The Hall of the Vigilant is the home base of the Vigilants of Stendarr in Skyrim, an isolated building south of Red Road Pass, which itself lies south of Dawnstar. Inside it feels like half inn, half chapel, run by Keeper Carcette. Enjoy it while you can: with Dawnguard installed, the place doesn’t stay standing for long.
What you’ll find
- Keeper Carcette and the Vigilants of Stendarr (before the attack).
- Two alchemy labs inside – one in the main hall, one in a side room – and a tanning rack outside. All are lost after the vampire attack.
- A wood chopping block outside that somehow survives everything.
- Three bedrooms off the main hall whose beds you can sleep in freely, though everything else in them counts as stolen.
- A path to the west leading up to Dimhollow Crypt.
The vampire attack (Dawnguard)
Before the quest Dawnguard begins, vampires of the Volkihar raid the hall. You find it half-ruined and strewn with dead Vigilants, but also with three death hounds and several vampires, so the Vigilants clearly went down swinging – whatever Isran thinks of them. Keeper Carcette is reported dead, yet her body is nowhere to be found. The trail from here leads straight into Awakening.
Notable items
- The Knights of the Nine – Heavy Armor skill book on a basement table (gone once the building is destroyed).
- A Daedra heart on the main hall table, before the attack.
- The Aetherium Wars, near a dead Vigilant after the attack.
Tips
If you want the Daedra heart, the skill book and the alchemy labs, visit early. With Dawnguard, the attack is triggered by guard dialogue once you’re level 10 or higher, so an early detour keeps the hall intact. The four barrels in the main hall can be emptied without a theft penalty, but the one in the basement can’t – choose your snacks wisely. Note that the basement disappears with Dawnguard installed, and loading a save made down there afterwards can break things badly.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Fort Dunstad, Frostmere Crypt, Red Road Pass, Dimhollow Crypt, Great Lift at Mzinchaleft.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.
