit Chamber

Slay one final Draugr and loot several more urns and a large chest on your way out to the ruins’ exterior peaks.

  • Potions
  • Loose gear

Door to Volskygge Peak

Volskygge Peak

A mighty wizard named Volsung awaits you on the ruins’ exterior peaks. Slay this powerful adversary to acquire the valuable gear that he owns, including a precious mask. Scale the nearby steps afterward to locate a Word Wall that bestows the Word of Power: Whirlwind.

  • Dragon Priest Mask: Volsung [1/10]
  • Word Wall: Whirlwind Sprint [1/2]
  • Chest