Cleansing the Stones is part of the Dragonborn main quest. Once the Wind Stone is free, Storn Crag-Strider of the Skaal Village admits he is still too weak to face Miraak, and asks you to break Miraak’s hold on the other sacred stones of Solstheim. Four stones, four sweeping shouts, and a tentacled surprise at almost every one.
How to start
The quest follows The Fate of the Skaal. After you learn Bend Will at Saering’s Watch and use it on the Wind Stone, talk to Storn. He explains that he needs the power of the All-Maker flowing through every stone before he can force Miraak to honour his bargain, and the remaining four stones are marked on your map.
Walkthrough
The four stones can be done in any order. At each one, workers stand in a trance, building one of Miraak’s structures around the stone. Shout Bend Will at the stone itself to cleanse it. The freed workers come to their senses and run for safety, and a Lurker appears to attack you and anyone nearby.
Cleanse the Water Stone
Travel to the Water Stone and shout at it, then defeat the Lurker. The source warns that a dragon may be hanging around this stone, which makes the fight a lot harder; killing the dragon first is the safer option.
Cleanse the Earth Stone
The Earth Stone is the busiest fight of the four: besides the usual Lurker, a second one climbs out of the water along the nearby shore. The Redoran Guardsmen posted here help out, shooting the Lurker from the shoreline with elven bows and switching to elven swords up close.
Cleanse the Beast Stone
Shout at the Beast Stone, let the workers scatter and put down the Lurker that answers.
Cleanse the Sun Stone
Finish at the Sun Stone the same way. Once all four are free, the journal notes that only the Tree Stone is still under Miraak’s control, locked inside his new temple. The story continues with The Path of Knowledge.
Rewards
Each cleansed stone grants a single-use power. Once used, the power has to be picked up again from the stone.
- Wind Stone – North Wind: 20 points of frost damage for 10 seconds, plus stamina damage.
- Earth Stone – Bones of the Earth: ignore 80% of all physical damage for 30 seconds.
- Sun Stone – Sun Flare: a 100-point fiery explosion around you, stronger on closer targets.
- Water Stone – Waters of Life: heals everyone close to you for 200 points.
- Beast Stone – Conjure Werebear: summons a werebear for 60 seconds where you are aiming.
Tips and notes
- The quest can be skipped completely: learn the first word of Bend Will at Saering’s Watch and shout at the Wind Stone before meeting Frea at the Temple of Miraak. Storn will then say the land is at peace and The Path of Knowledge starts right away.
- Keep Fanari Strong-Voice alive during the Wind Stone fight. If she dies, the side quests A New Source of Stalhrim and Lost Legacy never trigger, because they depend on a later conversation between her and Deor. Without the first one you cannot forge stalhrim gear.
