Online:Bound in Blood

Escape captivity at the hands of the Icereach Coven. Zone: Western Skyrim Quest Giver: None Location(s): Deepwood Vale Next Quest: The Gathering Storm Reward: Traveler's Luggage 1 Skill Point Soul Magic Skill Line Average Leveled Gold XP Gain: Standard XP ID: 6455

An evil ritual is underway in Deepwood Vale

This quest is currently disabled (as of Update 30) It has been replaced with a new tutorial, The Gates of Adamant.

I awoke in a cold stone cell after my caravan was attacked on the way into Western Skyrim. I have no clue where I am, but I need to find a way out of here.

Quick Walkthrough

1. Wake up in your cell and free Fennorian from his sarcophagus.
2. Speak with Fennorian and retrieve his flask after he helps you to escape your cell.
3. Explore the barrow with Fennorian, arm yourself, and defeat your first opponent.
4. Continue your escape.
5. Eavesdrop on Matron Urgala and Rada al-Saran and speak with Fennorian afterwards.
6. Follow Matron Urgala.
7. Make your way towards the summit of the ruin, where you need to stop a dark ritual.
8. Defeat Matron Urgala and prevent her strom from doing any damage

Detailed Walkthrough

Escaping the Barrow

"My thanks. Hear me out if you want to escape this place."

The tutorial begins with you waking up in a cell inside a barrow. A few moments after you have regained your consciousness, you can hear an as of yet unknown person calling for help from inside a stone sarcophagus which stands at the far end of the cell. As soon as you open the sarcophagus, Fennorian, the person who was trapped inside, emerges from it. Evidently in a weakened state, he drops to the floor of the cell and says:

Fennorian: "My thanks. Hear me out if you want to escape this place."

Speaking with him prompts him to discuss his escape plan with you. and share a bit of what he knows about your present captivity. You and Fennorian were on a cart together, having been kidnapped by the Icereach Coven. He's not sure exactly where you are, but you're somewhere in Western Skyrim. Before you can escape, he needs you to do him a quick favor. The witches stashed Fennorian's belongings somewhere nearby, and among them is a flask. He needs that flask, otherwise you'll be in imminent danger.

Return the flask to its rightful owner

He transforms into a cloud of mist to pass through the bars of the cell. He rematerializes on the other side, and pulls a lever that allows you to leave the cell. Now you need to find Fennorian's flask. The flask is kept in a nearby room, to the north of the cell from which you and Fennorian just escaped. Hand Fennorian the flask, and he immediately imbibes the flask's contents. He looks and feels better immediately.

You should speak with him to hear more about his escape plan, along with gaining some more insights on his own background and intentions. He's a vampire, and a member of a House Ravenwatch. His family only drinks blood from willing donors. He was investigating a burial site in Bangkorai when he ran into the witches. Now, you need to make your way to the next room along with Fennorian.

You do not have to follow him immediately, however, and might want to search the barrels and sacks that litter this part of the barrow for lockpicks and other potentially useful items. Once you are ready to do so, you can head into the next room, which is full of racks containing weapons and armor. Fennorian takes the only staff, so you'll have to wait if you want one. Apart from chance weapons found in containers, there is really only one weapon that you can find in this room, which is a greatsword. The quest will not advance to the next stage until you pick up this weapon.

Combat Tutorial

"That's the brute who threw us in our cell! We have to get past him."

Upon entering the next room, you are confronted by a large Nord, Vitrus the Bloody, who isn't too keen on allowing you and Fennorian to continue your escape.

Vitrus the Bloody: "What are you two doing out? Urgala still has need of you."

Fennorian: "That's the brute who threw us in our cell! We have to get past him."

Fennorian hangs back during the fight, giving you advice on how to deal with the burly Nord. The combat tutorial begins. First, he instructs you to hit Vitrus with a light attack. After three strikes, Vitrus attempts to use a heavy attack on you. Fennorian instructs you to block. After you've blocked, you need to heavy attack Vitrus to deal significant damage while he's off-balance. You'll be instructed to block and retaliate twice more. Vitrus will then stun you, and Fennorian will instruct you to break free. This will occur three times. Next, you'll learn how to interrupt attacks, and will be instructed to interrupt Vitrus three times. After that, you'll need to use what you've learned to finish the fight and take Vitrus the Bloody down for good.

