Ashore in a Sea of Ghosts is an unmarked quest centred on Yngol Barrow, the tomb of a legendary Nord on the northern coast of Eastmarch. It never shows up in your journal, so it is easy to miss. The thread starts with Birna in Winterhold, who regrets buying an odd coral claw and has no intention of setting foot in a barrow to find out what it opens.
How to start
- Talk to Birna at Birna’s Oddments in Winterhold. She tells you about the bad deal she made and offers the Coral Dragon Claw for 50 gold, explaining that it supposedly belongs in Yngol’s chamber.
- Alternatively, just enter Yngol Barrow. The claw can also be obtained inside, from a pedestal revealed by solving the barrow’s pillar puzzle, which means the quest can be completed even if Birna is dead.
Walkthrough
Explore Yngol Barrow
Yngol Barrow is an unusual dungeon. As you move through it, soft blue orbs of light drift out one at a time and start following you. They are harmless, and for most of the crawl there are no enemies at all, which makes the place feel more like a quiet memorial than a draugr nest. Work through the rooms, use the claw where the claw door demands it and keep going until you reach the final chamber.
Face the guardian
The last room holds a single powerful, leveled draugr. What you meet depends on whether a radiant quest is pointing to this location:
- No radiant quest here: the foe is Yngol’s Shade. Defeat him and loot the Helm of Yngol from his body; taking the helm opens the last gate.
- A radiant quest is active (for example the Jarl of Winterhold’s request to recover the Helm of Winterhold): Yngol is replaced by a Draugr Deathlord or a Dragon Priest. The Helm of Yngol then sits on the skull of a skeleton on the throne, and picking it up opens the gate.
Escape the barrow
With the gate open, follow the exit route back to the surface to finish the quest.
Rewards
- Helm of Yngol, an ancient Nord helmet.
- Whatever loot the barrow holds along the way.
Tips and notes
- Because the quest is unmarked, nothing appears in your journal or as a miscellaneous objective; you simply explore the barrow.
- If you want to fight the true Yngol rather than a generic boss, avoid entering with an active radiant quest that targets this barrow.
- The final fight can be tough at low levels, since the boss is leveled and you will have met nothing else to warm up on.
- If the barrow is pitch black when you enter, saving and reloading inside usually restores the lighting.
