The Pale Lady is a dungeon quest in Frostmere Crypt, in the Pale not far from Morthal. A bandit named Ra’jirr stole his leader’s enchanted sword because a ghostly woman kept haunting his dreams, and the rest of the gang is taking it out on his friend Eisa Blackthorn. Underneath the ruin you get to decide whether the spirit is put to rest or simply put down.
How to start
- Travel to Frostmere Crypt. Outside, a group of bandits is attacking one of their own, Eisa Blackthorn.
- If Eisa survives, talk to her: she explains that a friend stole the boss’s sword and she got the blame. She then heads for the Moorside Inn in Morthal.
- If she dies, loot her body and read Eisa’s Journal to get the quest. If she just stands outside without talking, you can open her inventory while sneaking and read the journal there without stealing it.
Walkthrough
Frostmere Crypt
Inside, two bandits sit at a table below the stairs and a bandit mage rushes out of an alcove on the right. Pull the chain to open the gate ahead. The passage forks; the barred iron door on the right is your exit later, so go left along the caged walkway to a room with another bandit and a weapon rack.
Optional: learn about the theft
Head right from here. Opposite a gap where you can eavesdrop on some bandits there is a room with Kyr’s Log and a chest. The next room holds Ra’jirr’s Note, and Eisa’s Journal if you did not already take it from her. Reading these updates the quest: Ra’jirr took the sword to stop the “Pale Lady” from his dreams and fled into the tunnels, with Kyr, the gang leader, chasing after him. Deal with the two chatting bandits nearby and push on.
Frostmere Depths
Follow Kyr and Ra’jirr into the depths, an underground forest beneath the ruin. You find Kyr badly wounded: he tells you Ra’jirr ambushed him, then dies. Further on, Ra’jirr is fighting the Pale Lady and her wisps, and he usually does not survive it.
Banish the Pale Lady
There are two ways to finish the quest:
- Kill her. Defeat the Pale Lady and her shades, then take The Pale Blade from Ra’jirr’s body. The quest completes and the sword is yours.
- Return the sword. Take the Pale Blade from Ra’jirr and place it on the sword stand on the altar. The Pale Lady is appeased, vanishes and the quest completes. If you pick the blade up again she comes back and the quest restarts, so either leave empty-handed or fight her for it.
The Word Wall in the depths teaches a word of Ice Form. Afterwards, use the barred iron door from the start to get back out.
Choices and consequences
Killing the Pale Lady lets you keep The Pale Blade. Returning it lays her to rest peacefully, but the sword stays on the altar. Ra’jirr can be kept alive by finishing the Pale Lady quickly or keeping him out of the fight (for example with Paralyze), but he turns hostile once she is dealt with no matter what, and you still need the sword from him.
Rewards
- The Pale Blade (if you kill the Pale Lady)
- Word of Power: Ice Form
- Bandit loot and chests in the crypt
Tips and notes
- Eisa is not guaranteed to reach Morthal. There are enemies on the road and, depending on your level, she may need your help.
- Once you leave the crypt, Eisa disappears, whether she was alive outside, dead on the ground or already at the Moorside Inn.
- Approaching Frostmere Crypt along the road from the west seems to trigger the opening scene most reliably.
