Skyrim:Proving Honor

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Claim a Fragment of Wuuthrad from Dustman's Cairn. Quest Giver: Skjor Location(s): Dustman's Cairn, Jorrvaskr Prerequisite Quest: Take Up Arms, one radiant quest Next Quest: The Silver Hand Reward: A Skyforge Steel weapon, Word for the Fire Breath shout ID: C01 Suggested Level: 6

A fragment of the past

Quick Walkthrough

1. After completing one Radiant Quest, talk to Skjor.
2. Team up with Farkas and travel to Dustman's Cairn.
3. Locate a Fragment of Wuuthrad.
4. Participate in your own initiation.

Detailed Walkthrough

The Trial of the Whelp

After successfully completing Take Up Arms and any one of the radiant quests, speaking to most any member will point you towards Skjor for your next major assignment for the Companions. Skjor will reveal that a scholar has discovered another fragment of the legendary battleaxe, Wuuthrad. He asks you to retrieve it and will direct you to Farkas who will serve as your Shield-Brother for the task, both helping you survive the quest and supervising you to ensure you complete the mission "honorably". When approached, Farkas becomes a temporary follower. If you already have a follower, he or she will return to your home or to his or her base location and await you there until you've completed the quest. If asked, Farkas will elaborate on the origins of Wuuthrad. Your destination is Dustman's Cairn, a barrow northwest of Whiterun. You can either have him follow you all the way or ask him to meet you there.

Dustman's Cairn

The place is crawling with draugr, so be prepared for a long trek. There is a Two-handed skill book The Battle of Sancre Tor in the first room. The second chamber contains an arcane enchanter and two thrones, with the only available path blocked by a gate. Locate the northernmost room and pull the lever, which will drop another gate and trap you inside, after which the lever will break. From the other side, Farkas leaves to find a way to release you, but instead is unexpectedly confronted by a group of Silver Hand members, leaving you trapped to watch the scene unfold.

Eyes on the Prey

Transformation

The Silver Hand turns out to be there for a reason. While you watch, Farkas will transform into a werewolf and wipe out the opposition within seconds. After opening the gate, Farkas will reveal that only certain Companion members are blessed with the ability. Proceed forward through the linear cave system until you reach the entrance to the second zone, Dustman’s Crypt.

After continuing through the next door, you will cross the bridge where you can see the lower room you are headed towards. If you stand idle in this caged walkway, at least one archer will attack you from the room below. After crossing the bridge, you will go around a corner and be in a long down-sloped hallway. If you run ahead to attack the Silver Hand, or choose to follow Farkas, a few draugr will awaken from the crypts lining the walls and attack you from behind. Make your way through the crypt and fight all Silver Hand members and draugr. In the large chamber under the bridge, open the chest for the Dustman's Cairn Key and unlock the door to the north. A few skeevers will attack in the next tunnel. When you reach an alchemy lab, head east and fight the residing frostbite spiders, then head downstream using the small bridges and face the draugr. Follow the linear path through the catacombs and open the iron door.

A Fragment and a Shout

Word Wall

The chamber ahead appears quiet at first, but the many sealed alcoves and coffins should hint at what to expect. Loot the many minor containers for treasure, then follow the map marker to the altar where the Fragment of Wuuthrad rests. Look on the word wall behind the fragment and learn one of the words for the Fire Breath dragon shout. Finally, pick up the fragment and watch as numerous draugr burst out of the coffins and attack you and Farkas. The battle can be intense and if the enemy is overwhelming, run around the altar and/or up & down the stairs on the left of the word wall to buy time to replenish magika & health and have Farkas recover. Additionally, the iron door will now be locked, preventing any strategic backtracking. After the battle, a path will open from the balcony above, so make your way to a tunnel initially inaccessible in the first zone, which will land you back near the entrance to Skyrim.

