Skyrim talk:Unearthed

Finding Ralis CLUE!!!

It is in Ralis' final Diary, #23. — Unsigned comment by 184.88.12.130 (talk) at 19:58 on 27 December 2012‎

Ralis Confrontation Bug

When I am given the objective to "Confront Ralis" it immediately changes to "Kill Ralis" without me even speaking to him. It has happened to me with a previous character and my current character. It turns out that my follower Teldryn Sera was the cause. I saved before the confrontation, and tried to finish with Teldryn in my party multiple times, and each time the objective would immediately tell me to kill Ralis . I dismissed Teldryn and the quest proceded as normal. I think this needs to be added to the bug section, as it happened on two different characters with Teldryn as a follower. — Unsigned comment by 98.142.47.67 (talk) at 06:28 on 1 February 2013

First section bug

Sometimes when remove the skull off the altar,the door to the next section won't open. To avoid this issue,reload a save previous entering the barrow and try again,should work fine. — Unsigned comment by 2.44.13.29 (talk) at 15:23 on 8 February 2013

I had this problem and no saves to go back to and the setstage command didn't work. Fortunately the solution is simple, drop the skull on the alters pressure plate and lift off again. Should you have added the skull to your inventory, as I had and can't use it because it's a quest item, any skull and possibly anything else will do. Bwilderbeast (talk) 09:18, 20 February 2013 (GMT)

If the pressure plate still doesnt seem to work, make sure there are no items on the table at all. I found that the pickaxe (which was nowhere near the plate) was actually holding it down still and no amount of shouting at the table had moved it. — Unsigned comment by 111.69.80.173 (talk) at 04:19 on 27 January 2014‎

Firr: I had this problem, picked up pickaxe and skull but still didn't open. A dead miner laying on the table was holding it down. Simple fix: aim at table, use unrelenting force shout, should clear anything on the table.

If all else fails you can use console command: open console command, select the pressure plate and type activate.

Quest not advancing

Strange I don't see this in the bugs, I can't be the only one....the quest hasn't advanced for me at all. I've lent Ralis the money, gotten the first letter from him telling me to come quickly to the barrow, only when I get there, I get the same "We've got a crew on it" line from him with the two workers mining. I've tried fast traveling to the barrow, walking there, defeated Miraak - still all I get is, "We've got a crew on it". 108.75.6.129 00:09, 10 February 2013 (GMT)

I get the same thing but I never got a letter. I talked to him the first day and it's been like 3 months in game so yeah. bug.173.51.248.19 09:42, 10 February 2013 (GMT)

For me it was the same, got the 1st letter but the quest hasn´t advanced. I used the console "setstage DLC2dunKolbjornQST 100". After that, everything was fine and I could finish the quest. — Unsigned comment by 84.140.246.176 (talk) at 16:47 on 11 February 2013

I am stuck at stage 199, I received the 2nd letter, but can't talk to Ralis, same "We've got a crew on it" dialogue. I wonder if there are other conditions for the quest to advance (level perhaps), anyone able to open this in the construction set and look? I am reluctant to advance to stage 200 on the chance I make things worse. 65.175.230.208 07:01, 12 February 2013 (GMT)

I advanced to stage 100 cleared the barrow and then never got another letter. Tried to advance again but no response in my journal and same situation at the barrow. Then tried to reset the quest and again no response/ change except that everyone addresses me as sera. So sick of this...173.51.248.19 00:56, 13 February 2013 (GMT)

(←) From what I've seen, after experiencing a similar problem, the Courier that is supposed to find you will only approach you on the province of Skyrim. After you've gotten the letter from him, then go back to the Barrow and talk to Ralis. Schiffy (talk) 03:20, 13 February 2013 (GMT) EDIT: It seems, as far as I can tell, that this is only true for the first letter. I was at Windstad Manor when I got it, but I got the second one in Tel Mythrin. Schiffy (talk) 13:34, 15 February 2013 (GMT)

What do I do if the console codes don't advance the quest or seemingly don't affect it at all? (the codes have been spelled correctly as there is no response saying that it didn't recognize the code -setstage) Should I try the complete quest command then reset quest? Is there a way to reset the code or something? And173.51.248.19 06:56, 20 February 2013 (GMT)

