Skyrim:The Man Who Cried Wolf

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Investigate reports of strange happenings in Wolfskull Cave. Quest Giver: Falk Firebeard Location(s): Wolfskull Cave, Solitude Next Quest: The Wolf Queen Awakened Reward: Leveled gold ID: MS06Start Suggested Level: 8

Welcome to Wolfskull Cave

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to Falk Firebeard in the Blue Palace in Solitude.
2. Travel to Wolfskull Cave.
3. Stop the ritual to summon Potema.
4. Return to Falk Firebeard.

Detailed Walkthrough

The Messenger

In Solitude, both the innkeeper and residing bard at the Winking Skeever will tell you about a scared Dragon Bridge resident who recently arrived to ask Jarl Elisif for help. They will not reveal anything else, so head to the Blue Palace, where you will witness Varnius Junius trying to convince Jarl Elisif that the strange occurrences near Wolfskull Cave should be taken seriously. While Elisif tries her best to calm the near hysterical Varnius, Sybille Stentor and castle steward Falk Firebeard, will both rubbish the claims:

"Haafingar's people will always be safe under my rule."

Varnius: "I swear to you, unnatural magics are coming from that cave! There are strange noises and lights! We need someone to investigate!"
Elisif: "Then we will immediately send out a legion to scour the cave and secure the town. Haafingar's people will always be safe under my rule."
Varnius: "Th...thank you, my Jarl thank you."
Sybille: "Your eminence, my scrying has suggested nothing in the area. Dragon Bridge is under imperial control. This is likely superstitious nonsense."
Falk: "Perhaps a more... tempered reaction... might be called for?"
Elisif: "Oh. Yes, of course you are right. Falk, tell Captain Aldis I said to assign a few extra soldiers to Dragon Bridge."
Varnius: "Thank you, Jarl Elisif. But about the cave..."
Falk: "I will have someone take care of the cave as well Varnius, you can rest easy. You're dismissed."

After the court has acknowledged his claims, Varnius Janius will be relieved and leave the castle, unaware that nobody plans on doing anything to solve his problem. Speak to Falk Firebeard, who will admit he thinks Varnius is overreacting and that he has his hands full dealing with the recent murder of High King Torygg, the grieving Elisif and the ongoing war. Offer to take a look at Wolfskull Cave for him, and he will gladly accept.

Wolfskull Cave

Wolfskull Cave is located due west of Solitude and north of the Statue to Meridia. As you arrive, two skeletons will guard the entrance, hinting at darker things to come. Enter the cave and proceed through the first chamber. Before long, you will be attacked by hordes of leveled necromancers, all keen on protecting their secret. As you progress, leveled draugr and more skeletons will attack. In the third chamber, you will arrive at a pit, and will have no choice but jump in. Take the northern tunnel and enter Wolfskull Ruins.

"We summon Potema!"

As you enter, it quickly becomes clear that something is very wrong in the cave; blue beams of light spear across the room and chanting voices can be heard:

Ritual Master: "Wolf Queen. Hear our call and awaken. We summon Potema!"
Necromancers: "We summon Potema!"
Ritual Master: "Long have you slept the dreamless sleep of death, Potema. No longer. Hear us Wolf Queen! We Summon You!"
Necromancers: "We summon Potema!"

Take a look from the ledge and you'll notice that the blue lights all lead to the same platform, high above ground level. Backtrack a bit and locate the tunnel leading west. The chamber ahead is covered in oil, so use it to your advantage against the patrolling necromancer.

The Wolf Queen

Back in the main chamber, there are stairs leading further down and enemies will attack. Fight your way to ground level and enter the ruin where a set of stairs will lead back up. As you make your way upstairs, it becomes apparent that the necromancer’s ritual is about to go wrong, as Potema will shout:

"Summoned with words. Bound by blood."

Potema: "Yes! Yes! Return me to this realm!"
Ritual Master: "As our voices summon you the blood of the innocent binds you Wolf Queen!"
Necromancers: "Summoned with words. Bound by blood."
Potema: "What! What are you doing?! You fools! You cannot bind me to your wills!"
Necromancers: "Summoned with words. Bound by blood."
Potema: "You ants don't have the power to bind me!"

