Retaking Thirsk

Retaking Thirsk
Quest Giver	Bujold the Unworthy
Location	Bujold's Retreat Thirsk Mead Hall Hrothmund's Barrow
Type	Side Quest

Retaking Thirsk is a quest available with The Elder Scrolls V: Dragonborn installed. It is one of two opposing side quests that involves the Thirsk Mead Hall, with the other being "The Chief of Thirsk Hall". As both cannot be completed at the same time, this quest will be marked as failed if "The Chief of Thirsk Hall"'s last mission is accepted, and "The Chief of Thirsk Hall" will be failed if "Retaking Thirsk" is accepted.

Background

I met a group of Nords from Thirsk Mead Hall, which has recently been overrun by Rieklings. They're camped on the eastern shore of the island, waiting for an opportunity to attack and take back their home.

Objectives

• Kill the Rieklings
• Speak to Bujold
• Meet Bujold at Hrothmund's Barrow
• Commune with Hrothmund's Spirit

Walkthrough

Retake Thirsk Mead Hall

Upon arrival at Bujold's Retreat, Bujold the Unworthy will be in the middle of a conversation with her husband, Kuvar.

Bujold:	"It won't be that easy to get rid of the Rieklings, Kuvar."
Kuvar:	"I never said it would be. But either way, we have to try. Whether we succeed or not, it'll stir up some of the old blood in this crowd."
Bujold:	"I'm not going to lead them to their deaths if they aren't ready."
Kuvar:	"Then train them. What are we doing here? We should either get used to staying here, or be preparing to retake the hall. You're having us do neither, and I can't stomach it."
Bujold:	"Your stomach isn't my problem. We'll act when I say we do and not before."
Kuvar:	"Well, you'd better say something. And soon."

Speaking to Bujold:

What's going on here?: "What's going on here is that we've been kicked out of our home.The mead hall, up there on the hill. We were... some Rieklings have taken it over."
How were Rieklings able to overpower you?:"With tenacity and numbers. Didn't help that we'd grown a little to comfortable up there. Too much mead. Too many stories. Too few battles."
What if you had one extra warrior?: "Are you... offering to help? Some new blood should be enough to rouse these layabouts to actually fight again."
That sounds like fun: "Well let's move then." I don't think I can help you right now: "Well I hope you come back around. Looks like you might be just the thing we need to wake these idiots."

After the suggestion of helping retake Thrisk, talking to Bujold again will prompt her to say "Well, look who's back. You ready to finally help us take out those rieklings?"

I don't think I can help you right now: "You either need to help us or stop coming around here."

Continuing conversation with Bujold:

How long have you been down here? "Longer than I would have liked."
Have you been exiled?: "I wouldn't call it that. We've just got a bit of an infestation, is all. Down here to catch our breath, and then we'll be back in the hall once I get the rest of these up to move."
An infestation of what?: "Rieklings. you must have passed by the hall down here? Well it's been overrun. we're just out here temporarily, to regroup."

After volunteering, Bujold will then begin a speech to the rest of the camp:

Hey, you lazy milk-drinkers, get over here! I know you're all starting the setting in here, and keep up the fat lives you got used up to in the hall. But look here. This outsider has more fire than any of you. All I had to do was mention our little infestation, and he/she volunteered in a second! I don't want to have my spirit outstripped by some wanderer. So let's get up there and kill us some Rieklings!

The mission will begin and the objective is to kill a group (random number) of Rieklings, this includes the Riekling Chief.

Hrothmund's Barrow

After the Dragonborn has killed the Rieklings. Speak to Bujold, for another part of the quest to begin.

Bujold: "Ah! That was almost... exhilarating. How are you feeling?"

That was easy: "Good to hear in fact.. that's just the spirit I need for my second. Do you want to come with me?" That was a little more than I expected: "Oh, come on now. I'm going to need you to perk up if you're going to come with me as my second."

Your what? "My second! If we're going to take up residence here again, I need to get the blessing of Hrothmund again."

Where are you going? "To Hrothmund's Barrow I need to get his blessing again before we take up residence here."

Next she follows with:

"I'll need a witness and, well you see the kind of horker-brains I deal with around here. what do you say?"

