Evil in Waiting is a quest available in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in which the Dragonborn must assist the spirit of Valdar to defeat Hevnoraak, a dragon priest inside Valthume.
Background[]
A spirit known as Valdar has asked me to collect three vessels in Valthume to defeat the Dragon Priest Hevnoraak.
Objectives[]
- Collect the three vessels
- Perform the ritual with Valdar
- Defeat Hevnoraak
Walkthrough[]
The Vessels[]
Upon entering Valthume, a spirit named Valdar will be encountered. Valdar will instruct the Dragonborn to collect three vessels in the cave and bring them back to him.
The first vessel can be found in the Valthume area inside the room with the draugr deathlord that has two holes in the ceiling to the sky (requires activating a handle across an apparent dead end from an iron gate that causes a hidden door to open as well as the gate). It is visually very similar to an empty wine bottle, but is instead labeled "opaque vessel." The map arrow will show the location and there will be an arrow shown in the room. Even at a level below 20, the draugr defending the vessel will always be a deathlord armed with an ebony war axe, making it a very dangerous foe.
The second vessel is located in the catacombs where the three flamethrower pillars are. The room, which can be unlocked by pulling upon a chain, contains a chest and a giant frostbite spider with one to three smaller Frostbite Spiders. Three flame enchanted soul gems can be retrieved to clear the way to the third vessel, and expect the second vessel to be guarded by another draugr deathlord armed with an ebony war axe, or at a lower level, a draugr scourge.
The third vessel can be obtained in the room behind the dragon claw combination lock door, setting the correct combination on the rotating kiosks: dragon, hawk, wolf, and using the Iron Dragon Claw on the lock will open the door, though the claw is on a pressure plate that will set off four flamethrowers in a crossfire around the pedestal, and there are three frostbite spiders guarding the claw as well. There is a word wall behind the third vessel that gives a word of the Aura Whisper shout alongside the boss chest. Expect the third and final vessel to be guarded by at least one draugr deathlord armed with an ebony weapon and three other leveled draugr, including at least one draugr scourge.
The Ritual[]
Upon returning to Valdar, he will say that by pouring out the contents of the vessels, the lich entombed in the caves will be deprived from regaining its full power. After the Dragonborn pours the vessel contents into the sconce and sits in the throne, Valdar will reanimate Hevnoraak, who will still be formidable. (It should be noted that after sitting on the throne, the Dragonborn can immediately exit the throne and find a hiding spot before Hevnoraak appears. This can give stealthy characters a better chance to sneak attack him with a bow.) Valdar then awakens the dragon priest Hevnoraak, who bursts from his coffin with an inhuman screech and taunts Valdar over thinking he could keep him imprisoned forever.
Defeating Hevronaak[]
Hevnoraak casts powerful lightning spells at the Dragonborn and summons storm atronachs alongside his lightning cloak and Ebonyflesh spell to mitigate physical damage. Beware of the lightning that Hevnoraak casts on the ground, as it is debilitating to health and magicka.
If the Dragonborn is leveled sufficiently and in possession of a strong bow such as a Daedric Bow and Glass or better arrows, Hevnoraak can be quickly taken down with a few well placed shots. Be sure to search the remains once he is defeated.
When defeated, Hevnoraak will drop his mask, which grants its wearer immunity to both disease and poison, along with his staff.
Speak to Valdar afterwards to finish the quest.
Journal[]
| Evil in Waiting – dunValthumeQST | |
|---|---|
| ID | Journal Entry |
| 3 | A spirit known as Valdar has asked me to collect three vessels in Valthume to defeat the Dragon Priest Hevnoraak.
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| 10 |
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| 15 | Valdar has asked me to collect three vessels in Valthume to defeat the Dragon Priest Hevnoraak. I brought the vessels to Valdar who told me the vessels contained the blood of Hevnoraak. I am to use this blood in a ritual to defeat him. |
| 40 |
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| 50 | Valdar has asked me to collect three vessels in Valthume to defeat the Dragon Priest Hevnoraak. I brought the vessels to Valdar who told me the vessels contained the blood of Hevnoraak. I used the blood to weaken and awaken Hevnoraak, and defeated him. |
| 60 | Vader [sic] [Do not change this to Valdar. This misspelled word is how it appears in-game.] has asked me to collect three vessels in Valthume to defeat the Dragon Priest Hevnoraak. I brought the vessels to Valdar who told me the vessels contained the blood of Hevnoraak. I used the blood to weaken and awaken Hevnoraak, and defeated him. Valdar told me to take his iron mask and faded away.
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Trivia[]
- If a follower is commanded to sit on the throne, Valdar will release Hevnoraak as normal allowing the Dragonborn to choose a better location to attack Hevnoraak from.
- The title is a reference to Bethesda Softwork's game The Evil Within which was in development one year prior to the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and released three years after.
Bugs[]
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This section contains bugs related to Evil in Waiting. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:
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- If the epilogue in the journal is read following the completion of the quest, the title will be misspelled as "Vader" as opposed to "Valdar."
- The second vessel can potentially be knocked behind the wall via the usage of Unrelenting Force, leaving the quest impossible to complete.
- Occasionally, using Unrelenting Force on and around the vessel enough times will return the vessel into an obtainable position. This, however, might be extremely difficult to accomplish due to the manner of the fix.
- PC 360 The puzzle door requiring the dragon claw in order to open may sometimes freeze, rendering the object impossible to utilize.
- PC (Fix) Enter the console command
setstage dunValthumeQST 10and return to where Hevnoraak lies (in Valthume). In the event that the Dragonborn returns to the door after defeating Hevnoraak, it will begin to function properly and the word of power can then be received. - PC (Fix) Enter the console command
tcland simply walk through the door. Entertclagain after passing the door and continue the quest. - 360 (Fix) Save at the door and reload the game to fix the bug. If the attempted fix does not work, it might be necessary to reload the game to a save created prior to entering the ruins.
- PC (Fix) Enter the console command
- The spikes blocking the word wall can possibly reactivate, thus leaving the Dragonborn trapped. A fix can be to either load to an earlier save, or open the spikes by shooting arrows at the pedestal, upon which the Opaque Vessel was previously placed. Using the Unrelenting Force shout on the pedestal will also work, provided at least two words of the shout have already been attained. Otherwise, simply jump on the activation block to lower the spikes.
- The quest may not be marked as completed when Hevnoraak is defeated. Speak to Valdar as a solution to this issue.
- PS3 After collecting the third vessel, the word wall may not activate. Instead, the wall itself might make a loud, hissing noise as if it is granting the shout. To remedy the problem, reload an earlier save.
- The spikes blocking the Word Wall may not retract when the third vessel is taken. Standing on the vessel's podium for a few seconds may fix this.