The Man Who Cried Wolf is a short but atmospheric miscellaneous quest in Haafingar. A nervous envoy from Dragon Bridge begs the court of Solitude to look into disappearances and eerie lights at Wolfskull Cave, and the steward Falk Firebeard – who would rather ignore the whole thing – quietly hands the job to you. It turns out the locals were right to worry: a coven of necromancers is trying to drag Potema, the long-dead Wolf Queen, back into the world.
How to start
- Enter the Blue Palace in Solitude for the first time. Varnius Junius will plead with Jarl Elisif for help with Wolfskull Cave, and Elisif promises that Falk will deal with it.
- Speak to Falk Firebeard. He admits he planned to let the matter slide, but offers a reward if you investigate. Agree, and the quest begins.
- Wolfskull Cave lies close to Dragon Bridge.
Walkthrough
Through the outer cave
From the entrance the tunnel heads north, bends right and then sharply left. After a lone draugr, you will spot two necromancers resting by a cooking fire on the left, with a wooden door ahead to the north. Beyond the door, stairs lead down into a chamber with several hostiles. Depending on your level this may include a frost atronach; otherwise expect a necromancer, a skeleton and a tougher draugr such as a Draugr Wight. A sinkhole sits in the middle of the room – drop into it and follow the passage north-northwest into Wolfskull Ruins.
Wolfskull Ruins
You arrive on an overlook. Below, necromancers led by a Ritual Master are chanting to summon Potema, whose ghostly shape hovers at the top of a tower. To reach the floor, take the passage on the left (west), or carefully drop down to the right of the overlook. Falling off the wrong side simply teleports you back to the bottom of the sinkhole.
At the bottom, deal with the guards and climb the curving stairs that run east and then swing back west. A satchel rests against the right-hand wall at the top. Keep climbing: the next landings hold a mix of leveled draugr and necromancers, the route turns northwest and then west, and finally a walkway with a patrolling draugr (sometimes with a necromancer) leads east to the last curved stairway up the tower.
Stopping the ritual
At the top of the tower the necromancers are performing the binding ritual. Killing them, including the Ritual Master, interrupts it. There is also a sneaky option: if you left the draugr alive on the way up and your Sneak is high enough, simply waiting unseen near the ritual circle will cause the draugr to turn on their masters and do the work for you. Once every summoner is dead, Potema’s spirit escapes – a problem for another day.
The way out
Pull the lever to the left of the drawbridge to lower it, then cross southeast to the second tower. A boss-level chest waits against its southeast wall. Take the stairs down, follow the path southeast to a door back into Wolfskull Cave, and drop down beside the cart in the first small cavern to reach the exit.
Report to Falk
Return to Falk Firebeard in the Blue Palace for your gold. Finishing this quest also means Falk can hand over the key to the Pelagius Wing for the Daedric quest The Mind of Madness. Some time later a courier may bring a letter from Falk, who has learned more about Potema – this starts the follow-up, The Wolf Queen Awakened.
Rewards
- Leveled gold from Falk Firebeard
- Standing with Solitude
- Access to the Pelagius Wing key for The Mind of Madness
- Whatever loot you collect, including the boss chest on the second tower
Tips and notes
- If you visit Wolfskull Cave before getting the quest, you will only find a few bandits, and the sinkhole into the ruins is sealed with ice.
- The ruins are full of tall towers and narrow ledges, which makes Unrelenting Force a great way to send enemies on a long trip down.
- Killing the Ritual Master breaks the necromancers’ control over the draugr, which then attack their former masters. If you prefer to watch, stand on the stone tablet while sneaking and invisible so nobody bumps into you.
- Archers can clear most of the draugr from the ledge before crossing. A well-placed arrow into the Ritual Master from the ledge can even end the event outright; the remaining enemies stay, but you can leave and hand in the quest.
- The necromancers and Ritual Master at the altar never disappear or respawn, so they make handy targets for Dead Thrall or the Ritual Stone power.
- You can pickpocket Falk’s letter before heading out for a preview of what awaits in the cave.
- Listen as you explore: the full summoning chant plays out, and Potema’s mood shifts noticeably when she realises she is being bound rather than freed.