I'd be honored: "Well let's not waste time talking about it, then!" Why don't you go ahead: "All right, then I'll be waiting there whenever your honor wakes you."

Once near the barrow, she will ask the Dragonborn if they are ready to go inside. Once inside she can be questioned about the barrow:

What is this place?: "The burial place of Hrothmund, who founded Thirsk. He brought a group of true warriors away from the salt life of the Skaal, to know the wilderness, to feel the sting of cold and steel. I know that... sounds a little silly, it's just the way it was written in the books, and that phrase has always stuck with me."
What's going to happen in there?: "It's pretty simple, Hrothmund's axe is in there with him. Anyone who attempts to take hold of it has the spirit judged by Hrothmund himself."
We're going to fight his ghost?: "No, no, nothing like that. He doesn't need to battle us to know us. He's always watched over Thirsk, and sees us from beyond. And in my case, since he's already deemed me worthy, It will just be a matter of him remembering why he blessed me before. Really, all you need to do is watch."
I'm ready: "Let's not waste any time, then."

A little way down after entering, the Dragonborn comes across a room mostly submerged in water. The small room before this submerged room has a secret door; the handle is in a crack to the left of the hidden door. This leads to a chest, and with leveled loot and gems around. Walking towards the water will cause it to descend showing a walkway.

Approaching Hrothmund's axe's altar. Bujold will run towards the altar, indicating that she has found the axe, "There it is!" There are two chests near the altar that can be looted. Hrothmund's voice will be heard asking if she seeks his blessing. She then claims that she does seek his blessing like before, and that the village has been taken back. He is aware and show disappointment in her and her people saying that they grew soft, that it should not have happened. Hrothmund denies her and her village of his blessing for leadership, claiming that in the wilderness it's better to have no leader than a poor leader. When asked about this, she replies: "That was a little embarrassing." then follows with:

How are you feeling about that?: "Ashamed. But I guess that was the point."
What are you going to do now?: "The only thing I can do. I need to return to Thirsk. No matter what Hrothmund says we need a leader. And I'm still the best person for that."
You'll go against Hrothmund's wishes?: "Look what's happened so far under his watchful eye. He gave his blessing to all the leaders who brought us to this point. Anyway, he's dead and we're alive. It's time to begin a new tradition for Thirsk. And I'm going to do that. All I need is for you to back me up, you don't even need to lie... just don't tell anyone else what you heard here."
I'll keep this quiet: "Good. See that you do. Now, if you'll excuse me, i have a hall to lead." I can't let you lead Thirsk. "I was afraid you might say that. Well, looks as though I'll have to prove my mettle against you now."

Ignoring either options will default to the result of the first option. Upon return to the hall, Thirsk Mead Hall will be restored to its original stature; opening up the smithing area and new beds at the end of the hallway.

Return to Thirsk

When returning to Thirsk Mead Hall, Kuvar will approach, asking about the events at the Barrow.

Kuvar dialogue option	If the Dragonborn killed Bujold	If the peaceful solution was chosen
Truth	The Dragonborn is exiled.	Bujold is exiled.
Lie	Bujold remains the leader of Thirsk.	Bujold remains the leader of Thirsk.

Telling the truth to Kuvar will cause him to become upset. Regardless of whether Kuvar is angry and ashamed about his wife being exiled or angry at the Dragonborn for killing her, he will be unwilling to have a conversation. If the Dragonborn tells the truth about killing Bujold, the other occupants of Thirsk will greet the Dragonborn tersely, but unlike Kuvar, all their dialogue options will still be available.

Completing this quest by choosing any of the four options with Bujold and Kuvar will open up new dialogue with the occupants of Thirsk, excepting Kuvar if he is told the truth. This includes opportunities for miscellaneous quests, which will all be available regardless of how the Dragonborn completed this quest.

If Bujold is exiled, Hilund indicates that she will go into the wild searching for Bujold and helping her survive, hoping that Bujold can one day return to Thirsk.

