Skyrim:Ustengrav

Nordic Ruin: Ustengrav (view on map)
# of Zones	2
Clearable	No
Dungeon	Yes
Respawn Time	Never (storage is safe)
Level	Min: 6
Occupants
Bandits, Draugr, Warlocks, Giant Frostbite Spiders, Frostbite Spiders
Console Location Code(s)
UstengravExterior01, Ustengrav01, Ustengrav02
Region
Hjaalmarch
Special Features
Word Wall	Become Ethereal
# of Arcane Enchanters	1
Ore Veins
# of Corundum	2
# of Iron	1
# of Silver	1

Ustengrav

Ustengrav is a Nordic ruin northeast of Morthal containing bandits and draugr. It contains two zones: Ustengrav and Ustengrav Depths.

Related Quests

• Bandit Attack^HF: Rescue your beloved from their kidnappers. (radiant)
• The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller: Retrieve a Greybeard artifact from Ustengrav.

Notes

• The way deeper into the dungeon, and to Ustengrav Depths, will not be open until The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller has been started. If accessed prior to this, mages and bandits will be engaged in battle in the first main chamber, the exit to which is blocked.
• The word wall teaches the Become Ethereal shout.
• Ustengrav is the burial place of Jurgen Windcaller.

Walkthrough

Exterior

There are two bandits here that have set up camp near the entrance to the ruins. The remains of several of their companions can be found where they were killed outside the ruins, and within the first interior zone. Four sacks and a chest within the entrance pit hold their supplies.

Upon approaching their campsite, you will be able to witness a battle between the bandits and a leveled necromancer. They may attack you as well if you stray too close. The necromancer will usually reanimate the already-dead companions to aid in the battle with the bandits, where the necromancer usually wins. After their battle, killing the necromancer first will cause the reanimated bandits to die as well.

Zone 1: Ustengrav

Near the entrance there is a pickaxe, which can be used to mine ore veins found deeper in the ruin. Upon entering the ruin and approaching the first open area, you will see and hear a group of mages and bandits. You can rush in and attack immediately, or let them finish their conversation, after which they will head off deeper into the ruin. If you choose to let them go for a bit, the bandits will encounter a group of draugr. By the time they are reached, there will be just a few survivors.

A two-room chamber along the left side of the main passage is crowded with large burial urns, and is protected by two spellcaster traps. The left side of this chamber contains an unlocked treasure chest, while the right side holds a copy of the Restoration skill book Mystery of Talara, v 2 on a shelf. Further down the main corridor, there will be a doorway on the right leading to a small crescent-shaped room containing a table with a honed ancient Nord greatsword under it. A pull chain hidden behind a pillar at the back of this room opens a secret passageway, ending in a room with an unlocked chest holding leveled loot.

The last room consists of a narrow, two-level main chamber with an overlooking balcony. Two leveled draugr will burst from their tombs as you enter. The only notable loot is contained within a treasure chest on the balcony. A bridge accessible from the balcony crosses over the main chamber and leads to the door to Ustengrav Depths.

Zone 2: Ustengrav Depths

Ustengrav Depths

The corridor leads to a glimpse of the main cavern of Ustengrav before heading back to more tunnels and rooms. You will have to cross over four flame spout traps. These can be safely passed by moving slowly and staying on the left to avoid damage, or by using Whirlwind Sprint. Directly to the right of the first flame trap, is an iron ore vein. Shortly after, there is a large room with tables and draugr. You should walk on a suspended bridge over the room, then through the room, and then over another suspended bridge.

In the next room, a short passage on the left leads to a small treasure room behind two gates. There are two handles to open the gates: one next to the gates themselves, the other behind the corner by some candles and a coffin on the south wall (draugr sentinels may awaken when this one is approached). This room also contains an arcane enchanter.

Go back out of the gated room into a hallway. To the left is a small set of steps essentially leading to nothing, and at the far right end of the hallway is a stone ramp down, which is the entrance to the cavern. A narrow trail on the far side will lead down to what looks like the ruins of a throne room. From this cavern, there are three options: left are some stairs up, straight ahead goes across the throne room, and to the right is a bridge across the cavern. A flamethrower trap can be found at the top of the stairs, along with some undead and small amounts of gold and minor loot. From the entrance of this cavern at the top of the stone ramp, there are some broken walkways which can be jumped across. Once there, the Whirlwind Sprint shout may be used to gain access to the next pillar. Wait for the cooldown and do the same again for the next pillar. This will provide access to a secret room with a draugr and a few little treasures. This broken pathway passes overhead the throne room portion of the cavern.

The main attraction in this cavern is the word wall on the main floor at the bottom. It is accessed by heading straight across the room from the entrance, past the throne with a skeleton, to a trail leading down to the cavern floor. Its start is marked by two short posts; follow the path down and around to the word wall. There is a small treasure room guarded by a draugr behind the waterfall. This room also contains one corundum ore vein and one silver ore vein. Head up the southern ramp at the bottom of the cavern and turn north-northeast to find the corundum vein. Turn around and continue following this ledge around to a small treasure room, to the northwest on a lower ledge is where the silver vein is located.

Speed is of the essence

Head back up the trail and take the path that bridges across the cavern. This leads to a room with three stone posts that control the gates blocking access to the next room. You must activate all three posts by sprinting straight through the middle of them, then using Whirlwind Sprint to pass through all three gates quickly before they close. If stuck between two gates that have closed, there are chain switches which can be pulled to open the ones behind you in order to get back out and try again. If you are having trouble with this puzzle, see the related quest page. At the front of the three stones, the whirlwind sprint shout timer will be reset.

The next room has fire traps in the floor, and two frostbite spiders and a giant frostbite spider that drop from the ceiling. There are many fire traps in this zone, particularly leading up to the final room. Walking slowly and around the edges of the corridors will help some. In the spider caverns, attacking from a distance will lure the spiders onto the fire traps. The Become Ethereal or Whirlwind Sprint shouts can also help circumvent these traps. Walking over the white diamonds rather than the black avoids this trap.

The final room is surrounded mostly by water. As it is approached, dragon head stones will emerge from the water (they serve no purpose). The end of the room contains what should have been the horn, but has a note from the thief instead. Behind the statue that holds the note is a door that leads to the main treasure room. The chest there has a sizable amount of gold and one good piece of equipment. There are several urns with small amounts of gold. A tunnel leads from this room back up to Zone 1. A Dragon Soul can be obtained by placing the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller back onto the tomb by coming back after the quest has been completed.

Bugs

• If the free dragon soul is not received from the tomb the first time through, you may return later and try again. This tomb does not reset.
• There seems to be several frostbite spiders stuck in the wall in the room before the giant frostbite spider. (They appeared stuck when first going through the chamber, but dropped down along with a dessicated corpse once the enemies were cleared in the next chamber.)
• The three puzzle gates in the Depths are supposed to stay open once you have sprinted through, but may not. ^?
  • You can get through using the tcl console command, but this doesn't help followers without some real effort and luck. (There are pull chains that can be activated on the other side of two of the gates. If they close accidentally, you should be able to activate them to raise the gates again.) You can also, through the console, use their ref ID and the moveto player command to move your follower to your location, should they get stuck on the other side.
• The dragon head stones at the end of the dungeon may appear sliding towards you, clipping through terrain rather than rising out of the water. ^?
• Outside on the circular ring may not be solid, meaning you can fall through it ^?.