Skyrim:The Cause (quest)

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Investigate the activities of the Mythic Dawn cult. Quest Giver: Reading Stranger's Plea Location(s): Shrine of Stendarr, Mythic Dawn Camp, Rielle, Red Scar Cavern Next Quest: The Consequences Reward: Staff of Ehlno Ede ID: ccBGSSSE067_Quest Required Level: 46 Added by: The Cause

The Mythic Dawn are seeking a Great Welkynd Stone

Quick Walkthrough

1. Await news from a courier.
2. Read Stranger's Plea.
3. Go to the Shrine of Stendarr.
4. Defeat the two Mythic Dawn assassins.
5. Read Skorvild's Journal and Mythic Dawn Orders.
6. Search for clues in the Mythic Dawn Camp.
7. Search Rielle.
8. Read Janus' Journal.
9. Retrieve the four Ayleid Elemental Shards.
10. Locate the Ayleid Elemental Shard Holders and place the Ayleid Elemental Shards.
11. Take the Great Welkynd Stone.
12. Kill Norion the Undying.
13. Read the Vigilant Enforcer's Journal.
14. Locate the Oblivion Gate.
15. (Optional) Wear a set of Mythic Dawn robes.
16. Defeat Vonos.

Detailed Walkthrough

Ambush at the shrine

The Mythic Dawn camp

This quest will start once you reach level 46. A courier delivers the Stranger's Plea to you to read. It is a request to meet from Skorvild, an ex-Mythic Dawn cultist who turned away from the cult and needs help stopping their next nefarious plan.

Travel to the The Two Pillars, which is near the center of Whiterun Hold's tundra, south of Swindler's Den and northeast of Broken Fang Cave. It is close to and within sight of the Shrine of Zenithar to the west.

Sadly for Skorvild, his former cult-mates will catch up with him before he can speak with you. Once you arrive at the shrine you will spot the body of Skorvild, and two Mythic Dawn assassins will attack you. Once you have killed the assassins, loot their bodies for the Mythic Dawn Orders, and then search Skorvild for his journal.

You will then need to head to the Mythic Dawn Camp to investigate. The camp itself is found north of the Alchemist's Shack. The camp has three hostile Mythic Dawn explorers, Once they are dispatched you can pick up the Excavation Leader's Journal. The journal explains that the Mythic Dawn are attempting to reopen an Oblivion gate, and have been excavating across the valley to the south in the Jerall Mountains for a powerful artifact that will help them do it.

Varlais Cavern and Rielle

Vanus and the other dead Mythic Dawn

Travel to Varlais Cavern, which can be found south of Arcwind Point. As you enter the cavern, you will find an excavation site inside that has cracked open an entrance to the Ayleid ruins of Rielle. There are Ayleid casks and urns that can be looted throughout the chambers. As you get deeper into the ruin, you will enter a large room with the corpses of cultists and the corpse of Janus, there are wights patrolling so be prepared for a fight.

After reading the journal, you will need to locate the elemental stones:

• Elemental Shard - Wel - Found on the corpse of a Mythic Dawn Explorer.
• Elemental Shard - Sercen - Carried by a Wight Lord.
• Elemental Shard - Nen - Carried by a Wight Lord just before the door to Rielle Crypt.
• Elemental Shard - Alata - Carried by a Wight Lord in Rielle Crypt.

The shard holders

Once you have found all the shards, you will need to head deeper into the ruins to find the shard holders, take care to avoid the traps. When it comes to placing the elemental shards in the holders you need to place them in specific holders:

• Wel goes in the North holder
• Sercen goes in the South holder
• Nen goes in the West holder
• Alata goes in the East holder

Once you have placed the shards, a secret door will open and reveal a large room with a Great Welkynd Stone. Take the stone and Norion the Undying, an Ayleid Lich with as much power as a Dragon Priest, will burst out of his coffin. Beware his minions, including two Wight archers who sleep in the coffins upstairs on either side of the room. Once Norion is killed you can search his body for the Staff of Ehlno Ede and the Rielle key. You will be directed to defeat Norion once you take the Great Welkynd Stone even if you have already noticed Norion and woke him with a rune spell to defeat him early.

