Online:Prisoners of the Sphinx

Free the Imperial prisoners. Zone: Reaper's March Quest Giver: Talania Priscus, Eliana Salvius Location(s): Fort Sphinxmoth Concurrent Quest: An Affront to Mara Reward: Sphinxblade Hatchet Average Leveled Gold XP Gain: Standard XP ID: 4717

Free Decanus Vulso from the Croc Pit

Within Fort Sphinxmoth I encountered one of the chapel guards. She believes more of her companions were still alive elsewhere in the complex.

Quick Walkthrough

1. Free Eliana Salvius.
2. Rescue Veranus Macatus from magical bonds.
3. Rescue Decanus Vulso by solving the mage-lock.
4. Exit Fort Sphinxmoth and talk to Eliana.

Detailed Walkthrough

While inside Fort Sphinxmoth, you may come across a fatally-injured guard near a stairwell in the upper chamber. She will direct you to Eliana Salvius, one of the Imperials who entered the ruins to recover Mara's stolen relics, in a small chamber to the northwest. When you get past the spike traps and talk to Eliana, she asks you to free her and to look for the other guards, Veranus Macatus and Decanus Vulso.

Eliana disarms spike traps

Pressure plates around each row of the spikes you had to bypass give the appearance of being able to disarm the spike traps (the plates even glow when you sneak), but this is a trick; Eliana, however, will deactivate them with a hidden switch on the wall.

Free Veranus

Head up the stairwell (where you found Talania) and head south, down the eastern fork and into the small chamber on your right. Veranus will call out for you when you get close to him. He is trapped in a "bubble of force," triggered by a pressure plate that snuffed out the braziers in the room. You can release him from the trap by relighting the braziers. Watch your footing, as there are a ton of Bear Traps scattered around them. The braziers will go out after a short while.

Free Decanus

Decanus is in a different section of the fort. Continue going east, heading through the ruined barbican, making sure to avoid the poison gas triggered by pressure plates scattered about, and enter the large door to the storage vaults. Before you cross the bridge, you will hear Decanus call out for help. He is, unfortunately, in the crocodile pit. Fall down into the pit and talk to him. He'll tell you about a mage-lock in a small corridor to the south. To escape the pit, you will need to figure out the correct order of constellations on it. You can intimidate him, if you have the Fighters Guild Intimidation Perk, to find out that the bandit leader, Accalia, stole the relics for the Stonefire Cult. Look in the small corridor to the south. The walls on the left and right of you have constellation panels, which are needed to solve this puzzle. The book with the solution -— a riddle about a thief -— is located under The Steed panel, next to a skeleton on the ground. The three panels you need to press are: The Thief, The Tower, and The Mage.

Leaving the Fort

Once you open the door, activate the lever to reach a cistern, and head through a one-way door at the top of the stairs. Once you leave, you have two options: backtrack to the exit, or go west. If you go west, you'll come across the bandit leader, Accalia. You may be forced to fight him, as there is another one-way door that you must go through in order to get to the exit.

After you escape Fort Sphinxmoth, talk to Eliana, who is kneeling outside the entrance to the fort.

Notes

• Talania Priscus is found dead if you have accepted the quest from Eliana Salvius instead of her.
• Veranus Macatus and Decanus Vulso won't exist inside the ruins before starting the quest.
• While not on the quest, the lever to escape the pit can be used without having to do the puzzle.

Bugs

• Eliana Salvius instantly disappears from sight after using the stone to turn off the traps. ^?
• The pressure plates nearby remain active after Eliana turns off the traps. ^?

Quest Stages

Prisoners of the Sphinx
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	A dying woman told me that one of her fellow temple guards, Eliana, was somewhere else on this floor of the ruin. I should find her. Objective: Find Eliana
	I should find the other surviving guards within the ruins of Sphinxmoth. Objective: Rescue Eliana Salvius Objective: Rescue Decanus Vulso Objective: Rescue Veranus Macatus
	(Steps for freeing Eliana) I should free Eliana from her chains. Objective Hint: Free Eliana from her Chains
	(Steps for freeing Veranus) I should ask Veranaus [sic] how I can help him. Hidden Objective: Talk to Veranus I should light the braziers as quickly as possible to release Vernaus [sic]. Objective Hint: Light the Braziers to Free Veranus
	(Steps for freeing Decanus) I should talk to Decanus to see how I can help him. Hidden Objective: Talk to Decanus I must figure out which panels I need to touch to exit the chamber. Objective Hint: Touch the Proper Three Panels (Once the Mage-Lock has been unlocked) I should pull the lever to exit the chamber. Objective Hint: Use Lever to Exit Pit
	Now that I've found all the missing guards, I should return to their camp outside Fort Sphinxmoth to make sure they made it out of the Fort safely. Objective: Leave Fort Sphinxmoth
Finishes quest	I have located all of the guardians. I should find Eliana Salvius outside Fort Sphinxmoth. Objective: Talk to Eliana

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.