Thirsk Mead Hall is a grand Nordic hall on the banks of Lake Fjalding on Solstheim, added with the Dragonborn expansion. It stands just east of the Beast Stone, and was built as home and hunting lodge for a clan of Nord warriors. When you arrive, though, the warriors are camped on the beach and the hall belongs to a tribe of rieklings and their surprisingly clever chief. Which side you take is up to you.
What you’ll find
- Under riekling rule: overturned tables and chairs, skulls and painted bones everywhere, and the chief’s throne at the back. The rieklings aren’t hostile until you pick a fight.
- After Retaking Thirsk: the hall is refurnished with hangings, lighting, cooking fires and new sleeping quarters at the back (five unowned beds). Mead bottles still litter the floor – some traditions survive anything.
- A pedestal in the middle of the hall where each chieftain displays a prized battle trophy.
- Halbarn Iron-Fur at the forge outside, once the Nords are back.
- Residents after Retaking Thirsk: Bujold the Intrepid, her husband Kuvar, Elmus, Halbarn Iron-Fur, Herkja, Hilund and Sirkjorg.
Quests
- Retaking Thirsk – help the Nords clear out the rieklings and their chief.
- The Chief of Thirsk Hall – run errands for the riekling chief; afterwards one to three rieklings may occasionally come to your aid. The two quests exclude each other.
- Elmus’ Mead – bring Elmus a bottle of Ashfire mead from Thirsk.
- After Retaking Thirsk: Elmus’ Berries (juniper berries), Halbarn’s Supplies (ten Stalhrim and fifteen ebony ingots) and Hilund’s Spears (fifty Riekling Spears).
Notable items
- 27 bottles of Black-Briar Reserve scattered around the hall, each worth 100 gold, plus a jar of honey.
Tips
Decide before you swing: finishing one quest fails the other. Siding with the Nords gets you a forge, a merchant smith and free beds; siding with the chief gets you occasional riekling backup. Even after Retaking Thirsk, rieklings sometimes come back for another go. If you haven’t cleansed the Beast Stone yet, the Thirsk Nords head straight there afterwards. If Bujold’s unworthiness comes out, she and Kuvar move back to Bujold’s Retreat.
Good to know
The hall was founded by Skaal who split from their kin. Building it woke a beast called the Udyrfrykte, which halved the settlers before a sorcerer drove it off. Hrothmund the Red then won leadership by beheading his rival Drengr Bronze-Helm, whose head went on that pedestal – starting the trophy tradition. New leaders still seek Hrothmund’s blessing at Hrothmund’s Barrow. The hall’s resemblance to Jorrvaskr in Whiterun is no accident: both are proper mead halls.
Nearby
Closest places on Solstheim covered on TamrielSaga: Beast Stone, Vahlok’s Tomb, Temple of Miraak, Bujold’s Retreat, Skaal Village.
Map position and editor ID read from the Dragonborn game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.