There is a switch which you will need to press to open the door to open Rielle. It should open a gate allowing you to climb the stairs to Rielle

Head back into the main area of Rielle, where you will see Vigilants of Stendarr (including Vigil Enforcers if the Vigil Enforcer Armor Set Creation has been installed) fighting with Mythic Dawn agents. You can aid the Vigilants against the Mythic Dawn. Once you get back to the entrance of Rielle, there is a corpse of a Vigil Enforcer that has a journal, read the journal and you will find out that the location of the Oblivion gate is in Red Scar Cavern. Note: If you choose to wear Mythic Dawn Robes while exiting Rielle, the Vigilants outside will mistake you for a Mythic Dawn member and attack. If you do not wear the robes, they will let you pass.

Red Scar Cavern

Vonos

There is a Mythic Dawn Guard outside of the cavern that can be tricked if you wear a set of Mythic Dawn robes, if you wish to avoid fighting. This will also work on the cultists inside. Continue through the cavern and you will eventually reach a door to the Mythic Dawn Temple. Once inside the temple, you will see an inactive Oblivion gate, you will then have to kill Vonos. Once you kill him however, the Oblivion gate will open, the quest will finish and The Consequences will begin.

Bugs

• The quest may start the first time you get a courier.
• Norion the Undying may be triggered before you take the Great Welkynd Stone, which allows you to kill him and prevents moving forward past objective 150. Bug confirmed on Switch Anniversary Edition. ^?
  • On Switch, grab the stone in sneak mode before attacking Norion. When you need to read the journal, read it while looting the corpse.
  • Either revert to a previous save or reset to a previous stage.
  • Save before enter Rielle Crypt; if you see the Wight Lord near the entrance and not waiting to wake up when you approach, you have triggered the bug.
• If you leave the second area of Rielle or Rielle altogether without finishing the quest, the pressure plates in the floor won't activate for the Ayleid doors to slide open.
  • Solution to above: Use the console command tcl on PC to walk through the gate, then use it again to turn collisions back on. A button to raise the gates is found inside the main room. Your followers, if any, will now be able to accompany you to fight against Norion and the other enemies.
  • On console, use two platters (one for each gate) and Whirlwind Sprint/Sprint to clip through the gates. Hold the platter to slightly above waist height (press and hold the interact button to move objects) to be flush with the gate, and then use Whirlwind Sprint. The platter will not phase through the gate with you and you can not pick it up from the other side, so if you do this with only one platter you will become stuck in the middle of the two locked gates indefinitely.
• Attempting to read the Excavation Leader's Journal causes a CTD and in addition the entrance to Rielle appears to be missing if you go to the location to skip reading the journal.
• Varlais Cavern marked as completed on the map before entering and clearing the instance. Cavern entrance also not visible at the location. ^?
• If you don't read the Janus journal before reaching the Great Welkynd Stone, the stone might not be an object you can take when you find it, blocking the final stages. ^?
• If before you take the Great Welkynd Stone, you trigger Niron's attacking by casting a rune spell on his crypt or attacking one of the wights in the open coffins, then after you defeat Norion and take the Great Welkynd Stone, the objective to defeat Norion will reappear and it will be impossible to remove from your journal until the quest has been completed by killing Vonos.
• The door to enter the Rielle Crypt as well as the option to open the gate behind will not show an option to enter or open. ^?
  • Solution to above: Deleting the Skyrim-Patch.bsa file from the Skyrim Special Edition\Data folder corrects the issue.
• The cave entrance may glitch with a large boulder in its place, typical of vanilla. The Mythic Dawn guard will hover inside the rock face and may emerge to fight. ^?
  • Solution to above: use the console command tcl on PC which allows you to disable collisions, retype it to to reactivate collisions

