Recipe for Distraction

Captain Veleth’s Redoran guards are hooked on a potent wine; find their hidden stash in the ruined outskirts of Raven Rock.

Recipe for Distraction is a quick Dragonborn miscellaneous task in Raven Rock on Solstheim. Captain Veleth of the Redoran Guard has a discipline problem: some of his men have grown fond of a strong, addictive drink called Emberbrand Wine, and he would like to know where they hide it. A little detective work in the abandoned part of town is all it takes.

How to start

  • Help Captain Veleth with the ash spawn at Old Attius Farm in March of the Dead.
  • Ask him whether commanding the guard is difficult. He grumbles about petty distractions and the wine. Offer to track down the stash. If you brush him off instead (it will turn up sooner or later), you can come back and offer later.

Walkthrough

Find the stash

Veleth reckons his soldiers are too clever to keep it in the Bulwark and suggests the empty houses on the edge of town. Head past Severin Manor and take the left-hand path toward the Earth Stone. The barrel with the wine sits in the gap between the ruined houses there.

Report back

Return to Captain Veleth and tell him what you found. He is pleased, since he no longer has to worry about guards dozing off on duty, and pays you for the trouble. The whole job takes only a few minutes, which makes it a nice errand to pick up while you are in town for other business, such as A New Source of Stalhrim or the main story.

Rewards

Gold, scaled to your level:

  • Level 1-29: 250 gold
  • Level 30-39: 500 gold
  • Level 40-49: 1,000 gold
  • Level 50-59: 1,500 gold
  • Level 60+: 2,000 gold

Tips and notes

  • The name of the drink is inconsistent: the quest objectives call it Emberbrand Wine, while Veleth’s dialogue calls it Embershard Wine. It is the same stash either way.
  • Emberbrand Wine restores 60 stamina but cuts stamina regeneration by 60% for 120 seconds, which explains the sleepy guards.
  • Not to be confused with Recipe for Disaster.

Objectives

Locate the hidden stash of Emberbrand Wine in Raven Rock
Report the stash of Emberbrand Wine to Captain Veleth

Walkthrough

Choices & consequences

Known bugs & fixes

Lore notes

Emberbrand Wine is a potent, addictive spirit popular among the Redoran Guard of Raven Rock.

Characters in this quest

Creatures you will meet

Locations

Earth Stone in Skyrim Dragonborn: All-Maker Stone west of Raven Rock, Miraak’s chanting workers, Neloth, the main quest and Cleansing the Stones explained.
Old Attius Farm in Skyrim Dragonborn: Solstheim’s only farm, south of Raven Rock, where Captain Veleth fights ash spawn and March of the Dead begins.
Raven Rock in Skyrim Dragonborn: Solstheim’s Dunmer capital – merchants, Glover Mallory’s smithy, the Retching Netch, Severin Manor and every local quest.
Severin Manor in Skyrim Dragonborn: the free player home in Raven Rock on Solstheim, how to get it via Served Cold, crafting stations and storage.

Factions

Quest rewards

Sources checked: Elder Scrolls Fandom wiki (quest article, DLC export 2026-10-12), Dragonborn game files