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Elder Scrolls

"Vals Veran. My family has never really seen eye to eye with him and he's finally gone off the deep end. He's gone in to defile our family tomb by using our ancestors for his filthy Dark Elf necromancy."
Golldir[src]

Ancestral Worship is a quest available in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in which the Dragonborn must assist Golldir in killing the necromancer Vals Veran who is defiling the bodies of his ancestors inside Hillgrund's Tomb.

Background[]

"I've agreed to help Golldir protect his ancestral tomb from the warlock, Vals Veran."

Objectives[]

  1. Protect Golldir (optional)
  2. Defeat Vals Veran
  3. Speak to Golldir (if alive)

Walkthrough[]

First, talk to Golldir at the entrance to Hillgrund's Tomb. He explains that he is worried about his aunt, who ventured into their family crypt to stop a necromancer but has not returned for hours. In order to start the quest, you need to agree to help Golldir rid the crypt of Vals Veran, and find his aunt. 

After Golldir unlocks the crypt, descend to a connecting hallway, where Golldir's worst fears are confirmed; his aunt Agna lies dead in a pool of fresh blood. The nearby door is barred from the other side, so continue west, to a cave-in and through a draugr-infested tomb corridor. The tomb opens into a deeper and much larger mausoleum with more enemies.

Enter a circular chamber with animal sign carvings. Golldir will say that his aunt Agna told him that "The bear would show the way." Look around to find the sign of a bear, and on its right side is a pull chain that will open a passage through one of the coffins.

Go through to find double iron doors that lead to the main crypt and an audience with the warlock Vals Veran. The challenge is twofold: killing Vals Veran and keep Golldir alive (optional).

Vals Veran uses the teleporting spell and may teleport to a room hidden from the battle chamber where he will recover his health. He will then again teleport back into the chamber to resume the fight, and will resurrect draugr that have been killed to help him.

It is possible to kill Vals while he and Golldir are still speaking. The remaining Draugrs will continue their attack and Golldir will need to be protected. The quest concludes after the battle. If Golldir survives, he gives the Hillgrund Chest Key as a reward.

Search Veran's corpse for a Crypt Key and the Chest Key on Golldir (if he died), along with two missives; read them to gain a better understanding of the threats Vals Veran was imposing. Use the Crypt Key to open the iron door (hard lock) atop the ceremonial stairs, which offers a quick exit. Golldir's chest in the antechamber beyond can be unlocked using the Chest Key. Assuming Golldir is alive, he may offer to become a Follower.

Journal[]

Ancestral Worship – dunHillgrundsTombQST
ID Journal Entry
10 I've agreed to help Golldir protect his ancestral tomb from the warlock, Vals Veran.
  • Objective 5: (Optional) Protect Golldir
  • Objective 10: Defeat Vals Veran
90
  • Objective 90: Speak with Golldir
100
  • Quest complete

Trivia[]

  • If the player already has a follower accompanying them, the follower will not be dismissed upon accepting the quest; they will accompany Golldir and the Dragonborn.
  • If the player is a Dunmer, Golldir will comment "No offense, I mean... I'm sure you aren't into any of that kind of stuff" when explaining that Dark Elf necromancy is happening in the tomb.
  • The draugr in the final battle will not follow the player past the door they entered in to get to the main chamber. This makes it easy to pick them off while taking minimal damage.

Bugs[]

This section contains bugs related to Ancestral Worship. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:

  1. Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  •  360   If you revive Agna using Dead Thrall, she will not follow you when you leave the tomb. Even if you re-enter the tomb, she cannot be found.
  •  360   Vals Veran's corpse may be partially submerged in the floor if you one-hit kill him using sneak and arrows, while he is still at the top platform, the draugr will still appear but looting Vals body becomes impossible, unless you exit and re-enter the cell.
  • If Golldir dies, the quest may remain active on the same stage as well as direct the player to "talk to Golldir," thus preventing the quest from being completed.
  •  PC   Vals Veran may teleport away into a small, free-floating room to the extreme east on the dungeon map. He will not teleport back, so the only way to defeat him is to jump over there using console commands to increase speed and jump height.

Appearances[]

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