“Awakening” is the second quest of the Dawnguard add-on. Isran sends you after Vigilant Tolan to Dimhollow Crypt, where the vampires who wiped out the Hall of the Vigilant were digging for something. What they were looking for turns out to be a someone.
Where is Dimhollow Crypt?
The crypt sits up a worn mountain path near the ruined Hall of the Vigilant, directly north of the Lord Stone. If you show up before the quest starts, a boulder blocks the gate, so take the quest first.
Walkthrough
Dimhollow Crypt
Expect vampire sentries, vampires and the odd frostbite spider. Early on you’ll overhear vampires talking: Tolan got in ahead of you and didn’t survive. Gates along the way open with a nearby chain or lever.
Lokil and Adalvald
In the large cavern a vampire named Lokil is interrogating Vigilant Adalvald about the crypt’s mechanism. Adalvald refuses to talk, and Lokil kills him. Once you get close, Lokil and his vampires attack – take them down and the chamber is yours.
The brazier puzzle
In the middle of the chamber stands a pedestal ringed by five braziers.
- Activate the pedestal. It takes a little of your blood and the puzzle lights up.
- Push each brazier along the floor to the spot marked by the purple glow. Stand on the opposite side from the direction you want it to move.
- A brazier lights up when it’s in the right place. Start with the southwest one and work your way round.
When all five burn, a stone monolith rises from the floor. Activate it.
The woman in the tomb
Out steps Serana – a vampire, and clearly an old one, with an Elder Scroll strapped to her back. She is just as surprised to see you as you are to see her. She asks you to take her home, which ends “Awakening” and starts Bloodline.
Tips
- The crypt’s word wall for Drain Vitality comes later, on the way out with Serana.
- Serana won’t carry items for you yet – that changes once she’s properly recruited later in the story.