"A giant frostbite spider! Kill it, my friend!"

Fennorian will act as your follower from this point onward. He follows you into the next room, where you can find more armor and, more importantly, weapons. There are staves on the racks for magicka users. Take whatever you think you want to use, then head down the tunnel. A giant frostbite spider descends from the ceiling in the large cavern beyond.

During the encounter, and each of the ones that follow while he acts as your follower, Fennorian uses two abilities to help you. One is a healing spell which he uses quite often whenever your health drops underneath the maximum and makes it virtually impossible to get killed by enemies during this quest. The other is far less useful, as it is an offensive spell which hardly deals any damage, probably to avoid strange situations in the parts of the tutorial area where you can see other players but don't see "their" Fennorian. Head through the door at the end of the cavern to progress.

A Change of Plans

"Quick, hide! Look up on the bridge."

Fennorian briefly leaves your service as a follower when you enter the next room. He runs on ahead and comments on the fact that the exit is drawing near.

Fennorian: "Over here! We're almost to the exit."

However, the moment is interrupted by the appearance of two figures who cross a bridge of ice further down the cavern. Fennorian prompts you to hide, which is a necessary thing to do (at least for a few moments) in order to advance to the next stage of the quest:

Fennorian: "Quick, hide! Look up on the bridge."

A sinister sight

While hiding, you overhear the following conversation between the witches' leader and a strange man:

Matron Urgala: "As you'll see, the storm's effects will be quite devastating."

Rada al-Saran: "As long as everything's ready for the first harvest, Urgala, I will be pleased."

Once Matron Urgala and Rada al-Saran are gone, Fennorian leaves his hiding spot and requests that you to talk to him.

Harrowfiends and cultists litter these old ruins.

Do so in order to reach the next stage of the quest and learn more about what just happened and the change of plans that he has in mind because of it:

"That was Urgala, leader of this branch of the Icereach Coven. She's the witch who locked us in the barrow. The others take their orders from her."

Who was she talking to?

"I'm not sure, but I believe he's… one of my kind. They mentioned a devastating storm. We need to find out exactly what they have planned.
My apologies, but we're going to have to postpone our escape."

You want to follow these two?

"We'll make an investigator out of you yet! I need to figure out how these stolen remains, the Icereach Coven, and that vampire are connected.
Let's catch up to Urgala and her guest and see what we can find out."

He will head into the next room, where he resumes his role as your follower. The way out of the barrow is pretty straightforward and soon leads you into a room with several enemies. The enemies that are encountered in this part of the barrow consist of two types: harrowfiends and members of the Icereach Coven. Neither should pose too much of a challenge, especially with the healing spells that Fennorian casts on you. Regardless, Fennorian suggests a stealthy approach to avoid getting into any more fights:

Fennorian: "Witches and their servants are everywhere. We could sneak through if you wish to avoid more battles."

Stopping the Storm

"Those urns. They bear the same symbol as the ones I saw in Bangkorai."

Destroy the Witch Pike

Upon leaving the barrow, you are confronted with a disturbing sight. A bright, red-colored arcane storm is building in the sky above the pinnacle of the temple at the other side of the vale, and Fennorian seems to think that it is the work of Matron Urgala and her accomplices.

Fennorian: "Look, the sky! What have they done? We must reach that clearing!"

In addition to the two types of enemies that could be encountered in the barrow, a new one is introduced here, in the form of wolves. There are several opportunities to practice your lockpicking skills on locked doors to towers filled with armor and weapons across this valley. The locks on these doors are trivial. Once again, reaching your destination is a pretty straightforward endeavor and shouldn't prove to be too much of a challenge.

The door to the ruins is up several flight of stone stairs. You must fight your way through Icereach coven members, harrowfiends and skeevers in order to reach your destination, a door that leads to the ritual site at the top of the barrow. Fennorian has a few things to say along the way, starting off with a warning as soon as you enter these ruins:

The path to the exit is mostly linear, and you will most likely reach it in short notice. Outside, you can overhear a second conversation between Matron Urgala and Rada al-Saran, just before the latter disappears in a swarm of bats.

