From the Ashes is a Dragonborn side quest at Tel Mithryn, the mushroom tower of the wizard Neloth on Solstheim. His apprentice Talvas Fathryon secretly learned a spell his master refused to teach him, botched the casting, and now an Ash Guardian is smashing up the grounds. Talvas would very much like it gone before Neloth notices.
How to start
- Visit Tel Mithryn and go up to the main floor of the tower; just stepping in and back out does not trigger the event.
- Outside, you find Talvas practising a summoning and complaining about Neloth’s handwriting. Later he comes to you in a panic: the Ash Guardian he conjured is running wild.
- You can also simply stumble upon the creature on the grounds, which starts the quest as well.
Walkthrough
Hear Talvas’ confession
Talvas admits he read Neloth’s spell book behind his back and that something went wrong when he cast the spell. He plans to keep Neloth distracted while you deal with the monster. You can agree, or tell him to clean up his own mess, which only earns you a worried complaint about ending up as Neloth’s test subject again.
Destroy the Ash Guardian
Track down the Ash Guardian on the Tel Mithryn grounds and destroy it. It leaves no remains behind. You do not actually need to talk to Talvas first: you can fast travel away, come back and kill it without ever accepting the job. A follower may even finish it off while you are still in conversation with Talvas.
Report to Talvas
Tell Talvas the creature is gone. Relieved, he offers to teach you the spell that caused all the trouble, or to give you a staff instead if you would rather not risk it.
Choices and consequences
- Spell: you get the Conjure Ash Guardian spell tome plus a Heart Stone, along with a stern warning never to cast the spell without one, or the guardian attacks everyone, caster included.
- Staff: you receive a leveled staff, which Talvas considers the safer option.
- Telling Neloth: you may report Talvas to Neloth while the creature is still loose. Neloth grumbles about his apprentice’s incompetence, but it changes nothing about the outcome.
Rewards
- Conjure Ash Guardian spell tome and a Heart Stone, or a leveled staff.
- Talvas Fathryon becomes available as a follower either way.
Tips and notes
- The source is not fully consistent about the reward: the walkthrough presents the spell-or-staff choice to everyone, while the notes say the choice appears only with Conjuration 65 or higher.
- If you take the staff, the Conjure Ash Guardian tome can be bought from Talvas afterwards. If you traded with him earlier, wait for his stock to refresh before it shows up.
- According to Talvas, heart stones are found only on Solstheim, and Neloth thinks they are fragments of Red Mountain thrown across the sea in the great eruption about two hundred years ago. Neloth’s own errand Heart Stones deals with them.
- If you ignored Talvas and killed the creature on your own, he will point out that he tried to tell you about it, but you walked off.
