Bleak Falls Barrow

Bleak Falls Barrow is the third main quest in Skyrim, and for many players it is the first real dungeon. Farengar Secret-Fire asks you to fetch an ancient stone tablet – the Dragonstone – from an old Nordic tomb in the mountains above Riverwood. It is “just” a fetch quest. With draugr. And a lot of them.

Walkthrough

Getting there

Bleak Falls Barrow sits on a mountain just south-west of Riverwood – you can see the ruin from the village. Follow the path from the bridge up the mountain. Watch out for a bandit tower on the way, and a group of bandits guarding the entrance of the barrow itself.

The bandits and the pillar puzzle

Inside, the first halls have more bandits. You will soon meet a bandit who has solved the first puzzle for you – and promptly pulls the wrong lever. The real solution is on the walls: look at the animal heads above the gate and turn the three pillars to match them (snake, snake, whale), then pull the lever.

Arvel the Swift

Further down, a Dunmer bandit called Arvel the Swift is stuck in a giant spider web, begging to be cut loose. Kill the frostbite spider first. Free him and he runs off – you will catch up with him later. He carries the Golden Claw you need for the final door, plus a journal with the clue.

Draugr and traps

The deeper levels are full of draugr, the undead Nords who guard these tombs. Watch for pressure plates, swinging blade traps and the swinging-door trap in the long hallway. A lever beside the blade trap stops it.

The claw door

At the bottom is the Hall of Stories with a big door made of three rings. The answer is on the palm of the Golden Claw: bear, moth, owl (from top to bottom). Turn the rings to match and insert the claw.

The Word Wall and the Dragonstone

Behind the door is a large chamber with your first Word Wall. Walk up to it to learn the first word of Unrelenting Force – “Fus”. When you take the Dragonstone from the sarcophagus nearby, a Draugr Overlord wakes up. He is the toughest fight so far, so use potions and keep moving. Afterwards, leave through the exit tunnel back to the mountainside.

Back to Whiterun

Bring the Dragonstone to Farengar in Dragonsreach. He is talking to a hooded woman – who will later turn out to be Delphine – and right then news comes of a dragon at the Western Watchtower. That leads straight into Dragon Rising.

Rewards

• A leveled item from Farengar
• The first word of Unrelenting Force: Fus
• The right to buy a house in Whiterun (Breezehome)

Tips

• Return the Golden Claw to Lucan Valerius in Riverwood afterwards for a gold reward (the side quest “The Golden Claw”).
• Arvel’s body has a journal that explains the claw door if you forget the combination.