Stoking the Flames is a miscellaneous quest in Riften, in the Rift. Balimund, the city’s blacksmith at the Scorched Hammer, owes his good work to a forge fed with fire salts, a mineral that burns hotter than most fuels. His supply has run dry and the forge is cooling, so he needs you to find ten more.
How to start
- Talk to Balimund at his forge. During normal working hours he is outside at the anvil; at other times he is usually in his house.
- He will not talk business if you are trespassing inside his shop, so visit while it is open.
- Offer to find fire salts for him and he tells you that ten should be enough.
Walkthrough
Gather ten fire salts
Fire salts are not rare once you know where to look. Good sources include:
- Flame atronachs: any you kill can be looted for fire salts. Balimund himself suggests this.
- Alchemists: they sometimes stock them. Two are usually sitting at Grave Concoctions in Falkreath.
- Player homes: the alchemy upgrades often come with a few. The alchemy lab for Honeyside includes two, Hjerim’s lab has four, and other homes’ alchemy decorations tend to add two to four.
- Babette sells them if you are a member of the Dark Brotherhood, and her stock refreshes.
- Labyrinthian holds many; Sunderstone Gorge and the College of Winterhold have five or more each.
- Nightcaller Temple has four or more during Waking Nightmare.
- Three sit on a shelf in the outpost of Septimus Signus.
- The Atronach Forge can produce them from a salt pile, a ruby and any soul gem.
Return to Balimund
Once you carry ten, speak to Balimund and hand them over. He accepts them only as a full set of ten, so the dialogue option will not appear while you are short.
Rewards
- Leveled gold
- Balimund becomes a possible marriage partner
- Counts as a favour toward becoming Thane of the Rift
Tips and notes
- Ask Balimund where to find fire salts and he names flame atronachs and alchemists as the usual sources.
- If you already have ten fire salts the first time you meet him, he has unique dialogue when you hand them over.
- Fire salts are also an alchemy ingredient, so do not accidentally brew yours away before the hand-in.