Rada al-Saran: "The harrowstom ritual is a thing of beauty, Urgala. I'll be in touch after the harvest."

"Kill Urgala! Maybe that will stop the storm from growing!"

After Rada al-Saran has left, Fennorian urges you to deal with Matron Urgala, in hopes of that being sufficient to stop the storm from growing. Fennorian continues to support you throughout the fight with Matron Urgala, who acts as the final boss of the tutorial quest.

In contrast to what Fennorian expected, the storm continues to grown in strength after Matron Urgala has been slain. He suggests that destroying the pike that stands prominently at the ritual site might do the trick. A few hits are all that is needed to destroy the witch pike. The storm quickly starts to dissipate after its destruction. You can speak with him to finish the quest and, if you wish, also begin the first actual quest in the main storyline of Greymoor.

"I wish we could have learned more before we killed Matron Urgala. I still don't understand what the coven has planned, and it's the not knowing that worries me."

We learned the Icereach Coven created a storm ritual for that vampire. That's something, right?

"That's true. And we stopped that storm. My investigations have led to even darker corners, but progress has been made.
Here. Consider this a stipend from Ravenwatch. For your valuable assistance, of course. Now, let's get out of here."

Notes

• This quest serves as tutorial to new Greymoor characters. It is not available to pre-existing characters.
• As the rest of the game world cannot be accessed until this quest is completed, it is listed as a "Main Quest" and cannot be abandoned. However, it is unrelated to the rest of the game's Main Quest storyline.

Quest Stages

Bound in Blood
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	A voice called for help from somewhere in this cell. I need to look around for the source. Objective: Look Around
	The call for help came from inside a heavy sarcophagus. If I let them out, maybe they can explain what's going on. Objective: Search the Sarcophagus
	The man I pulled from the sarcophagus offered to help me escape. I should hear his plan. Objective: Talk to Fennorian
	Fennorian claims he needs his flask before we can escape. I need to search around for his belongings. Objective: Retrieve Fennorian's Flask
	Now that Fennorian has recovered, I should ask him about how we get out of here. Objective: Talk to Fennorian
	Fennorian knows the path out of the barrow. I should follow him to the exit. Objective: Follow Fennorian
	I should find a weapon to defend against anyone who blocks our escape. Objective: Find a Weapon
	I should equip my weapon so I'm ready in case we're attacked during our escape. Objective: Equip a Weapon
	Now that I have a proper weapon, Fennorian and I should continue to make our escape. Objective: Continue your Escape
	An enormous servant of the witches blocks our escape path. Seems like the only way out is through him. I need to dispatch Vitrus the Bloody. Objective: Kill Vitrus the Bloody
	With the guard out of the way, I can leave the prison with Fennorian. Objective: Leave the Prison Halls
	We need to keep moving to reach the barrow's exit. Objective: Reach the Exit
	A giant spider blocks our exit. I need to kill it to continue our escape. Objective: Kill the Giant Spider
	With the giant spider dispatched, we can leave these caves. Objective: Search Deepwood Cavern
	Fennorian spotted something on the bridge overhead. We need to hide and listen. Objective: Hide with Fennorian
	Fennorian wants to discuss what we just heard. I should talk to him. Objective: Talk to Fennorian
	Fennorian wants to follow Matron Urgala and the vampire she was talking to. He thinks they're all connected to the investigation that brought him to Western Skyrim. Objective: Follow Matron Urgala
	A massive storm is forming above the barrow. Fennorian believes answers await us at the storm's source. We need to reach its location. Objective: Reach the Ritual Site
	We need to reach the top of the ruins to understand the nature of this dark storm. Objective: Reach the Top of the Ruin
	To stop the strange storm, I need to kill Matron Urgala. Objective: Kill Matron Urgala
	Even in Urgala's absence, her storm continues to gain power. I must destroy the witch pike that holds its energy. Objective: Destroy the Witch Pike
Finishes quest	We stopped the witch's ritual and ended the storm. I should speak with Fennorian about finally getting out of this place. Objective: Talk to Fennorian

Notes

* Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the game 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.