Ansilvund is an ancient Nordic tomb dug into the mountainside northeast of Shor’s Stone and east of Cragslane Cavern. A ruined stone tower marks the cave entrance. Inside, the mage Lu’ah Al-Skaven and her followers have turned the place into an excavation, using raised draugr as diggers. Her goal: wake the legendary lovers Fjori and Holgeir to lead an undead army – and use Holgeir’s body to bring back her husband, who fell in the Great War. It’s a long, trap-stuffed dungeon with a great reward.
What you’ll find
- Ansilvund Excavation – elemental mages and conjurers watching draugr tunnel. Sneak close and you can overhear three mages gossiping about Lu’ah’s plans. An arcane enchanter is free to use once they’re dealt with.
- A rising-floor trap that pushes you into ceiling spikes – crouch and you won’t be lifted high enough to get hurt.
- A pillar puzzle guarding the way down. The answer is Hawk, Snake, Whale, Snake; the symbols are also hidden in the weeds under each pillar and hinted at in the book Of Fjori and Holgeir on the table.
- Ansilvund Burial Chambers – a corridor of traps, ended by an adept-locked gate with a pull chain that switches off the rest. An expert-locked chest sits in the same room.
- A three-tiered hall full of draugr, with the Ansilvund Key on a pedestal. The key opens the tough gates ahead but wakes more dead when you lift it.
- Fire traps and a spiked wall on the way up, then the final chamber with Lu’ah, Fjori and Holgeir.
- Outside, the tower has an alchemy lab and a cooking spot.
Quests
A Love Beyond Death starts on its own when you enter. Ansilvund also turns up as a target for several radiant and miscellaneous jobs, including Queen Freydis’s Sword, Roggi Knot-Beard’s ancestral shield, The Forgemaster’s Fingers, Arniel’s Endeavor, Totems of Hircine and No Stone Unturned.
Notable items
- Ghostblade – handed over by Fjori and Holgeir once they are freed.
- A Stone of Barenziah on the altar beside the Ghostblade.
- Spell tome Transmute Mineral Ore (see Transmute) next to the Imperial Condolences note.
- 2920, vol 02 – Sun’s Dawn (Illusion) – grabbing it fires arrows, so sidestep.
- Lu’ah’s Journal in the puzzle room.
Tips
The boss fight is three-on-one: Lu’ah casts frost magic, while Fjori and Holgeir carry frost weapons and can shout your weapon out of your hands. The good news is that killing Lu’ah ends the whole fight, so a sneak attack on her (or freezing the two warriors in place first) is the smart play. Make sure you take her key from the hall – without it the final door stays shut. Visiting the Atronach Stone beforehand reportedly makes all the spellcasters here much less scary.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Cragslane Cavern, Stony Creek Cave, Tolvald’s Cave, Eastmarch Imperial Camp, Shor’s Watchtower.
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.
