Red Eagle was a hero of the Reach who refused to bow when Hestra came to conquer, and who traded his humanity to a hagraven for victory over the Imperial invaders. His spirit is said to wait in a tomb south of Karthspire for his sword to be returned so he can lead his people again. In The Legend of Red Eagle you fight up a Forsworn-held mountain in the Reach, take the sword and bring it home, which is exactly when Red Eagle wakes up angry.
How to start
Read the book The Legend of Red Eagle. This adds the miscellaneous objective “Find Red Eagle’s sword” and points you to Red Eagle Redoubt. Reading the book again can restart the objective, but you only fight Red Eagle himself once.
Walkthrough
Red Eagle Redoubt
The cave marked Red Eagle Redoubt on the map leads into a tunnel full of Forsworn: three near the start and possibly two or three more as you continue. About halfway to the top, a chest and a potion of minor stamina are tucked under the stairs. At the end, an iron door leads out to Red Eagle’s Ascent.
Red Eagle’s Ascent
The Ascent is a series of stairways on the outside of the mountain. Two more Forsworn attack here. Keeping to the right side of the mountain takes you towards the Sundered Towers, while the left has a Forsworn mage and several more Forsworn. Climbing further (a little jumping and stamina goes a long way) brings you to a Forsworn mage in a tent who summons a frost atronach. Four to six more Forsworn come to help her, but they are much easier once she is dead, so focus her first.
The Forsworn Briarheart
At the entrance to the Sundered Towers, a Forsworn Briarheart wields Red Eagle’s Fury and carries the Red Eagle Tower Key. Kill him and take both. No more Forsworn wait inside the tower.
Rebel’s Cairn
Climb Red Eagle Tower, pull the chain to lower the drawbridge, cross to the other tower, go down and through the barred iron door, then walk south-east across the fields to Rebel’s Cairn. The quest marker makes this easy. Inside, place Red Eagle’s Fury on the pedestal to open a hidden passage in the cave wall. The objective becomes “Unlock the secret of Red Eagle’s Tomb”.
Fight Red Eagle
Down the passage is Red Eagle’s tomb. Stepping on the seal in the floor wakes him, and as he leaves his coffin he summons four skeleton archers. You do not need to kill the archers; they collapse a few seconds after Red Eagle dies.
Strategies from the source:
- Rune trap: before stepping on the seal, place a Fire Rune in the middle of the last set of stairs, the ones Red Eagle comes down first. Then retreat to the opened wall to stay out of harm’s way.
- Let the team work: with a follower, Barbas and a flame atronach, you can mostly watch from the opening, recasting the atronach whenever it dies and finishing Red Eagle off once he is weakened.
- Sneak archery: let a melee follower draw aggro while you shoot from stealth. The Power Shot perk can stagger him. When the follower drops to one knee, Red Eagle and the skeletons search for you instead of finishing them off, so keep shooting. Unrelenting Force buys space if he reaches you.
Claim the loot
Loot Red Eagle for the Honed Ancient Nord Greatsword of Burning. A chest and shelves behind his coffin hold more loot; that chest is also one of the possible spots for the item needed in Shalidor’s Insights. On the way out, take the sword back from the pedestal: it has turned from Red Eagle’s Fury into Red Eagle’s Bane and is no longer a quest item.
Rewards
- Red Eagle’s Bane
- Honed Ancient Nord Greatsword of Burning
- Chest loot in Red Eagle Redoubt and Rebel’s Cairn
Tips and notes
- The quest never shows as completed in the journal; this is normal.
- Red Eagle’s corpse is sometimes not lootable straight away. Waiting an hour usually fixes it.
- If you get the quest again by rereading the book, placing Red Eagle’s Bane on the pedestal can mark it complete on some platforms.
