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Background

"Long ago, the Archmage Gauldur was murdered by his three sons, who stole his amulet of power and divided it among themselves."

When the three sons divided the amulet amongst themselves, they immediately began a rampage around Skyrim. This attracted the attention of the High King of Skyrim, which caused him to send a group of battlemages tasked to kill the trio.

Quest

The quest description may say the following:

"In Geirmund's Hall/Folgunthur/Saarthal, I found a cryptic message on the body of a powerful Draugr, condemning him for his ancient crimes. What was his story? Why was he entombed with a broken amulet?"

Or "Long ago, the Archmage Gauldur was murdered, and his three sons were hunted down by King Horald's personal battlemage. The entire incident was covered up, their names struck from every record. But the legend survived. Perhaps someone still knows the truth of this ancient tale."

Quest Progression

• Investigate the cryptic message

• Investigate the Gauldur legend

• Learn the truth from Daylas Valen

• Read Daynas Valen's notes

• Find the Gauldur Amulet fragment in Saarthal

• Find the Gauldur Amulet fragment in Folgunthur

• Find the Galdur Amulet fragment in Geirmund's Hall

• Reforge the Galdur Amulet

• Take the Gauldur Amulet

Walkthrough

There are multiple ways to begin this quest. First is by reading the book "Lost Legends" found throughout Skyrim. Please see Lost Legends locations for more information on their locations. You can find a copy on a Dead adventurers body in Reachwater Rock where part of this quest takes place.

The quest can also be activated by reading a Writ of Sealing in any of the burial locations, or by taking a Gauldur Amulet Fragment from the bodies.

Saarthal Excavation

In order to gain access to the excavation site, you must first begin the quest Under Saarthal. This quest is found in The College of Winterhold, but don't be discouraged if your character is not skilled in magic. You can easily enter the Сollege after completing the very short quest First Lesson, regardless of magic skill, and then start Under Saarthal by speaking with Tolfdir after his magic demonstration. Defeat Jyrik in Saarthal, by the orb, and take his Writ of Sealing and his Gauldur Amulet Fragment. Read the writ to start the next quest point. Then, go to the Arcaneum and read the book Lost Legends (on a small table on the right hand side of the room, behind the pillars not in the middle, as you enter) to get the next clue about the origin of the Gauldur Amulet Fragment.

Folgunthur

Travel to Folgunthur and read the journal of Daynas Valen in the camp outside the cave. It will tell you about his travels with the Ivory Dragon Claw. He traveled to Folgunthur looking for the Amulet. Follow him inside, past the corpse of his compatriots. He will be lying on a Claw button next to a bridge. Take the Claw and his notes, read them, and activate the button to cross the bridge. Eventually you will come to a room with two thrones, facing a chain lever to open the grille in the floor covering a staircase. The lever to the left of the leftmost throne opens the door to the room with pillars to unlock the grille (Eagle-whale-snake). The chain pull in the previous room finishes the job. Descend and deal with two Frostbite Spiders in the room below. You will soon come to rotating-ring puzzle, similar to Bleak Falls Barrow. Dispatch several Draugr, then pull up the Ivory Claw in your inventory, and rotate it to see the palm and determine the answer to the puzzle (Eagle-Eagle-Dragon). Once inside, fight Mikrul Gauldurson, and take his Gauldur Amulet Fragment and enchanted sword, Gauldur Blackblade. After beating him, use the claw to gain access to the two rooms on the back wall. One has a shout, that can complete a miscellaneous quest, and then proceed to leave by using exits blocked from the other side.

Geirmund's Hall

Geirmund's Hall is a dungeon close to Ivarstead, grave of the hero Geirmund. Travel there and upon entering the cave, you will come to a hole in the ground, drop through it. There is an underwater alcove, with a chest and a Potion of Waterbreathing. Climb up the steps and enter a room with a puzzle, the order of the stones starting from the first one is Eagle, Whale, Snake, Whale. Activate the lever by the door. The next room, after fighting a few Draugrs along the way you come to a large room and after climbing the steps, immediately to your right is an altar with the body of Geirmund holding a key. Take the door behind you, and follow the path to the left, you find a Drauger Deathlord after you kill him you reach a dead end and a lever on the ground; don't pull that lever as it's a trap but if you look directly opposite it you will find another lever (a few feet on the wall behind it); pull that one instead and the drawbridge will drop.