For me, it wouldn't advance to the first stage at all, even after two months of waiting. Then, suddenly, it advanced. The only thing I did differently was I spent a night sleeping in Solstheim. I had been regularly going back to my Hearthfire player-built house near Falkreath to sleep and spend time with the kids. My guess at this point is time spent waiting back in Skyrim locations does NOT count towards the quest, and sleeping is necessary. Afterwards, the courier arrives as per normal (I.E. whenever you are in or near a city, most commonly, and leave a building to the outside).67.0.1.134 09:06, 1 August 2013 (GMT)

Got it. Check the site once, speaking to Ralis, then ran back to town and slept for 24 hours. Came back out and waited a bit, courier showed up. Repeat for each stage. To be specific: I'm playing a vampire, so there's a few steps I skipped in the above explanation. Here's everything I was doing, step by step: 1) Fast travel and check with Ralis, he says "come back later." 2) Back to town, sleep 24 hours. 3) Step outside, wait a few seconds, courier arrives. If he doesn't show shortly, sleep another 24 hours and he will. At this point, I have a quick snack on one of the sleeping locals, then move on to step 4. 4) Read letter, fast-travel to the tomb, talk to Ralis, enter, kick butt. 5) Talk to Ralis again, pay again, back to town, sleep 24 hours, return to step 1. 67.0.88.4 15:55, 1 August 2013 (GMT)

Missing ring in phase #3

One of the bugs listed claims that the Ring of Necromancy will disappear in the 3rd phase if you don't pick it up in the 2nd. I'm pretty sure this is false. Something similar happened to me, but it turned out what had happened was I was using Dawnbreaker, and one of the Draugr's death explosions flung the ring away somewhere. Many spells and effects can cause this to happen, and rings are so small it's easy to lose them if they get blown away in an explosion. (Note that explosions may even fling items on the other side of a wall.) I suspect that this is what happened to the person who posted that bug. Merely allowing the cell to reset by leaving for a few days and coming back caused the ring to be put back on its pedestal. TheRealLurlock (talk) 15:24, 14 February 2013 (GMT)

I had the same problem, using a shout in the chamber with the pressure plates knocked Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana off the pedestal. I had to scour the pool of water in the ring chamber to find the ring in a crack at the bottom. I had the same issue with Ahzidal's Ring of Necromancy. As I am playing this through on PS3, I do not have the luxury of console cheating. However, it took me only about 15 seconds of carefully searching to find either ring. 1NUY4SH4 (talk) 02:25, 19 May 2014 (GMT)

I have a similar issue. I'm stuck on the Underneathed quest for the DLC dragonborn. now I looked on other forums, Skyrim wiki under the quest and known bugs and even contacted tech support I got the same answer

Use consol command setstage DLCdunKolbornQST 100

but it tells me 'DLC2dunKolbornQST' not found for parameter quest and also Compiled script not saved!

what am I doing wrong? any help please?

Ralis' Journals

I've got it on PS3 and after reading this page and grabbing the books in the way it proposed, I STILL have them stuck in my inventory. -Malus X (talk) 22:48, 15 February 2013 (GMT)

You know, I'm thinking maybe a better suggestion would be to simply not pick up the books in the first place. You can read them without taking them, which seems like a better plan to me. Unless you really want to read them later, in which case, here you go: #19, #20, #21, #22, #23. TheRealLurlock (talk) 23:34, 15 February 2013 (GMT)

I picked them up throughout the quest and I currently have all the journals in the safe at Severin Manor. I'm not sure why the OP here wouldn't be able to drop them, but it is true that you should be able to drop them if you pick them up throughout the quest. — ABCface^◥ 23:56, 15 February 2013 (GMT)

While not a bug concerning the quest item status, can anyone tell me what happens to Journal #23 after a while? I finished the third part of the quest, and gave Ralis the 5,000 gold, and only 19-22 were on the table in his tent, not 23. Schiffy (talk) 02:40, 17 February 2013 (GMT)

EDIT - Nevermind, I thought it would show up earlier than it did. Schiffy (talk) 04:31, 17 February 2013 (GMT)

On PS3 as well, I picked up the journals as they appeared. They were quest essential items after the quest completed, but before I did the Black Book: Filament and Filigree quest. Once I'd done that quest, I could put them on a bookshelf at the Raven Rock house without a problem. 93.96.70.224 23:59, 21 March 2013 (GMT)

