A Blade in the Dark

Not to be confused with A Knife in the Dark.

A Blade in the Dark
Quest Giver	Delphine (Sleeping Giant Inn)
Location	Kynesgrove Dragon Burial Ground
Prerequisite	The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller
Next Quest	Diplomatic Immunity
Faction	Blades
Reward	Random Dragon encounters
Type	Main Quest
Quest ID	MQ106

Background

Delphine believes that dragons are coming back to life and the next one will resurrect near the town of Kynesgrove. Once I've convinced her that I'm Dragonborn by killing the dragon, she promises to explain who she is and what she wants with me.

Quick walkthrough

1. Talk to Delphine
2. Locate the dragon burial site
3. Kill the Dragon Sahloknir
4. Return to Delphine

Walkthrough

Delphine

Talking to Delphine will make her explain that dragons are coming back to life and asking her more, she will also reveal she is thinking the Thalmor are behind it. The Dragonborn is then asked to prove that they are indeed Dragonborn by killing a dragon. She believes that the next dragon to come back to life will do so east of the town of Kynesgrove. She will then give the choice to either travel to Kynesgrove together or go there alone.

Sahloknir

Alduin resurrects Sahloknir

Upon reaching Kynesgrove, Alduin will be hovering over the grave. Alduin is performing an act to bring a dragon back to life and cannot be killed or injured at this time. Once he is finished, the dragon Sahloknir will arise from the grave site. Sahloknir needs to be killed.

A follower, along with Delphine will be useful for distracting Sahloknir. This fight can be made easier by attacking Sahloknir before he has been fully revived by Alduin. This way his life can be reduced before he is able to fight back.

Sahloknir and Alduin are engaging in a lengthy conversation during and after the resurrection, even addressing the Dragonborn themselves before combat occurs, and rushing in to combat will cause this dialogue to be skipped.

After killing Sahloknir and absorbing his soul, talk to Delphine. The quest "Diplomatic Immunity" will begin, requiring the Dragonborn to make a choice to either go with her back to the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood or meet her there later.

Resurrection dialogue

Alduin: "Sahloknir, ziil gro dovah ulse!" ("Sahloknir, I bind your dragon spirit for eternity!")
Alduin: "Slen Tiid Vo!" ("Flesh Time Undo!")
Sahloknir: "Alduin, thuri! Boaan tiid vokriiha suleyksejun kruziik?" ("Alduin, my lord! Has the time come to revive our ancient realm?")
Alduin: "Geh, Sahloknir, kaali mir." ("Yes, Sahloknir, my Champion.")
Alduin: "Ful, losei Dovahkiin? Zu'u koraav nid nol dov do hi." ("So, you are Dragonborn? I see none of the dragonkind in you.")
Alduin: "You do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah."
Alduin: "Sahloknir, krii daar joorre." ("Sahloknir, kill these mortals.")

Journal

A Blade in the Dark – MQ106
ID	Journal Entry
30	Delphine, the innkeeper in Riverwood, is more than she seems. She was the one that left me the note in Ustengrav. She gave me back the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. She went to a lot of trouble to get my attention. I should find out what she wants. Objective: Talk to Delphine
50	Delphine believes that dragons are coming back to life and that the next one will resurrect near the town of Kynesgrove. Once I've convinced her that I'm Dragonborn by killing the dragon, she promises to fully explain who she is and what she wants with me. Objective: Locate the dragon burial site
102	Objective: Kill the dragon Sahloknir
150	Delphine believes that dragons are coming back to life and that only the Dragonborn can stop them. Near Kynesgrove, we saw a dragon Shouting another one back to life. That dragon is dead, and now it's time for Delphine to give me some answers. Objective: Talk to Delphine
200	Delphine believes that dragons are coming back to life and that only the Dragonborn can stop them. It turns out that she was right. Near Kynesgrove, we saw a dragon Shouting another one back to life. After we killed the dragon and I absorbed its power, Delphine accepted that I was Dragonborn as she had hoped, and revealed that she is one of the last members of the Blades, an organization dedicated to protecting the Dragonborn and stopping the dragons. Quest complete

