Hard Answers

Hard Answers
Quest Giver	Enthir
Location	The Frozen Hearth
Prerequisite	Speaking With Silence
Next Quest	The Pursuit
Faction	Thieves Guild
Reward	Nightingale Blade and Enthir as a Fence
Type	Thieves Guild, Main quest
Quest ID	TG06

It is received right after the completion of the quest "Speaking With Silence".

Objectives

• Speak with Enthir.
• Speak with Calcelmo inside the Understone Keep in Markarth.
• Gain Entry to Calcelmo's Museum.
  • (Optional) Obtain key to Calcelmo's Museum.
• Find Calcelmo's Falmer Translating Guide.
• Duplicate the writing on Calcelmo's Stone with charcoal and a paper roll.
• Return to Enthir.
• Speak to Karliah.

Walkthrough

First, the Dragonborn must speak to Enthir, who can usually be found at The Frozen Hearth in Winterhold or in the College of Winterhold. After the conversation with him, they must travel to Markarth and speak to Calcelmo at Understone Keep - he will not grant them access to his research unless persuaded, bribed, intimidated or if they have helped him out by completing the temple quest "The Book of Love", completing the side quest to kill the spider Nimhe in the excavation site, or simply just sell him any piece of Dwemer equipment that he requested. It can also be pickpocketed from him.

Calcelmo's Museum

Once the key to Calcelmo's Museum is obtained, head to the North wing of Understone Keep and enter the Museum. If Nimhe has not been killed, the guard at the door will tell the Dragonborn that they are not allowed to go in, after the dialogue the guard will allow entrance into the museum. After entering the museum, the guards will not be hostile if Calcemo's quest is completed, or if he was bribed, intimidated, or persuaded. However, if the key was obtained by stealing, the guards will be hostile, which forces them to sneak past or kill the guards, also, watch out for the guard in the center.

In this first area there are many common Dwemer artifacts that are directly on display or are in display cases. There are also display cases with expert difficulty locks further into the room that contain weapons, and there are a couple of bookcases with adept difficulty locks with books. A Stone of Barenziah is in the room behind the gate to the left as the Dragonborn enters. In this same room is a chest with an expert level lock with valuable items.

Calcelmo's Laboratory

After getting past guards, head up to Calcelmo's Laboratory, which is restricted; the guards will attack on sight. In the laboratory, in an area to the left, there is a journal and Spider Control Rod. After a few moments there will be a guard that will walk through the other two doorways opening them up. These guards can be killed with no bounty, a task that can be aided with Aicantar's Spider by using the control rod. The doorway on the left is barred so the right path is the only path available. In order to proceed they must pick the master lock or use Calcemo's key making the lock open effortlessly. Two guards will be talking and eventually travel down a hallway. Either follow the guards and sneak by to get to the staircase to the next area, or go to the opposite path and get to the stairway.

Going the opposite way of the guards will lead to a hallway filled with a gas that is highly lethal and quickly drains health. Opposite to the hallway there is a button that if stepped on will clear the path, however one needs to run through before the gas fills the room again. An object (such as the nearby Markarth guard's body) can be left on top of the button to remove the gas. There are also gas disabling buttons on the sides of the passage, those may be utilized to get "safe spots" for healing. Note that the guards above would probably notice this.

Note: Poison resistance does not grant immunity to the damage from the gas. However the Argonian Histskin power can completely negate it. Vampires, too, are immune to the gas.

Alternatively, there is valve on a column near where the two guards walk. Turning the valve activates a spinning blade trap which can be used to kill the guards, while going completely unnoticed (it is on the side of a stone pillar facing away from the patrolling guards a little above a lit lantern).

The next room has a patrolling guard and Calcemo's nephew, Aicantar sitting on a chair in front of a table. At the end of the floor is a valve that can be activated. An explosion will happen that will make Aicantar flee and make it possible to pass through and head up to the tower. The explosion can be timed so that the patrolling guard doesn't die. If guards in the previous room are still alive, they will also run through this room. Continue along through the next couple of doorways to the door leading to the wizard's balcony. In the room before the balcony there is a larceny target called the Dwemer Puzzle Cube, which may be taken to Delvin Mallory for leveled gold. On another table there is a chest with valuable loot, plus the enchanting book Twin Secrets.