Quest Stages

The Cause (ccBGSSSE067_Quest)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
1		I found the Oblivion Gate and defeated the leader of the Mythic Dawn, Vonos. It appears this was an elaborate ritual designed to deceive me, and killing Vonos was the final step. I have become an unwitting instrument of Mehrunes Dagon, and my actions have opened the Oblivion Gate.
10		Centuries have passed since the Oblivion Crisis, yet remnants of that era may still exist in Skyrim. I should pay attention to any news or rumors. Objective 10: Await news from a courier
20		A courier has delivered a letter from a stranger. It looks like a plea for help. I should read it and see what it says. Objective 20: Read the Stranger's Plea
30		I received a letter from someone named Skorvild claiming to be a reformed member of the Mythic Dawn. He mentioned the Oblivion Crisis and asked me to meet him at the Shrine to Stendarr. I should go there and see what he has to say. Objective 30: Meet Skorvild at the Shrine to Stendarr
40		Objective 40: Defeat the Mythic Dawn Assassins
50		The stranger who sent me the letter, Skorvild, was apparently murdered by two Mythic Dawn assassins before I could meet with him. They ambushed me when I arrived, but I defeated them. I should look around to find any additional information. Objective 50: Search the bodies for information Objective 60: Read Skorvild's Journal Objective 70: Read the Mythic Dawn Orders
60		A stranger asked for my help, but he was killed before I arrived. I was then ambushed by two assassins. I learned that the Mythic Dawn have reemerged, and that they've somehow reassembled an Oblivion gate, but need a powerful artifact to open it. A camp was mentioned in the notes I found. I should go there to see what I can find. Objective 80: Search for clues in the Mythic Dawn camp
70		The Mythic Dawn have repaired an Oblivion Gate, but need a Great Welkynd Stone to open it. To avoid the Vigilants of Stendarr they've excavated a back way into an ancient Ayleid ruin where such a stone is rumored to be hidden. A journal at their camp mentioned something about a secret chamber. I should investigate the ruin and see if I can find it before they do. Objective 90: Search Rielle for clues about the secret chamber Objective 100: Read Janus' Journal
90		The Mythic Dawn have been searching an Ayleid ruin where a Great Welkynd Stone is rumored to be hidden within a secret chamber. They have been unable to find this chamber, but one of the explorers discovered Ayleid Elemental Shards may be the keys to opening it. I should find the shards. Objective 110: Retrieve the Ayleid Elemental Shards (0/4)
100		The Mythic Dawn have been searching for a secret chamber within an Ayleid ruin that may contain a Great Welkynd Stone. I found four Ayleid Elemental Shards that may help me gain access to this chamber. I should return them to their holders. Objective 115: Locate the Ayleid Elemental Shard Holders Objective 120: Place the Ayleid Elemental Shards
110		I placed the four Ayleid Elemental Shards in their holders, and a passage to a hidden chamber opened. I should investigate and see if I can locate the Great Welkynd Stone. Objective 130: Enter the secret chamber Objective 140: Take the Great Welkynd Stone
130		I gained access to the secret chamber within Rielle and retrieved the Great Welkynd Stone, but was ambushed by an Ayleid Lich. I need to defeat him in order to escape. Objective 150: Defeat Norion the Undying
150		I found and retrieved the Great Welkynd Stone from within Rielle, and defeated the Ayleid Lich guardian, but the Mythic Dawn will stop at nothing to bring Mehrunes Dagon into power. I should search for any clues nearby that might lead me to the location of the Oblivion Gate. Objective 160: Search Norion's remains Objective 170: Find clues to the Oblivion Gate's location Objective 180: Read the Vigil Enforcer's Journal
165		While searching for clues about the Mythic Dawn's whereabouts I found a journal on a dead Vigilant of Stendarr. They learned of the Mythic Dawn's plot by capturing and interrogating a priest, and were able to decipher the location of the Oblivion Gate. I should go there and see if I can get inside. Wearing a set of Mythic Dawn robes might make it easier, but I need to be careful. Objective 190: Locate the Oblivion Gate Objective 200: (Optional) Wear a set of Mythic Dawn robes
170		I've found the repaired Oblivion Gate deep inside Red Scar Cavern, the Mythic Dawn hideout. The leader of the Mythic Dawn, Vonos, will stop at nothing to bring Mehrunes Dagon to power, and must be defeated. Objective 205: Defeat Vonos
173		I found the Oblivion Gate and defeated the leader of the Mythic Dawn, Vonos. It appears this was an elaborate ritual designed to decieve [sic] me, and killing Vonos was the final step. I have become an unwitting instrument of Mehrunes Dagon, and my actions have opened the Oblivion Gate.

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 41, 42, 51, 52, 53, 54, 91, 92, 93, 94, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 120, 140, 160, 171, 172, 180, 181, 182, 185, 190, 195, 200, 205, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 290, 300, 400.

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 ccBGSSSE067_Quest 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 ccBGSSSE067_Quest.

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