High Gate Ruins is an ancient Nordic tomb on the northern coast, due west of Dawnstar and east of Solitude, with Ustengrav to the south and the Wreck of the Icerunner off to the west. If you own Windstad Manor (Hearthfire), this is practically your neighbour. It is the final resting place of the Dragon Priest Vokun, which tells you most of what you need to know about the welcome you’ll get.
What you’ll find
- Anska, a scholar who has come looking for an old scroll and would very much like some help getting deeper inside.
- A lever puzzle in a room with four levers, each marked with an animal. Pull them in the order Hawk, Whale, Fox, Snake to open the gate.
- Four braziers around that gate. They light up as you pull the levers, and if any are already burning the levers won’t lock in place, so put them out first.
- The catacombs and finally Vokun’s Throne Room, where the Dragon Priest himself waits.
- A Word Wall that teaches part of the Storm Call shout.
Quests
- A Scroll for Anska – escort Anska’s ambitions to the end of the tomb and recover the ancient scroll she’s after.
- Wind and Sand (Dragonborn) – High Gate Ruins is one of the possible radiant locations.
- Alteration Ritual Spell – Kahvozein’s Fang may turn up here as part of this quest.
Notable items
- Destruction skill book A Hypothetical Treachery.
- Vokun’s Dragon Priest mask, taken from Vokun once he’s down.
- The Storm Call Word Wall.
Tips
Douse the braziers before touching a single lever, otherwise you’ll stand there yanking handles while the gate politely ignores you. Grab everything you want from the back of the throne room before you leave it: once Vokun is dead and you step out, the gates behind the throne shut and won’t open again. Players have found ways back in with a follower pulling a chain from the other side or some creative Whirlwind Sprint jumps, but it’s far easier to just loot first. And if you kill Vokun right next to one of the gates, don’t be alarmed if he ends up oddly stuck to it – it’s a known quirk, not a new boss phase.
Good to know
According to the Word Wall here, a settlement called Vundeheim once stood where the ruins are now. The wall speaks of its destruction as “Unending Sorrow”, and since the tomb also holds information about Ysgramor and his bloodline, some suspect Vundeheim fell during the Night of Tears.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Windstad Manor, Pale Imperial Camp, Ustengrav, Abandoned Shack, Hjaalmarch Stormcloak Camp.
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.