Keep going up one set of stairs after another, fighting the opposition on your way. As your reach the source of the blue light, the ritual master will speak once again: "Something is wrong. There is an intruder." As you climb the tower, an additional four necromancers will attack. At the top, you will find the ritual master busy performing the ritual to revive Potema. There is only one way to stop her. When she is dead, the blue light will disappear through a hole in the ceiling and everything will be quiet. Read the Light Armor skill book The Refugees from the altar, then activate the lever to lower the drawbridge. Loot the chest on the other side and follow the path, a shortcut back to the first chamber of Wolfskull Cave.

Falk Firebeard

Back in the Blue Palace, busy castle steward Falk Firebeard will be curious to know whether you found anything other than wild animals and bandits in Wolfskull Cave. When you tell him that necromancers tried to resurrect Potema, he will be shocked and will ask if you stopped them. At this point, you will have no choice but to tell him you interrupted the ritual and that it is done. He will then explain that you have done Solitude a larger service than you can imagine and reward you with a leveled amount of gold. However, Potema is far from defeated. If you wait a few days, a courier delivers a very concerned letter from Falk Firebeard, beginning of the quest The Wolf Queen Awakened.

Notes

• Falk Firebeard carries a Letter from Falk Firebeard. This is the same letter the courier later gives you in order to begin The Wolf Queen Awakened. It is possible to pickpocket this letter before you even talk to Falk about Wolfskull Cave.
• Attacking the summoning circle will draw all enemies to you, even ones you missed at the base of the tower.

Bugs

• For unknown reasons, it is possible for the quest not to advance to stage 15 when you enter the court. This will be the case if you see Varnius Junius just standing around doing nothing. This may be related to the Bard's College quest Tending the Flames; if you haven't completed the quest, Varnius Junius may not begin speaking until you have burned the effigy of King Olaf. It is also possible that simply attempting to speak with him or physically pushing him (by walking into him) will make him begin his conversation. ^?
• This quest fails to begin during some parts of the main quest. Varnius Junius will not approach the Jarl and it will be impossible to begin The Man Who Cried Wolf. To fix this issue, either complete the civil war quests, or finish the main quest (if you choose to hold a peace negotiation). ^?
  • You can use the console command setstage MS06Start 15 to force this step to initiate.
• This quest changes the contents of Wolfskull Cave while it is active. This makes it impossible to clear Wolfskull Cave, and can also cause conflicts with any radiant quests that happen to send you to the cave, making it impossible to complete those quests. Therefore it is best to complete this quest as quickly as possible after triggering it.
• For unknown reasons, sometime the marker for miscellaneous quest "Head to the Solitude Court" doesn't remove when you talk with Falk Firebeard or complete "The Man Who Cried Wolf". ^?
  • You can use the console command setstage MS06Start 10 to deactivate the marker from miscellaneous quest.

Quest Stages

The Man Who Cried Wolf (MS06Start)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
15		A representative from Dragon Bridge has appealed to the court in Solitude for help investigating Wolfskull Cave. Falk Firebeard is looking for someone to look into the issue. (Objective is assigned): Ask Falk Firebeard about Wolfskull Cave
50		A representative from Dragon Bridge has appealed to the court in Solitude for help investigating Wolfskull Cave. Falk Firebeard has asked me to clear out the cave. (Objective is assigned): Clear Out Wolfskull Cave
100		I have confronted and stopped a group of necromancers attempting to summon Potema, the Wolf Queen, in Wolfskull Cave. I should return to Falk Firebeard with the news. (Objective is assigned): Speak to Falk Firebeard
250

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 0, 5, 10, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 83, 85, 90, 105, 110, 115.
• However, when entering the cave but not discovering the summoners (by not jumping down the hole in the ground), and reporting that the just bandits have been killed, the quest stage of 83 is set (this may have had to do with the ongoing Stormcloak/Imperial fight). Completing the fight will permit using the setstage ms06start 50 to resume the quest again. All quest stages shown as having been active upon completion include 5, 10, 15, 50, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 83, 90, 100, and 250.^{[verification needed — Is this accurate? Is console required to get any/all of this?]}

 

Notes

• Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.
• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage MS06Start stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest MS06Start.