Calcelmo's Tower

In order to proceed, follow the balcony up and to the right and enter Calcelmo's Tower, and head up to Calcelmo's Stone. To copy Calcemo's research on Falmer, one needs to get a roll of paper and a charcoal, which are found in abundance in the room before reaching the stone tablet, before activating the stone. There is also a copy of Chimarvamidium (Heavy Armor skill book) on one of the tables. Once the Dragonborn makes the rubbing, Aicantar, two guards (or three guards without Aicantar) and Captain Aquilius will enter the tower. Aicantar insists that somebody is trying to sabotage his uncle's research, and demands that the guards search the tower from top to bottom.

With a high enough magicka and illusion, it's possible for the Dragonborn to neutralize all four hostiles using one or two pacify area spells. Alternatively, it is possible to just sneak past the guards and reach the door to the balcony. Once the guards are dealt with, they can either walk out the door and slide down the waterfall or retrace their steps back to the room previous to the balcony, then take a right (the door to the room need to be unbarred). This room will lead to the starting chamber of Calcemo's Laboratory, allowing them to return to the Museum. Killing the guards and Calcelmo's nephew seems to only occasionally incur a bounty.

Frozen Hearth

Once the Dragonborn has left the Understone Keep, the objective marker will automatically update to the Frozen Hearth's cellar in Winterhold. Returning and speaking to Enthir and Karliah at the Frozen Hearth's cellar in Winterhold will complete the quest.

Rewards

• Nightingale Blade, from Karliah, previously owned by Gallus Desidenius

Journal

Journal Entry
Karliah believes the only proof that could expose Mercer's treachery can be found within the pages of Gallus's journal which she recovered from Snow Veil Sanctum. Unfortunately, the journal is written in some sort of code that needs to be deciphered. Our only hope is Enthir, one of Karliah and Gallus's former acquaintances who is a wizard at the College of Winterhold. Objective: Speak with Enthir
Enthir has informed me that Gallus's Journal is written in Falmer. He's directed me to seek out Calcelmo, the Court Wizard in Markarth who is the foremost authority on them in hopes of obtaining a translation. Objective: Speak with Calcelmo
Objective: Gain entry to Calcelmo's Museum
Objective: (Optional) Obtain the key to Calcelmo's Museum
Calcelmo has proven to be extremely stubborn and refuses to allow me access to his materials regarding the Falmer language. I'm left with little choice other than taking matters into my own hands and stealing his notes. Objective: Obtain Calcelmo's Falmer Translating Guide
Calcelmo's "notes" on the Falmer language are actually derived from a massive stone slab in his tower! It will be impossible to bring this item to Enthir to have him translate Gallus's Journal. I'll have to discover a way to make the information more portable. Objective: Duplicate the writing on Calcelmo's Stone
Objective: Return to Enthir
Objective: Speak to Enthir
Objective: Speak to Karliah
After Enthir successfully translated Gallus's journal, I've discovered that Mercer's motivations transcended simple greed or murder. As a member of the Nightingales, Mercer was tasked with guarding a place called The Twilight Sepulcher, the Temple of Nocturnal. According to Gallus, he defiled the temple and betrayed the Thieves Guild. Karliah insists we bring this information to Brynjolf immediately. Quest complete