360 also confirmed- journals were picked up as they appeared and could be dropped only after completing Black Book: Filament and Filigree.Treebeard151 (talk) 07:08, 22 March 2013 (GMT)

(←) This bug is being addressed in an upcoming release of the UDGP patch. Details here: [1] — Unsigned comment by ‎ Blackpete (talk • contribs) at 02:11 on 19 March 2014

|Still having Ralis Journals remain in inventory after completion of Unearthed. The article says if you pick the journals up *after* the quest is complete, that it will cause the bug. Yet I picked them up at each stage of the quest and they are un-removeable. This is with UDGP 2.1.3

(XBox 360) Can confirm above-noted experiences with journals that have been collected as the quest sections unfold and all 5 before the quest has completed. I don't know whether the unofficial patch covers this variation on the bug. Perhaps we should note this confirmed variation? The journals remain quest items regardless what I do. I've completed Filament and Filigree, as well. Also, I've tried every basic fix I know to get them out of inventory. Unsuccessful. (Potential complicating factor added below, however this guest officially completed and all journal entries indicate they have been fulfilled.) FairEmma (talk) 20:01, 17 October 2015 (UTC)

(PS4) [Allow Ralis to Live, Don't do Filament and Filigree] This has annoyed me in three separate iterations of the game so I was resolved to find the answer. This is my first contribution so if I get confirmation I will update Quest Page. If you let Ralis live, you just need to talk to him at the 'Netch'. Reloaded three time and each worked. I talked to him then dropped or stored all volumes in a Chest at the Netch. I did 'NOT' do Black Book in between but tried both with and without clearing crypt including Mask [Correction : It all depends on Mask. Specifically went and did not get mask and even visiting Retch did not free books. I let Ralis live and the Camp was still in tact as well so it seems that it is essential to have Ahzidal's Mask to clear the Quest AND store the Journals VertigOZ (talk) 13:46, 2 October 2019 (UTC)] . I had all volumes in inventory so don't fuss about leaving them until Quest complete. Now to see if I can store if I use the kill option. Silence means I haven't found a way. VertigOZ (talk) 12:11, 2 October 2019 (UTC)

(PS4) [Kill Ralis, Optional : Do Filament and Filigree] Now have trouble trying to NOT remove Quest status. I had all volumes in inventory so don't fuss about leaving them until Quest complete. Said I would not Kill him and did. Said he needed to be punished and he attacked. In both cases tried storing in a Chest inside the barrow and in Ralis' tent and could not. Quick travel to Raven Rock and I can store in an URN or enter Netch (not needed). So then I did Black Book as I exited which I thought may be the problem. I could store all volumes in a dead Seeker. So seems the key is exiting the world-space for the barrow. Still not happy until I can fail again and know why. VertigOZ (talk) 13:01, 2 October 2019 (UTC)

(Switch) I suffered this bug yesterday and I found two solutions, first: you can remove the journals from the inventory by placing them into the Dragon Priest ashes, that was fine but I still want to keep them so I found another solution, I just read again (or first time) the notes (and the journals to be sure) that Ralis send to us, after that I was able to storage them on my library without any problem. — Unsigned comment by 181.65.18.192 (talk) at 16:44 on 20 May 2022 (UTC)

Unearthed

I have got ahzidals ring of arcana but the gate has closed and i'm stuck in the little circular room, i have tried everything to get out. I am 10 days ahead of my last save as its been autosaving since and i have got most if not all of the black books and defeated the other dragonborn maarrik or whatever his name is. Can anyone help. Taffyvc (talk) 08:04, 2 March 2013 (GMT)

IDK how you got stuck in the room but that gate isn't supposed to close once opened and there is no way to reopen if if you're not on PC. Sorry but if you're a console user you'll just have to reload from before getting trapped. Lord Eydvar ^{Talk|Contribs} 08:17, 2 March 2013 (GMT)

If you are on console, you can try to use the Whirlwind Sprint glitch to get out. If you hold an item against a door, then use Whirlwind sprint while aiming at the item as it falls, you can pass straight through both the item and the door. The Steel Battleaxe I found at the bottom of the pool ended up being perfect for this. As soon as I dropped it, it got stuck propped in front of the door, allowing me to simply aim and use the sprint, without worrying about the tricky timing. It worked immediately, after many failed attempts using an Albino Spider Pod (It's best to use something you don't want, as it most likely won't come through the door with you). --Tak Kreet (talk) 04:37, 8 December 2013 (GMT)

Word Wall

The article says: You may hear the chanting of the nearby Word Wall after the second phase has occurred, but you won't be able to access it until the fourth phase.

