Skaal Village

Related Quests

Dragonborn Main Quest: The Fate of the Skaal Dragonborn Main Quest: Cleansing the Stones Dragonborn Main Quest: The Gardener of Men Dragonborn Main Quest: At the Summit of Apocrypha

Solstheim Side Quest: Filial Bonds

Solstheim Side Quest: A New Source of Stalhrim

Solstheim Side Quest: Lost Legacy

Solstheim Regional Activity (Skaal Village): A Mother’s Lament*

Solstheim Regional Activity (Skaal Village): Return to Falkreath*

Habitation: Skaal Village

Services

Follower: Frea [DB1/7]

Marriage Prospect: Morwen [DB3/3]

Trader (Apothecary): Edla [DB1/16]

Trader (Blacksmith): Baldor Iron-Shaper [DB4/16]

Trainer (Master: Two-Handed): Wulf Wild-Blood [DB1/1]

Crafting

Blacksmith Forge

Cooking Pot

Grindstone

Smelter

Tanning Rack

Wood Chopping Block

Workbench

Miscellaneous

Area is locked

Chest

Potions

Loose gear

Lore: Settlement Overview

Skaal village is located in the Felsaad Coast region of Solstheim, north of Thirsk Mead Hall. The origin of the Skaal has been lost to the passage of time. Who founded this village, and why? What clues exist that might shed light on their history? And can this lost legacy provide insight into the events that are currently troubling Solstheim? These questions have been weighing heavily on the mind of Tharstan, a visiting scholar. He’s always had a great passion for history, and the mystery of the village’s origins is one he would very much like to solve.

There is no real economy in Skaal Village, as money is of little value to the self-sufficient Skaal. Hunting is the main source of sustenance for most; the Horkers on the northern coast and nearby Lake Fjalding are relatively easy and lucrative prey. More adventurous Skaal hunters go after the elusive Snow Wolf or Snow Bear, whose pelts are valued highly among them. The Skaal are skilled foresters as well, which makes sense since their village is surrounded by firs. A steady supply of firewood can mean the difference between life and death for these determined villagers.

Years of relative peace and prosperity for the Skaal have been shattered by the loss of most of the tribe to some unknown dark magic. At the last moment, the village shaman, Storn Crag-Strider, was able to shield the remaining few of his people from this spell, but it is taking all of his concentration and he can’t keep it up forever.

Most of the town’s population has been enslaved, and many are helping to build a strange arched shrine around the Wind Stone to the northwest of town. Free these villagers and they head back to the locations listed below. Consult the Dragonborn Main Quest: The Fate of the Skaal for further information. You cannot fully interact with the Skaal until you’ve befriended them.

Important Areas of Interest

Barrier Focusing Stones and Well

This is where Storn, Finna, and Nikulas remain on their knees, attempting to hold back Miraak’s foul magic and keeping the minion of Hermaeus Mora from completing his subjugation of Solstheim.

• Crafting: Tanning Rack

Greathall

Fanari Strong-Voice

Ever since she was a child, Fanari has possessed a singular focus, always knowing what she wanted and doing whatever it took to get it. Seeing Fanari’s determination to be the best hunter in the village, Wulf Wild-Blood was touched. He decided to take the young Nord woman under his wing, and with Wulf’s guidance, Fanari eventually became a superb hunter. As she grew older, Fanari decided that she needed a new goal and she set her sights on becoming the village elder. She achieved this while still in her thirties, a remarkable feat for any of the Skaal. Her loyalty to the villagers, her fearless and unflappable nature, and a good dose of just being tired of hearing her go on about how she was meant to be the elder caused the other Skaal to name her as chieftain.

Tharstan

Tharstan is a visiting historian who has come to live with the Skaal in order to write a book about their culture and heritage. He now resides in a guest room in the village Greathall. Tharstan spends most of his days reading and writing in the Greathall and will be happy to talk to you about his research into the history of the Skaal.

This large lodge-style building serves as a gathering place for the villagers. It has traditionally also been the dwelling place of the village elder and his or her family. The current village elder is Fanari Strong-Voice, who succeeded Skaf the Giant in that role less than three years ago following Skaf’s passing. Outspoken and opinionated, Fanari lets everyone around her know what she’s feeling. However, her devotion to the villagers and her keen mind have made her a fine elder. She is also an expert hunter who has spent several years training under the tutelage of Wulf Wild-Blood.

Also living in the Greathall as a guest of the village is the visiting historian Tharstan, an enthusiastic scholar who has a great love for history and lore. All his life, he has been intrigued by the mysteries of Solstheim, and he has already written one volume about the island. He is living in Skaal Village mainly to study its people and learn about their history and culture.