The Initiation

Back in Whiterun, you will find Vilkas waiting for you just outside Jorrvaskr. He will then lead you around the building where the entire group of Companions will be gathered. Guild head Kodlak Whitemane will give a short speech and welcome you to the Companions, while Farkas will swear eternal loyalty to you. You are now an official member of the Companions, but will have to complete yet another radiant quest before your next major assignment. You will also be able to buy Skyforge Steel weapons from Eorlund Gray-Mane from now on, and he will give you one Skyforge Steel weapon of your choice for free.

Notes

• Farkas, like many other followers, is incapable of sneaking properly. This makes this quest tougher for sneaky players.
• The draugr in the closed tombs lining the walls of the final room can be killed off before picking up the fragment, making the final battle much easier.
• One of the Silver Hand that attacks while you are trapped mentions in regards to which Companion came in, "It doesn't matter. He/She wears that armor, he/she dies." This is ironic as Farkas is the only one not wearing armor associated with the Companions.

Bugs

• Farkas can be a crippling liability because of his defective class specification. Regardless of level, he has 15 Heavy Armor and 25 Two-Handed, rendering him useless at higher levels.
  • This bug is fixed by version 1.2 of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch.
• When Farkas transforms into a werewolf, he drops his Skyforge Steel Greatsword, and has to use a noticeably weaker iron one instead.
  • This bug is fixed by version 1.0 of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch.
  • Although you can't trade items with him, you can still fix this by simply putting him into command mode (target him and hold Activate until the cursor changes) then targeting the sword and pressing Activate again.
  • This transformation also causes him to level up correctly in his class, increasing his health by several hundred points at higher levels: his skills will still be broken, but it does make him capable of surviving a few more hits.
• After pulling the lever and getting trapped behind the gate, the game may freeze at the point when Farkas is supposed to transform into a werewolf and then free you.
  • Reloading an earlier save and entering the location again may work.
  • Use the console command disable followed by enable to get him unstuck.
  • Another possibility is to reload to your last save, continue until you pull the lever, and wait until he runs towards the other locked gate. At that point, hit TAB to pull up the menu and then close it again. This may unlock the other gate and allow Farkas to proceed with the quest script.
• After returning to Whiterun, if you do not travel through the Whiterun gates (i.e. you fast travel to Dragonsreach), Vilkas might not be waiting outside Jorrvaskr. ^?
  • This is easily fixed by fast traveling to the stables and walking through the Whiterun gates.
• When returning to Whiterun and taking place in the ceremony inducting you to the companions, the companions may stop talking, causing the quest to not complete.
  • Talk to Vilkas upon your return to Jorrvaskr and have him lead you to the induction ceremony. The stop dialog issue seems to happen when you start the ceremony without him.
  • Using the wait command for one hour after the dialog stops unfreezes the companions and completes the quest.
• There is a chance the leveled enemies in Dustman's Cairn will not generate at your current level. A level 5 character may fight regular and Restless Draugr throughout most of the dungeon, but may unexpectedly be swarmed by Draugr Scourges and Deathlords in the word wall room, easily overwhelming the low level player and Farkas. ^?

Quest Stages

Proving Honor (C01)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		The Companions leaders say they don't have any more work for me, but that I should speak to Skjor about "the next steps." (Objective is assigned): Speak to Skjor
20		The Companions have given me one final challenge before inducting me. I'm to retrieve a fragment of Wuuthrad, the Blade of Ysgramor, from <Alias=Dungeon> while <Alias=Observer> judges my valor. (Objective is assigned): Speak to <Alias=Observer>
30		(Objective is assigned): Retrieve the fragment
40		(Objective is assigned): Return to Jorrvaskr
200		I successfully retrieved a fragment of Wuuthrad, the Blade of Ysgramor, to earn my place in the Companions.

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 0, 1.
• The following quest objective was omitted from the table for lacking a stage: (Objective is assigned): Follow Vilkas

 

Notes

• Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.
• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage C01 stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest C01.

Prev: Take Up Arms

Up: Companions

Next: The Silver Hand