However, I was able to learn the word in the third phase. I just approached the Word Wall as much as possible and I absorbed it through the "floor". I didn't even have to insist by continuously walking into the cave wall, it all happened pretty fast.

I'm on PC, but this shouldn't matter, I guess. – Andreyyshore (talk) 20:50, 13 March 2013 (GMT)

coin purse,burial urn and steel battle axe.

At the bottom of the water surrounding the ring is a coin purse, burial urn and steel battle axe. Getting out would be easiest with walk on water, but you can manage just by walking/swimming away from plinth where ring was. Biffa (talk) 02:03, 20 March 2013 (GMT)

Reference to Bloodmoon?

After the first phase of digging, the map to Kolbjorn Barrow looks pretty similar to how it looked in Bloodmoon. Moreover, the quest that involved this location required you to go there and pick up a skull, which you are again required to do in order to gain access deeper into the barrow. (Though you can just drop it this time.) It's worth noting that this skull has a unique ID, rather than just being a generic skull. It is never identified, but it signs point to it likely being Oddfrid's skull again. Noteworthy? Or just a series of coincidences? — TheRealLurlock (talk) 04:46, 21 March 2013 (GMT)

Gate blocking Ahzidal's armor pedastal

Possible bug - I am at stage 4 of the quest, and I accidentally skipped retrieving the armor. I carried on until I read the black book, then obtained the helm. At that point I backtracked to the room with the two pillars guarding the stairs and the armor pedestal. I set the two pedestals to Whales - but I keep getting shot. I've tried many different combinations, and the gate will not open. Any ideas?

A quick google search doesn't show many people having this glitch, just a few comments on YouTube with no solutions. Stoph (talk) 18:12, 25 March 2013 (GMT)

Have you tried using Telekinesis to pull the armor towards you through the bars? That would at least get you the armor even if it doesn't solve the glitch. — TheRealLurlock (talk) 18:50, 4 April 2013 (GMT)

Invisible wall

This stupid effing glitch is annoying the fook out of me. I figure out the door puzzle and some stupid glitch invisible wall is blocking me from completing the second stage! Fix the effing glitch you idiots! — Unsigned comment by 118.210.217.220 (talk) at 03:55 on 10 February 2014‎

I'm not sure who are asking to fix this glitch, as Bethesda has said they will not be putting out any more patches for Skyrim. I think I ran into an invisible wall once, but it's been a long time. If you are on PC, you could try using the console command tcl to pass through it. If you are on a gaming console, or tcl doesn't work, I would try backtracking to the previous zone, then reentering the zone with the puzzle and see if the wall is gone, or try saving your game and reloading it to see if the wall disappears. If these don't work, you'll probably have to load a previous save and try it all over again. --Xyzzy ^Talk 07:28, 10 February 2014 (GMT)

Can't locate ralis

Near the end of the quest I can't find ralis, he`s close but we're separated by a wall. I can't find the way. Any clues?

Ralis not becoming a follower

I've finished Unearthed and spared Ralis' life, but when I talk to him at the Retching Netch, all I get from him is "Yes, sera? Is there something you need?".WooShell (talk) 19:12, 30 November 2014 (GMT)

Letter Delivery Game Mechanics

As a humble writer and player of the Elder Scrolls games, I think this article would benefit from a small description in the Notes section of the actual game mechanics of how the letters are sent to you (i.e. how the game keeps track of time to know when to send another letter to you). I'm having difficulties with this quest, and I think information like this would help fix any outstanding bugs not mentioned under the Bugs heading. Just a suggestion; take it how you will.