The interior of the Greathall features a warm hearth with a cooking pot, various books of Tharstan’s, and two sets of steps to a balcony bedroom, where Fanari keeps a small collection of pearls in a display case [Apprentice].

• Crafting: Cooking Pot
• Book: Ahzidal’s Descent

Shaman’s Hut

Storn Crag-Strider

Storn is the Skaal Shaman, the spiritual advisor to the tribe. Stoic and patient, the Skaal look to him in times of difficulty for guidance and comfort. He communes with the land and calls upon the All-Maker, the creator and sustainer of all things, to protect his people. Storn’s daughter Frea has been groomed since childhood to succeed him as Shaman. Now in her early twenties, she is quietly rebelling against the idea. Storn believes this will pass and tries to maintain the calm that has served him so well over many years to wait until Frea realizes what she’s truly meant for.

Frea

Frea is the daughter of Storn Crag-Strider, and she is conflicted about her future. Her father expects that she’ll someday take his place as the village Shaman, but she’s an accomplished warrior and hunter and thinks she might be chief material instead. You first meet Frea at the Temple of Miraak.

Storn, the village Shaman, makes his home here along with his daughter, Frea. One of the persistent mysteries of Skaal village is the identity of Frea’s mother. Twenty-five years ago, before becoming the village Shaman, Storn set out to learn the ways of the world. When he returned five years later, he brought with him a four-year-old girl whom he introduced as his daughter, Frea. Storn refuses to speak about Frea’s mother to anyone, including Frea. This has caused a rift between the two that prevents them from ever being truly close, but Storn has been a dutiful and loving father otherwise, so Frea cannot stay angry with him for long.

The house is decorated with pelts, various plants, herbs, and other shamanistic totems, as well as an Arcane Enchanter and an alchemy table. Tinkering with the creation of potions is one of Storn’s hobbies.

• Crafting: Arcane Enchanter, Alchemy Lab
• Follower: Frea [DB1/7]

Baldor Iron-Shaper’s House

Baldor Iron-Shaper

Baldor works the forge in Skaal village. He’s a tough, hard-nosed, no-nonsense man who values hard work, honesty, and the weight of solid iron. He takes pride in his craft and will be quick to say so to anyone who will listen. The one thing Baldor wants most in life is to reclaim the lost art of forging Stalhrim. He knows how to do so, but he lacks the material itself.

Baldor Iron-Shaper lives in a modest house near the village center. He lives alone, having never married. Outside is his fine forge, where he can craft Stalhrim weapons and armor and Ancient Nordic Pickaxes. Inside, his house is usually locked [Adept] and features some displayed weapons, ore, a chest, cooking pot, and some ingots and more weapons upstairs.

• Crafting: Blacksmith forge, cooking pot, grindstone, smelter, tanning rack (2), workbench (2)
• Chest
• Loose gear
• Trader (Blacksmith): Baldor Iron-Shaper [DB4/16]

Deor Woodcutter’s House

Deor Woodcutter

Deor is an unremarkable man, simple-minded and direct. He is, in many ways, the prototypical Skaal villager: He gets early up in the morning, works hard all day, eats a spare meal, and then sleeps through the night. He expects to spend all the rest of his days doing just that until he returns to the All-maker.

Yrsa

Yrsa is one of the younger women in Skaal Village. She is friendly and polite and likes baking. She is married to Deor and hopes they will soon have children, if she can get Deor to agree to it.

Deor and Yrsa are the youngest couple living in Skaal village. They have been married for eight years. Both are typical Skaal villagers, hard-working and self-sufficient. Their home is meager but well constructed, given Deor’s supreme skills in the crafting of wood. Inside their house are the rough essentials for life: food, a cooking pot, and a copy of The Woodcutter’s Wife, as well as another tome of interest.

• Crafting: Cooking pot, wood chopping block
• Book: Deathbrand

Oslaf’s House

Oslaf

One of the many hunters in Skaal village, Oslaf would be very content if the rest of the world would just leave his village and his people alone. He is deeply mistrustful of outsiders, owing to an incident in his childhood where some Nords from Skyrim came to hunt in the land near Skaal Village. The Nords got drunk and picked a fight with Oslaf’s father, wounding him badly. Oslaf is a devoted, if stern, father and husband. He thinks young Nikulas is a fool for wanting to leave the village, and he reminds his young daughter Aeta on a daily basis that her place is with her people.

Finna

Finna is a kindhearted villager who is almost the complete opposite of her stern husband, Oslaf. Where he dislikes strangers, she is welcoming and generous. She is good friends with Yrsa, and the two like to share idle gossip about the other villagers. Finna tries hard to instill positive qualities in her daughter, to provide a balance to her husband’s more strict approach to parenting.

