Tending the Flames is the entrance exam for the Bards College in Solitude, in Haafingar. Headmaster Viarmo needs King Olaf’s Verse, a poem the old king tried to wipe from history, so he can convince the Jarl to bring back the annual Burning of King Olaf. The last copy lies with a long-dead bard in Dead Men’s Respite, together with an angry ghost and a very grumpy draugr king.
How to start
Enter the Bards College in Solitude and Viarmo will come over to greet you. Ask to join, and he explains that applicants are given a task: King Olaf ordered every copy of the verse destroyed, but one copy is believed to rest with a bard buried at Dead Men’s Respite. The dungeon is then marked on your map.
Walkthrough
Find King Olaf’s Verse
Dead Men’s Respite sits in the mountains southwest of Morthal. As soon as you step inside, a ghost waves at you and drifts through the sealed door. Taking the Ruby Dragon Claw from the table wakes four draugr but also raises the gate. From here on, the ghost reliably shows the right way, so follow him and pull the chain at the dead end.
The next section is a tomb maze opened by several chains. Check the map and visit the easternmost room for the Speech book The Buying Game, which sits behind a battering ram trap. Draugr and frostbite spiders lurk throughout, and a pressure plate at the foot of a staircase sets off a flame trap. After the next spider fight, loot the shelves for potions and soul gems, then pull the chain to open a grate in the floor and drop into the water below.
Disarm the tripwire on the gate on the upper level before opening it, or a row of swinging blades starts up; a chain at the far side of the bridge stops them. Further on there is an Arcane Enchanter. The ghost cannot pass a magically sealed door here, so continue alone through the catacombs. An expert-locked door hides a master-locked chest with a large amount of gold. In the next chamber the gate slams shut and five draugr attack. Afterwards, check the southeastern room for a dart-trapped chest, pull the chain, go down the central stairs and use the handle on the left. The wall lowers to reveal the ghost beside the remains of Svaknir, the bard executed for questioning Olaf. Take the verse from his hand (he also carries some gold).
Svaknir’s revenge
On your way back, the ghost breaks the magical seal and leads you to a Nordic puzzle door. The Ruby Dragon Claw shows the combination: Wolf, Hawk, Wolf. Beyond it is a hall of draugr seated on thrones, eight on the floor and four on a ledge, with Svaknir standing in a pool in the middle. A stealthy archer can pick off many of them before getting close. When you approach, Svaknir calls out to Olaf, and the draugr rise in waves. Svaknir cannot die, so he fights alongside you. After both waves, Olaf One-Eye bursts from his coffin. He is a leveled draugr boss, often with an ebony sword or war axe (an Ancient Nord weapon at low levels), and he uses shouts such as Frost Breath.
Once Olaf falls, Svaknir plays his lute and departs for Sovngarde. Loot Olaf for his treasury key and learn a word of Whirlwind Sprint from the Word Wall behind his coffin. The draugr all carry some gold, and the treasury holds more loot. Pull the lever to leave.
Reconstruct the verse
Back at the college, Viarmo finds the poem incomplete and asks for your help filling in two missing passages. Your answers shape the final text and the size of the reward.
The performance and the festival
Meet Viarmo at the Blue Palace. He recites the verse before Jarl Elisif, who is moved enough to reinstate the festival and rewards the college. Viarmo then sends you to Jorn at the college; talk to him, and again after 8:00 PM if needed. Head outside to the overlook, where Viarmo sets the effigy of Olaf alight and announces you as the newest bard before handing over your share of the reward. Evette San and Sorex Vinius give away free goods, and Bendt’s festival sweets and the extra spiced wine can be taken without it counting as theft.
Choices and consequences
For the first passage, about how Olaf captured the dragon Numinex, you can say Olaf found him asleep, that he made a deal with Numinex, or (with a Persuade check) that Olaf was Numinex in human form. The second passage covers the siege of Solitude. The options are that Olaf sent disguised troops against Solitude, that he goaded Solitude into attacking Winterhold, or that he sacked Winterhold and used magic to blame Solitude. If you picked the dragon option earlier, the last choice changes to Olaf sacking it in dragon form (Persuade). Elisif likes every version, but her gift to the college is described as moderate, generous or very generous depending on your lines, and your cut follows.
Rewards
- Leveled gold based on your level and the verse you wrote; at the highest level it ranges from 750 gold (deal, then Solitude attacking Winterhold) to 1,800 gold (dragon form both times)
- Membership in the Bards College
- A word of Whirlwind Sprint
- Olaf’s treasury and The Buying Game skill book
Tips and notes
- Completing the quest opens up the college’s follow-up tasks: Finn’s Lute, Pantea’s Flute and Rjorn’s Drum.
- Pick the dragon options if you can pass the Persuade checks; they give the largest reward.
- Solitude’s citizens, guards and college members gather at the festival and thank you for bringing it back.