Gallery

Delphine sneakily watches as Sahloknir is resurrected by Alduin

Sahloknir emerging

Sahloknir emerging as a skeleton

Sahloknir getting his skin

Delphine and the Dragonborn fight Sahloknir

Close up of Delphine and Sahloknir

Trivia

• If the Dragonborn does not immediately return to the Sleeping Giant Inn with Delphine, then she will wait in The Bannered Mare in Whiterun until they return to Riverwood.
• If the burial mound has already been discovered, there is an extra dialogue option with Delphine, stating that the Dragonborn already knows where it is located.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to A Blade in the Dark. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following: Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template  360  /  XB1  ,  PS3  /  PS4  ,  PC  /  MAC  ,  NX  /  PS5  ,  XS  , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on. Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

Click to show Bugs

PC   360   PS3   If the quest is started without progression dragons will not appear for wild encounters though dragons at word walls will still be there.  360   Sometimes if the Dragonborn uses the Unrelenting Force shout on Alduin during the quest and hides behind Delphine, they may actually aim his shout at Delphine killing her and making the quest impossible to complete. Sometimes, while venturing to Kynesgrove, hostile actions towards non-hostile NPCs will result in Delphine turning hostile. Sheathing a weapon will not solve this. Solution: Reload a previous save, use a powerful enough calm spell or use Voice of the Emperor, which is only a temporary solution applicable to Imperials. After Sahloknir is killed, Delphine may only have the dialogue options "What's so important about me being Dragonborn?" and "Who are the Thalmor?". Allowing Sahloknir and Alduin to talk to each other, and the objective "Locate the dragon burial site" to complete, and parting ways with followers may solve this issue. If the Unrelenting Force shout is used on her she may become hostile. Simply loading a previous save will fix this. If Delphine is accidentally attacked, she may become hostile. Leaving the area and going elsewhere, but when arriving at the Kynesgrove burial mound, she may still be hostile and may attack while fighting Sahloknir. Yielding may fix the problem. She may also become hostile to followers who damage her. If someone else is attacked (a guard, for instance), it is possible to have a bounty. Try going back to the place with the bounty and make sure it is paid off or serve the sentence. This should fix the problem. She can be immediately defused using a powerful calming spell and will act normal again. Otherwise, she may attempt to kill a nearby follower if she is capable. If Sahloknir is killed while hovering in midair, occasionally it will continue to do so, with its name but no health bar, not attacking but randomly speaking. Shooting arrows/magic into it will reward experience but won't have any other effects. This bug can be fixed by going back to the last save point (if that was before this bug occurred). If the repeated dialogue bug appears for Delphine after the dragon has been killed, the following things may allow one to proceed: Make sure The Greybeards have been spoken with and have learned the final part of the "Unrelenting Force" shout; Make sure the "Become Ethereal" shout was learned, from near the waterfall in Ustengrav (not that far from the 3 stones which activate the gates). Make sure to activate what was learned by clicking on the altar at the end. After doing all these steps, go back to Delphine. A new dragon should have just been killed and be disintegrating for the soul to be collected. With Delphine's speech restored, the questline continues. If the above doesn't fix Delphine's repeated dialogue bug, try the following (PC fix only), and only as a LAST option. Use console commands setstage MQ106 200 to complete the quest. Then use the command MQ201 10 to start the next quest by talking to Delphine. Sahloknir is supposed to crawl out of his burial site as a skeleton. Once Alduin finishes his speech, skin forms around Sahloknir making him complete. There are times when Sahloknir will crawl out of his grave already with skin. When this bug occurs, the visual effects around the grave may also be missing. This can be fixed by avoiding Kynesgrove and going straight to the burial site. When reaching the burial site it is possible to see two dead Stormcloak Soldiers floating in mid-air. On some occasions, Sahloknir may come out of his grave as a Skeletal Dragon, and his skin will not appear, nor will he become hostile. Upon arriving to the Kynesgrove, it is possible for Alduin to freeze in the air and keep shouting at the dragon mound.

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