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Elder Scrolls

The Chief of Thirsk Hall is a quest in The Elder Scrolls V: Dragonborn. It is one of two side quests that involve Thirsk Mead Hall, the other being "Retaking Thirsk." This quest will be marked as failed if the Dragonborn sided with the Nords during "Retaking Thirsk".

Background[]

I found a group of Rieklings who seem to have taken up residence in Thirsk's Mead Hall. Somehow, their chief has learned how to speak intelligently, and has asked me to assist them with a number of small favors.

Objectives[]

  1. Give Bilgemuck some meat
  2. Return Bilgemuck to Thirsk
  3. Talk to the Chief
  4. Bring 10 Scathecraw to the Chief
  5. Join the assault
  6. Kill the Nords
  7. Speak to the Chief
  8. Defeat the Chief

Walkthrough[]

This quest can be started by approaching the entrance to Thirsk Mead Hall. A Riekling will initiate dialogue and ask the Dragonborn to follow him inside. Once inside, speak to the Riekling Chief. The Chief has learned how to speak and explains that he has a few tasks that he needs help with.

"You strong. Help tribe-kin"

Where did you live before you were here? "Tribe-kin live all places. All of world within great water."
Why did you take over Thirsk? "Hot fire. Cold dizzydrink. Happy tribe."
Who are you? "You. You strong. Help tribe-kin."

What is going on here? "We family. We strong, you stronger."
How did you learn to talk? "Chief smart. Most Riekling dumb but chief smart. We family. We strong, you stronger."
Are you saying you want my help? "Bilgemuck run. Prize beast, run. Fool tribe-kin, chase away. Bilgemuck fear. You bring, he follow you. Yes?"
Bilgemuck is an animal of some kind? And you want it back? "Bilgemuck prize beast. You find, he folllow. Bilgemuck love meat. Give meat, he follow. You go."

Fetch Bilgemuck[]

The first task the chief asks is to find Bilgemuck, a unique Bristleback, and bring him back to Thirsk. Approach the beast and offer it some meat for bait, such as Horker Meat, and it will begin to follow the Dragonborn. Lead it to a small pen by the side of the mead hall to complete the first part of the quest.

Collect 10 Scathecraw[]

Next he requires ten samples of Scathecraw, which he calls "redgrass". Scathecraw can be found all over Solstheim or bought from alchemists. Raven Rock has a great abundance of them.

Kill the Nords[]

For the final task, he will ask the Dragonborn to help him kill some nearby Nords that have been troubling the Rieklings. If Bujold's Retreat has been visited before, it is revealed that these Nords are actually the previous inhabitants of Thirsk Mead Hall that were driven off by the chief and his fellow Rieklings. Accepting to help the chief will cause him to jump out his throne and run outside, ready to fight. Alternately, the Dragonborn can also voice their reluctance, resulting in the chief waiting inside the hall for the Dragonborn to return later. This gives the Dragonborn the opportunity to talk to Bujold and help her instead. If the Dragonborn agrees to help Bujold, "The Chief of Thirsk Hall" quest will fail and the Dragonborn can participate in "Retaking Thirsk" hall with the help of Bujold and the others.

The chief will exit the hall with three of his warriors and give a short pre-battle speech:

"Froo ha cawasy jo la.
Karoo taray pelfrik?
Felgir paw tuwani barj.
Goora! Goora! Goora!"

What this means is unknown; however, it bolsters the spirits of the Rieklings and they will charge at Bujold's Retreat. Approaching the camp will turn the Nords hostile and they will immediately fight back.

Taking the throne[]

Once all the Nords have been killed, the chief will mention that the Dragonborn is too strong and perhaps wishes to usurp him, much like he did with the previous chief of the tribe:

"You strong! All tribe-kin stronger with you. But... maybe you too strong. Too strong, want to be chief."

Slow down here. I don't want to hurt you.
You're right. I want to be the new chief.

"Strong always fight strong. Old chief strong, me stronger. You stronger? Fight me!"