Journal

Journal Entry
I met a group of Nords from Thirsk Mead Hall, which has recently been overrun by Rieklings. They're camped on the eastern shore of the island, waiting for an opportunity to attack and take back their home.
I've agreed to help the Nords from Thirsk Mead Hall take their home back from the Rieklings who have infested it.
I helped the warriors of Thirsk Mead Hall retake their home from the infestation of Rieklings.
I helped the warriors of Thirsk Mead Hall retake their home from the infestation of Rieklings. Their leader, Bujold, has asked me to accompany her to Hrothmund's Barrow, where she hopes to receive the blessing of Thirsk's founder to continue her leadership.
I helped the warriors of Thirsk Mead Hall retake their home from the infestation of Rieklings. Their leader, Bujold, asked me to accompany her to Hrothmund's Barrow, where she was denied the blessings of Thirsk's founder. She expressed a desire to lead the hall anyway, and when I opposed her fraud, she attacked me. Quest complete
I helped the warriors of Thirsk Mead Hall retake their home from the infestation of Rieklings. Their leader, Bujold, asked me to accompany her to Hrothmund's Barrow, where she was denied the blessings of Thirsk's founder. She expressed a desire to lead the hall anyway, and plans to begin a new tradition at Thirsk, focused on the present instead of the past. Quest complete
I helped the warriors of Thirsk Mead Hall retake their home from the infestation of Rieklings. Their leader, Bujold, asked me to accompany her to Hrothmund's Barrow, where she was denied the blessings of Thirsk's founder. She expressed a desire to lead the hall anyway, and when I opposed her fraud, she became enraged. I was forced to kill her to defend myself. Quest complete
I met a group of Nords who had been exiled from their former home in Thirsk Mead Hall, but chose to help the Rieklings keep them permanently evicted. Quest failed

Note: The journal for this quest features three different stages all with "Quest complete" tags.

Trivia

• In conclusion of this quest, Bujold the Unworthy's name is changed to "Bujold the Intrepid".
• After the quest, Rieklings may attack Thirsk Mead Hall upon re-visiting. Halbarn will help the Dragonborn fight them off.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Retaking Thirsk. 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

There is a possibility if the Rieklings outside are bypassed in the rush to the interior of Thirsk Mead Hall to clear the insides first, that not all of the Rieklings may be eliminated. This will cause Bujold's Nordic entourage to stand around the hall as if still in combat, only to have no enemy in the vicinity. This will result in the quest being unable to proceed towards completion. This may also happen if the group starts towards the hall and the Dragonborn fast travels elsewhere. This will cause the outside Rieklings to be disposed of and may possibly be the only trigger for this bug. The fix is to reload to an earlier save and make sure to follow through this quest without deviating.   PC (Fix)   To fix: in the console, type setstage DLC2MH01 25 If the Dragonborn leaves Thirsk Mead Hall after eliminating all of the Rieklings, and returns to it before completing the questline at Hrothmund's Barrow, hostile Rieklings may spawn outside the Hall. Defeating these Rieklings will cause "eliminated 19/18 Rieklings" etc. to display. Some of the Rieklings may appear at the nearby Beast Stone, worshipping it. When confronting Bujold, if the Dragonborn refuses to keep Bujold's secret, then calms her rather than kills her, the dialogue option (to keep the secret or expose it) will repeat itself once, and they may opt to instead keep the secret. The quest journal will state that Bujold stays the leader, but that she was also defeated. When the player visits Thirsk Mead Hall again, Bujold will be promoted (to "Worthy" or "Intrepid"), but will still be hostile. The other members of Thirsk will defend the Dragonborn until Bujold is grounded, resulting in a seemingly endless cycle of violence (and an inability to communicate) unless a follower intervenes and kills her. If the Dragonborn calms everyone and approaches Kuvar before Bujold is killed, he will initiate dialogue as if they opted to keep her secret in the barrow. If she dies before the player has the chance to talk to Kuvar, he will initiate dialogue as if she were killed in the barrow, even if she died by his hands.  PC   After the completion of the quest, when reentering Thirsk Meed Hall, Rieklings may have spawned again. They will attack upon noticing the Dragonborn. None of the people living in the Hall will be there. Once the building is exited, they will spawn and help the Dragonborn kill the Rieklings. After all Rieklings are dead, everyone will resume as if nothing had happened.