Skyrim:Take Up Arms

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Prove you are worthy to join the Companions. Quest Giver: Various Location(s): Pelagia Farm, Jorrvaskr Prerequisite Quest: None Next Quest: One Radiant Quest, Proving Honor Reward: Membership of the Companions ID: C00

Your first encounter with the Companions.

Quick Walkthrough

1. Locate the headquarters of the Companions.
2. Find and talk to Kodlak Whitemane.
3. Prove yourself worthy against Vilkas.
4. Make yourself useful to the higher-ranked members.

Detailed Walkthrough

Find the Companions

On your way to Whiterun, you may stumble upon members of the Companions, specifically Aela the Huntress, Ria, and Farkas, battling a giant amidst the sparse crops outside Pelagia Farm. After the battle, Aela will actively seek you out and will, depending on the outcome of the battle, either commend or taunt your battle skills. In both cases, however, she will tell you about the Companions and point you towards Kodlak Whitemane in Jorrvaskr.

If you missed the fight near the farm, speaking with select Whiterun citizens or Jorrvaskr residents will also trigger a quest to see Kodlak Whitemane.

Jorrvaskr

Jorrvaskr is a legendary mead hall and the oldest building in Whiterun; it is located in the Wind District, up the eastern set of stairs from the Gildergreen. Inside the building, you will witness a friendly brawl between newcomers Athis and Njada Stonearm while the other members cheer. The harbinger of the Companions, Kodlak Whitemane, will most likely be in the northern room of the Living Quarters, busy talking to Vilkas about what seem to be important matters. When asked about membership, Kodlak will consider you worthy, while Vilkas will disagree. After a brief argument between the two, Kodlak will ask about your battle skills. Regardless of your answer, Kodlak will order Vilkas to escort you to the yard for a quick sparring session. Follow Vilkas to the yard and pick up the fight. Make sure not to use magic, a bound weapon, or an enchanted weapon, for if you do Vilkas will temporarily stop the session. If you only have enchanted weapons, unequip them and use your fists. Take a few swings at Vilkas and prove your worth. Once Vilkas asks you to stop, accept your status as a 'whelp' and the fact that you will run errands for now.

A Few Errands

Vilkas will hand you his sword for sharpening. Take it to the best forger in town, Eorlund Gray-Mane, who works at the Skyforge just up the stairs from the Jorrvaskr entrance. Eorlund will briefly explain how newcomers tend to get bossed around upon joining the Companions, and will then ask for a favor. He will give you a shield for Aela, who can be found talking to Skjor in the living quarters. Similar to the conversation between Kodlak and Vilkas, it becomes apparent that the Companions hide a few secrets, although none of them will share them with you at this time. When you hand Aela the shield, she will thank you for the favor and summon Farkas to escort you to your new quarters, where a free bed will be available. Farkas will introduce you to a few of the other newcomers and will also offer you a job, which will be one of his radiant quests. You can choose to ignore his request, as seven different radiant quests will now be available from the guild members, and you must complete at least one of them before your next major assignment, Proving Honor.

Achievements

One achievement is unlocked when you complete this quest:

• Take Up Arms (10 points/Bronze)

Notes

• If you want to encounter the three Companions near Pelagia Farm, make sure to head straight north after leaving Riverwood. This will take you directly to the farm and the fight.
• In the living quarters, Aela and Farkas' dialogue will differ. If you met them earlier near Pelagia Farm, they will both recognize you; if you went straight to Jorrvaskr, they will just greet you like a newcomer.
• At high levels Vilkas is quite powerful. Make sure to outfit yourself properly.

Bugs

• Having a follower while taking the test may cause a conflict between the followers and those giving you the test. Fast traveling, leaving the area, saving or reloading do not solve this problem. ^?
  • Casting calm spells on your follower may fix this behavior, temporarily.
• Vilkas may simply turn hostile the moment you enter the training area, even if you're barehanded. He never stops to hand you his sword, but simply fights you to the death. Even if you leave Jorrvaskr, he follows you wherever you go and fights you in the streets, and passing guards will not aid you. Since he is essential until the end of the questline, he cannot be killed. This not only makes the questline broken, it also makes navigating around Whiterun dangerous, as he will always be hostile and be right where you last left him.
  • This can be temporarily stopped with the ResetAI and setav aggression 0 console commands, but he will still never give you his sword or advance the quest, and will continually fight you as soon as he sees you.
  • The console command setstage c00 100 ends this behavior, but does not erase any bounties you built up fighting him where guards could see.

Quest Stages

Introduction (CompanionsMiscObjective)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		(Objective is assigned): Speak with the leader of the Companions
200
Take Up Arms (C00)
10		If I want to become a member of the Companions, I have to speak to their leader, Kodlak Whitemane, in Whiterun. (Objective is assigned): Speak to Kodlak Whitemane
20		The legendary warrior band of Whiterun, the Companions have agreed to let me join them, if I can handle some preliminary tasks for them. (Objective is assigned): Train with Vilkas
30		(Objective is assigned): Give Vilkas's sword to Eorlund
40		(Objective is assigned): Bring Aela her shield
50		(Objective is assigned): Follow Farkas to your quarters
100		I have joined the Companions, the legendary warrior band of Whiterun.

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the second table: 0, 1, 150

 

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 C00 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 C00.

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Up: Companions

Next: Proving Honor