Trivia

• This is one of the few Thieves Guild quests in which it is allowed to kill an enemy to complete it.
• An aid to sneaking through Calcelmo's Laboratory is to use the various traps in the area. If used properly, all guards can be neutralized without getting a bounty.
• The shout Throw Voice in combination with sneaking can prove useful if the Dragonborn chooses not to eliminate the guards.
• To avoid almost all confrontations within Calcelmo's Laboratory, player can repeatedly try to activate near the edge of the barred door to the left of the entrance. If done correctly, with luck, it will remove the bar and open the door allowing access opposite the puzzle cube, with the door to the wizard's balcony just to the left.
• Enthir becomes a guild fence, if the Dragonborn is not already a member of the College of Winterhold, in which case he is automatically a fence.
• Once the quest is complete, immediately upon exiting Calcelmo's Tower, there is a narrow path leading to Markarth’s waterfall. There are two skeletons and two Septims at the bottom. This also may be referenced by some of the guards saying "Don't trip".
• Enthir's dialogue after he gets the rubbing has a typo, he says 'undertsand' instead of 'understand'.
• If the Dragonborn shouts in Calcelmo's Laboratory, with the door near the first valve open, the normal guard will come over to them and tell them not to shout, even if in sneak mode. After the dialogue he will catch the Dragonborn for trespassing.
• The journal entry still reads "I'll have to find a way to make the information more portable" even after making the rubbing.
• Aicantar has an alternate dialogue in the lab about hearing a noise (instead of a saboteur) if the player makes it past him without activating a trap in the previous room.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Hard Answers. 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 see the list of bugs encountered

If Calcelmo's favor of killing the giant Frostbite Spider Nimhe is completed and then safe entry is gained into the Dwemer Museum and Calcelmo's key is obtained after completion of this quest, this quest may activate a second time upon reentry of Calcelmo's museum. This also means a second Nightingale Blade may be obtained. However, this may cause problems with the quest "Darkness Returns" (may be unable to finish) to avoid this, complete the Thieves Guild questline, then enter the museum to receive the quest again.  PC   360   PS3  If Mercer's house was entered and Mercer's Plans were obtained before completing the quest "Hard Answers", "The Pursuit" will not initiate upon completion of the quest "Hard Answers". This can be fixed on PS3 PC and Xbox 360 by two methods.  PC   Reset the quest "Hard Answers" to the last stage with the command setstage TG06 70. If the above method does not seem to work, Setstage TG07 0 would force the next quest "The Pursuit" to start.  360   PS3   Drop the item 'Mercer's Plans' back into the appropriate spot (on top of Mercer's desk) and then complete "Hard Answers". (Tested with the plans dropped in other locations.)  PS3  For an unknown reason, Enthir will have no speech options at the end of the quest. A solution for this is to complete "Onmund's Request" and return the staff to Enthir, allowing the quest to be completed or if you have a bounty in The Reach after you get the translation clear it and the speech options will become available. Also, if you have started "The Eye of Magnus" quest you cannot complete this quest until it is completed.  PC   360   PS3   At the end of the quest, after Karliah says to meet her at The Ragged Flagon, Karliah will usually leave the room. However, sometimes she does not and stays in the cellar of the Frozen Hearth forever. It is impossible to continue with any Thieves Guild quests if this happens, and the only solution is to reload a save from before Enthir was given the notes on translating Gallus' Journal. After getting a rubbing of the information on the stone, if the guards that enter the room are avoided by sneaking, the quest will be able to be completed as normal but the quest stage will bug. If the Falmer translation guide has already been copied from Calcelmo's Laboratory before this quest begins, it may be uncompletable. Any followers the Dragonborn has will say "You're not supposed to be in here!" when attempting to talk to them, instead of their usual dialogue, during the time the Dragonborn is in the Laboratory. If the quest, "Containment" is completed before "Hard Answers" and "The Staff of Magnus", Enthir will not talk until "Hard Answers" is completed. Stealing the quill on the desk next to Enthir, then shooting him in the arm with an arrow may fix this.  PC   360   Sometimes when this quest is finished, the next quest doesn't start.  PC   Open console and type in: setstage tg07 10 The Markarth Guards may still attack as if the Dragonborn is trespassing in the Dwemer Museum, even if the key was given by Calcelmo, after killing Nimhe. Enthir will sometimes not speak his last sentence before given the notes.