No Ash Pile, No Mask, but Lots of Tents and 5 Journals

(XBox 360) I got to the part where you kill Ahzidal. Two arrows, and he was undeader. But he left me no ash pile to loot, so I received no mask. However, the task completion announcement appeared. Ralis was upset and I had to make my decision. When I'd chosen, the task completion announcement appeared as did the quest completion notice. Then I couldn't remove Ralis's journals from inventory. When I revisited the site, all the tents were still there (softy me let Ralis live, so the tents should be gone). I thought, I missed something. I went back and reloaded the final section. Killed Ahzidal. Same result (tents and journals, too). Then, where Ahzidal had emerged, I saw shadowy, clipped looking edge lines, greyed. Polygonal lines, not smooth. I walked all the way around, and I could see them at every angle. Maybe that was Ahzidal, who didn't fully make it to beyond, I thought. So I tried to kill the shadowy parts. Nope. He might have fallen so deep into the floor that not even my cursor can find him (like the guy who's supposed to be above ground by the boat with the Amulet of Mara)? I actually don't care about the mask, but I wasn't expecting this. FairEmma (talk) 20:45, 17 October 2015 (UTC)

Premature Progression Bug

During my second visit to Kolbjorn barrow, I’ve been able to acquire Ahzidal’s Gauntlets of Warding, the Ring of Necromancy, AND the Ring of Arcana. The barriers simply didn’t show up, & I was able to keep going past where I should’ve been stopped by rubble. I think this is a glitch, I’ll keep playing through the questline to see if it resolves itself.
Kalarus (talk) 03:03, 31 December 2016 (UTC)

I have encountered this too. What results did you have by prematurely progressing? Michael02895 (talk) 17:05, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

Seems like it only goes as far as the beginning of phase 4 but you can clip through the floor to the word wall. This is a very strange bug. Michael02895 (talk) 20:14, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

Ahzidal burnt by 3 ignite effects that I don't even cast...

Very strange bug, might be related to some other mod, but for now I have no idea which one. I couldn't find Azhidal in the last phase, and I finally found an ash pile, and he was laying just beside it. So I took his reference in the console, loaded a previous save, and checked what happened. Well he looses continually health because of 3 ignite effects when I am still far from him ! I can dispell the spells using "dispelallmagic", but the ignite effects come back after a while ! Since I wore the Ahzidal ring which gives this spell I tried to remove it, but it doesn't change anything, the ignite effects still come back without the ring !

Well I guess I'll just give up this fight, after all I can still get the mask in the end. This quest is probably the most buggy quest of the entire game, I had also many troubles during the 2nd phase, a simple dreughr explosion here, and the quest jumped to confront Ralis immediately ! I had to save and reload a few times to be able to finish it normally... ! — Unsigned comment by 93.6.177.95 (talk) at 17:21 on 7 February 2021

Potential Bug: Journals

Has anyone noticed that the camp does not disappear if you take the journals before you go in each time? I cant figure out if it's a bug or a logical part of the story line, as Ralis would have nothing to cover up with the journals missing... (this is on the Nintendo Switch)(Arcanearcher) — Unsigned comment by Arcanearcher (talk • contribs) at 20:58 on 26 September 2021

Contradictory information on the page: When does the "stuck in inventory" happen?

NOTE (4th) "Throughout the quest, a series of journals can be found, giving insight into Ralis' state of mind. Take care when reading them as the disappearance of the camp after defeating Ahzidal and dealing with Ralis will not occur if you take his journals from the camp prior to the final encounter. They may also be stuck in your inventory permanently if you do so." [If you take them "from the camp prior to the final encounter", then they will be stuck in your inventory.]

BUG (4th) "Ralis' journals can be found on a table outside of the barrow excavation. Taking them after completion of the quest will permanently mark them as quest items, and it will be impossible to ever remove them from your inventory."

PC Only This bug is fixed by version 2.0.3 of the Unofficial Dragonborn Patch. PC They may be removed via the console by typing Player.removeitem xx018108 1 and repeating for the IDs xx01810F, xx018110, xx018111, and xx0181CB. The xx on each ID will vary; see this page for details.

[If you take them "after completion of the quest", then they will be stuck in your inventory.]

If the final encounter completes the quest, pray tell, when are you suppose to take them?

...... Instance .......

I read and took each one with me prior to the final battle. They were stuck in my inventory. I killed Ralis (the SOB had been calling upon Ahzidal) using a poisoned arrow in triple damage sneak mode before walking up to his dead body. The quest stages 480 and 485 are both marked as one (completed.) The "I let him go" stage 490 is a zero (not done.)

Using the fix above removed the items from the character inventory. Setting a chest as PRID and using additem for each book's ID, put them into the chest. They are no longer quest items!

Kalevala (talk) 03:08, 7 February 2022 (UTC)