Then face Sigdis Gauldurson, the hardest of the three sons. There are four sigils on the ground in the cave where you fight him. He will teleport to whichever three you are farthest away from and make two copies of himself. All three will attack you, including using Shouts like Unrelenting Force and, at higher levels, Disarm. If you attack one of the clones, it will dissipate after one hit, and after both clones have died Sigdis will teleport away again. It is possible to tell Sigdis apart from his clones because he is the only one with the true health amount (the clones will have full health), and also by the fact that his clones, being summoned, will be surrounded by a bluish glow, in addition the "real" Sigdis can be identified by being the only one wearing an Ancient Nord Helmet, with his helm's decorative horns curling downwards; the horns on his clones' helmets will be curled upward. Sigdis also carries the Gauldur Blackbow. After you have killed him, take the Gauldur Amulet Fragment.

Notes:

• If you have a healthy supply of empty petty soul gems, a bow with soul trap, and good sneak skill, this is a great time to do some wholesale soul-trapping (for later enchantment skill-grinding). Crouch behind the recently-vacated sarcophagus and snipe away. The clones are easily identifiable, and they are one-shot kills. When you've run out of soul gems or patience, a few well-aimed shots at Sigdis will finish the job.
• Try not to fall down the hole again while exiting the dungeon.

Forging the Amulet

Door Combinations:

1. Emerald Claw: Bear, Dolphin/Whale, Snake
2. Ivory Claw: Hawk, Hawk, Dragon

After all of the fragments have been collected, go to Reachwater Rock, near Karthspire. Inside, you will find a dead Adventurer near the Emerald Dragon Claw, on a pedestal along with a note warning would-be explorers away from the site. Enter the claw door using the combination inscribed on the palm of the Emerald Claw, Bear, Whale/Fish, Snake. Inside will be yet another Claw door, this time using the Ivory Dragon Claw's combination. Before placing the three amulet fragments on the pedestal, cast a Fire Rune at the foot of each Sarcophagus. This explodes killing each Draugur inside making fighting the Ghosts easier. Place the three amulet fragments on the pedestal to make the ghosts of each son to appear which you will have to fight in turn.

Sigdis will use the same tactics as before, disappearing and reappearing to shoot arrows at you, using four out of the six possible locations, and using shouts occasionally. Take advantage of his teleports to abuse the wait function, restoring your health and providing a handy autosave. The real Sigdis has a slightly different helmet model (iron helmet) than his clones, and his clones will always have full health, and be surrounded by a slightly bluish glow.

After Sigdis, Jyrik will appear and summon a Frost Atronach to help him, occasionally teleporting around the room.

Once all three sons have been defeated, they will reappear as ghosts above the pedestal, then vanish. Archmage Gauldur will appear and reforge the Gauldur Amulet Fragments into The Gauldur Amulet, a necklace that grants +30 to health, magicka, and stamina.

Don't forget to loot Gauldur's skeleton before you leave, as it holds a decent amount of money. Additionally, be sure to watch out for the Ghosts' use of Unrelenting Force as you may get stuck on the platform that the Ghosts you haven't fought are on. Also, directly behind the entrance to Gauldur's grave, there is a false wall which leads to some more leveled loot. There is also a chest (adept) containing leveled loot and potions in the chamber where you found the Emerald Dragon Claw. You have to jump off the ledge where you found the claw and swim under the water. There is also an Orcish Greatsword and an Iron Shield in the water, just under a floating skeleton.

Bugs

Trivia

• The battle with Sigdis and the way he fights is strikingly similar to the Wizzrobes of the Legend of Zelda series. Both enemies teleport around the room to designated spots, make clones of themselves (which can be picked out from the real one with a sharp eye) and shoot projectiles at the player.