Angarvunde is a sprawling Nordic ruin tucked into the mountains far to the west of Riften. A deserted camp sits by its cave-like entrance, and just inside you’ll meet Medresi Dran, a treasure hunter who has bitten off more draugr than she can chew. Go for the treasure, stay for the Word of Power at the very bottom.
What you’ll find
- An outside camp with Medresi’s journal and a Speech skill book on the table by the lantern.
- A central chamber guarded by three leveled draugr, sealed off by gates and two locked doors. Medresi holds the key you need.
- Two side wings: the Angarvunde Ruins (northwest door) and the Angarvunde Catacombs (southeast door). Each ends in a lever that opens one of the gates on the way to the treasure.
- Traps galore in the Ruins: a swinging-blade pressure plate, a pedestal that fires wall spears when you lift its item, and a battering ram on a pressure plate in a draugr-patrolled hallway.
- Several novice-locked chests, including one easily missed behind a table, plus a chest and potions in the coffin room.
- A round platform leading to a long spiral staircase, a hallway, a chest and the Word Wall.
Quests
Agreeing to help Medresi starts the miscellaneous quest Destroy the Draugr in Angarvunde (Medresi Dran and the Wandering Dead). The ruin can also be the target of Find the Source of Power.
Notable items
- A Dance in Fire, Book VII (Speech) – at the camp outside.
- Before the Ages of Man (Illusion) – on a table in the Ruins.
- Word Wall: Animal Allegiance, with a chest at the end of the hall.
Tips
Don’t want to babysit Medresi? Her key can be pickpocketed instead. When the gates finally open she sprints for the loot, steps on the round platform and gets a very pointed lesson about ancient Nordic security – spikes drop from the ceiling and that’s the end of her. Killing her yourself also opens the staircase, though that’s a harsher way to end the partnership. In the Ruins, the battering ram trap can flatten draugr for you, but it triggers even if you have the Light Foot perk, so mind your own head too.
Good to know
The order matters only loosely: the Ruins open the first gate and the Catacombs the second, so you’ll be seeing both wings before you reach the shout.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Avanchnzel, Treva’s Watch, Froki’s Shack, Heartwood Mill, Largashbur.
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.