Next he will attack. Once he is dead the Rieklings of Thirsk will recognize the Dragonborn as the new chief and the quest is completed.

Rewards[]

After completing the quest, any member of the Riekling tribe at Thirsk Mead Hall can be recruited as a follower. Additionally, while in Solstheim or Skyrim, between one and three Riekling warriors from the tribe may appear randomly to assist when in combat. There are three types that may appear: scouts, hunters, and warriors. The Thirsk Mead Hall Rieklings are afterwards classified as "pets" (as with dog followers), and can be recruited in addition to a regular humanoid follower. Thirsk Mead Hall Reiklings may be fully equipped and upgraded by the player with a bow and arrows, helmet, armor, gauntlets and boots. Equipped armor will not visibly change the Riekling character model. Most Rieklings will not use melee weapons or torches. Regular rieklings and riekling warriors will equip great swords and giants club.

Journal[]

The Chief of Thirsk Hall – DLC2MH02
ID Journal Entry
10 I've found a group of Rieklings who seem to have taken up residence in Thirsk Mead Hall. Somehow, their chief has learned how to speak intelligently, and has asked me to assist them with a number of small favors.
  • Objective 10: Give Bilgemuck some meat
15
  • Objective 15: Return Bilgemuck to Thirsk
17
  • Objective 17: Talk to the Chief
20
  • Objective 20: Bring 10 Scathecraw to the Chief
30 I've found a group of Rieklings who seem to have taken up residence in Thirsk Mead Hall. Somehow, their chief has learned how to speak intelligently, and after I did a number of small favors for the tribe, asked me to help them kill the group of Nords who formerly lived in the hall.
  • Objective 20: Join the assault
35
  • Objective 35: Kill the Nords (<Global=DLC2MH02NordsKilled>/7)
37
  • Objective 37: Speak to the Chief
40
  • Objective 40: Defeat the Chief
200 I found a group of Rieklings who took over Thirsk Mead Hall. I did a number of favors for them, and their Chief attacked me, thinking I was attempting to usurp him. After I defeated him, the rest of the tribe welcomed me, and they made me their chief.
  • Quest complete
210 I found a group of Rieklings who took over Thirsk Mead Hall, but chose not to help them.
  • Quest failed

Trivia[]

  • During the battle against the Nords, Bujold the Unworthy's name is changed to Bujold the Intrepid.

Bugs[]

This section contains bugs related to The Chief of Thirsk Hall. 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.
Click to see the list of bugs encountered
  •  PC   360   PS3   At the third stage of the quest, choosing the "Let's go!" dialogue option first may not complete the objective. To avoid this, choose the "I'm not sure about this." option first.
  •  PC   360   In the "The Chief of Thirsk Hall" quest upon returning Bilgemuck to Thirsk Hall, Bilgemuck enters and exits the door to the hall endlessly, thus preventing the quest from being completed. To fix this, wait twenty-four hours, then walk back outside. He should be in the pen on the left side of the building. Go back inside and talk to the chief.
  •  PC   360   PS3   PS4   The tribe may not become followers after this quest is completed.
    • To overcome this, send away any followers, then recruit any Riekling from the tribe. The original follower can be recruited again afterwards.
  •  360   The chief may repeatedly ask the Dragonborn for the Red Grass and about Bilgemuck after the completion of the Scathecraw gathering quest.
  •  360   Sometimes Bilgemuck will not accept the meat, and he will become hostile.
  •  PS3   After killing the Nords, the Dragonborn may not be able to talk to the Chief to complete the quest. Reloading to an earlier save fixes the issue.
  •  PC   Approaching and opening dialogue with Bilgemuck in the quest "Fetch Bilgemuck" may cause the game to crash.
  •  360   NX   After completing the Scathecraw gathering quest, upon entering the Hall, the floors will disappear and the Dragonborn will not be able to get to the chief.
    •  360 (Fix)   NX (Fix)   Exit the hall, wait twenty-four hours and re-enter.

Appearances[]


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