Aeta

Children in the Skaal Village are raised to contribute from an early age. The self-reliant Skaal do not have the resources to get by without everyone pitching in, so Aeta, the village’s lone child, helps out where she can. Aeta is unlike many Nord children in Skyrim, having little time for play and no friends her own age. She has had to grow up more quickly and is surprisingly mature and level-headed for a child.

This building is home to Oslaf, Finna, and Aeta. It is a modest home with a fenced-in backyard that houses a few goats and planted potatoes, cabbage, and leeks. Finna has taken it upon herself to try to grow a meager crop here, although the climate and soil are less than ideal for farming. She spends most of her day outside tending to the garden while her husband, Oslaf, hunts game in the lands near the village. Inside the home is a cooking pot, some food and clothing, and very little else, save for a sweetroll in Aeta’s bedroom.

• Crafting: Cooking Pot

Wulf Wild-Blood’s House

Wulf Wild-Blood

One of the best hunters that the Skaal have ever known, Wulf Wild-Blood seems almost supernaturally attuned to nature. In truth, this is just the result of a lifetime spent tirelessly perfecting his art. Hunting is Wulf’s great passion, and he only feels truly alive while on the trail, tracking game. His enthusiasm has waned slightly, after the disappearance of his brother Torkild.

For most of his long life, Wulf Wild-Blood has been the most accomplished hunter and trapper in Skaal village. Now facing his twilight years, Wulf wants to pass along his wisdom and teach a new generation of hunters. He will eagerly offer advice and wisdom. He wants nothing in exchange, save to keep his people strong by passing on what he has learned. His home features a variety of pelts, skinned meats, and mounted animal trophies.

• Crafting: Cooking pot
• Loose gear
• Trainer (Master: Two-Handed): Wulf Wild-Blood [DB1/1]

Wulf Wild-Blood’s Butcher’s Hut

This is where Wulf Wild-Blood prepares the meats and skins of the animals he and the other hunters bring back, before they are divided or sold on to traders from Raven Rock and Skyrim.

• Crafting: Cooking pot

Edla’s House

Edla

Edla lost her husband, Heifnir, a few years ago and has been raising their son Nikulas alone ever since. The event made her reexamine her life and she decided that she wanted more for herself than the simple life of a villager. However, she could not deny that she was a Skaal, born and raised, and she had no desire to leave. Her compromise was to begin a new occupation as the village trader. In this new (and entirely self-appointed) role, she makes trades with travelers, selling off material the Skaal can spare, crafting her potions in exchange for septims, and using those to purchase supplies.

Nikulas

Nikulas might have the life of a typical Skaal villager were it not for the recent death of his father and the arrival of Tharstan in the village. The loss of his father shook the young man greatly and made him question whether he really wanted to spend his entire life within the boundaries of the Skaal lands. Pouring fuel on the fire were Tharstan’s exciting tales of his grand excursions exploring lost ruins across Skyrim and beyond.

This dwelling is home to Edla and Nikulas. Edla has tried hard to keep herself occupied since the tragic death of her husband, a hunter named Heifnir who was mauled by a bear three years ago. An unusually enterprising Skaal, she has taken to trading with travelers who pass through the village, taking gold in exchange for meat, furs, and other items that the villagers have in excess. She then uses that gold to buy whatever she thinks is useful or desirable. Inside her home are some simple foodstuffs and a few trinkets and potions.

• Crafting: Alchemy Lab, cooking pot
• Loose gear
• Potions
• Strong Box
• Trader (Apothecary): Edla [DB1/16]

Morwen’s House

Morwen

Morwen’s mother, Bera, was one of those rare Skaal who left the village to seek her fortunes elsewhere. She traveled to Skyrim with Ulfarr, a Nord sailor whose ship had wrecked near Skaal Village. Bera raised Morwen with tales of the Skaal Village, for in her heart she missed her home. Currently, Morwen works the smithy with Baldor.

After years as a mercenary, Morwen has chosen to put away her sword and live out her remaining years in peace. Morwen’s mother was born in Skaal Village but left when she married a sailor from Skyrim and returned home with him. Morwen has had her fill of battle and now spends her days fishing and hunting to help provide food for the villagers. However, she will still pick up an axe should a threat to the village arise. Her house is a simple affair but cozy if you decide to marry and settle down with her (after completing Solstheim Regional Activity: Return to Falkreath*).

• Display case [Adept]
• Loose gear
• Marriage Prospect: Morwen [DB3/3]
• Unique Item: Bera’s Necklace [DB6/31]