Silenced Tongues takes you into Volunruud, an old Nordic tomb in Eastmarch. The scholar Heddic Volunnar left notes about a sealed inner chamber, the Elder’s Cairn, which only opens with ceremonial replicas of the weapons Kvenel carried into battle. Find both, open the door and meet Kvenel in person, which he will not enjoy and neither, at first, will you.
How to start
- Enter Volunruud and pick up Heddic’s Volunruud Notes near the entrance, or
- Try to open the Elder’s Cairn door inside the tomb.
Walkthrough
The main cavern
Below the entrance stairs is a cave with passages in several directions. The far left (southwest) passage is quiet and has an urn and a treasure chest; this is also where you meet Amaund Motierre during the Dark Brotherhood questline. Leave the stairs to the north for last.
The ceremonial axe
Take the west-northwest doorway, through an iron door into a crypt with resting draugr, then follow the winding cavern down. The last room is guarded by a boss-level draugr (two at some levels) who uses Unrelenting Force, Disarm and frost spells such as Ice Spike. Watch out for the rusty metal plates on the floor, which shoot up spikes. The ceremonial axe hangs on the wall behind the throne, and a copy of Mace Etiquette lies to the right of it.
The ceremonial sword
Back in the main cavern, take the northeast opening. A winding tunnel brings you to the middle level of a tall, multi-level room with several draugr, including a frost-casting Wight. The corridor to the northeast has a swinging spiked door trap; lure enemies into it, or lay runes in the narrow tunnel and let them run over them. A shout also hits nicely when they bunch up here.
Through that opening and up some stairs is a room with another draugr. The left path loops back to the multi-level room; take the right tunnel up to the high catwalk instead. Across it is a room with an ancient Nord helmet and one draugr. Behind the iron door is a crypt holding the ceremonial sword, and two draugr attack the moment you enter.
Open the Elder’s Cairn
With both weapons, return to the main cavern and climb the stairs to the north. The room has a large table with candles, a leveled shield and some embalming tools. Activate the Elder’s Cairn door on the far side: it takes the two ceremonial weapons and opens.
Defeat Kvenel
Past a burned corpse kneeling on a scroll of Ice Storm, you reach a room with two draugr. Kill them there, or they may drop off the bridge and come up behind you later. The rhythmic chanting you start to hear means a Word Wall is near, and a guardian with it. At the end of a narrow passage, Kvenel the Tongue waits in a large chamber. He can hit very hard, but the ring of pillars around the room is your friend: shoot from cover while hidden, then move to the other side before he finds you.
Kvenel carries the real Eduj and Okin. Upstairs is more loot, possibly a dragon priest dagger and the skill book Night Falls on Sentinel. The Word Wall up the steps to the west teaches a word of Aura Whisper.
Rewards
Tips and notes
- The source recommends being around level 20 or higher before taking on Kvenel.
- Kvenel can get trapped between the coffin by his throne and the wall, which makes him an easy target.
- Read the notes before exploring. If you wander the tomb first, the door may refuse to open; dropping the weapons and trying the door again should start the quest properly.
- Put both weapons in at the same time. Inserting one and coming back later with the other can leave the door unusable.
- If the ceremonial sword is not where the marker says (it may point to the ceiling), using Storm Call there can knock it to the ground.
- A skeleton may be waiting near the entrance on your way out.
