Prerequisites: None

Intersecting Quests: Main Quest: Bleak Falls Barrow

Locations: Bleak Falls Barrow, Riverwood

 Characters: Camilla Valerius, Lucan Valerius

Enemies: Arvel the Swift, Bandits, Draugr, Frost Troll, Giant Frostbite Spider, Skeevers

Objectives: Retrieve the Golden Claw, Cut Arvel down, Find the secret of Bleak Falls Barrow, Bring the claw to Lucan

Beneath the Barrow

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Travel to Riverwood. You can overhear rumors about a recently robbed store; locate the Riverwood Trader. Inside, the proprietors Lucan and his sister, Camilla Valerius, are engaged in a heated discussion. It seems bandits have recently broken into their dried goods store and stolen a solid gold ornament in the shape of a dragon’s claw. Offer your help to Lucan; the sibling bickering doesn’t stop, but Camilla seems appeased and takes you out to the bridge on the edge of Riverwood.

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Objective: Retrieve the Golden Claw
Target: Golden Claw

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Find your way up the mountain path north of Riverwood, passing the Riverwood Folly (where bandits roam), and to the summit, where the Nord tomb appears through the blizzard. Expect more bandit activity in this area. Locate the arched carved door leading into Bleak Falls Temple. Inside the first chamber, you hear two bandits around a campfire talking about a Dark Elf heading farther into the Barrow. End their conversation swiftly before venturing down the stairs.

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Pass through the spiderwebs, the burial urns, and the dead Skeever, and engage another bandit on your way to a ceremonial entrance room. A portcullis blocks your path, and the lever nearby is currently inactive. In the alcoves to the left are a trio of three-sided pillars. Approach the first, and you’ll notice they can be activated. Each side has a different animal carving: the Hawk, Whale, and Snake.

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Puzzle Solution: Rotate the pillars so a Snake, Snake, and Whale face out. The carved Nord heads above the portcullis (and the fallen middle one) hold the answer in their maws.

Descend the spiral steps beyond, battling a few Skeevers on your way. As the thick spider silk begins to cover the walls, you hear a voice up ahead and to your left. Cut through the doorway covered in webbing, and enter the lair of a Giant Frostbite Spider. Attack the arachnid before venturing toward the trussed-up Dark Elf: one of the bandits from the raiding party you slaughtered previously. This is Arvel the Swift, who is carrying the Golden Claw. He quickly tells you he knows how it works, how it fits into the door in the Hall of Stories. The bandit is babbling. But he needs cutting down first. Oblige him.

Objective: Cut Arvel down
Target: Arvel the Swift

After a couple of weapon swipes (or magical blasts), Arvel’s sticky prison gives way. He immediately flees, laughing that he won’t be sharing his treasure with the likes of you. This is correct, but that’s because you’ll be taking him out—use a quick arrow or two in the back or other ranged attack—or letting the denizens who lurk deeper into this crypt deal with him...