Siege on the Dragon Cult

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Siege on the Dragon Cult is a quest that you receive from Captain Valmir when you discover Forelhost. He will ask you to retrieve a mask for him out of the caves and give you an optional objective to retrieve Skorm Snow-Strider's Journal. This quest results in finding the Rahgot Dragon Priest Mask and a word for the Storm Call shout. This quest is very rewarding, as it not only rewards you with some powerful equipment, it also reveals a very interesting part of Skyrim's history.

Overview of Forelhost

Forelhost is a tomb found southeast of Riften. The easiest way to travel there is to head east from the north entrance to Riften, and roundabout Black-Briar Lodge to turn due south. Follow the stone path up the mountain, and near the top you will find Forelhost.

In the courtyard of the ruins you will meet Captain Valmir, who will unlock the door to Forelhost and send you on the quest.

Navigating the Dungeon

Forelhost is a typical tomb: mostly you'll be fighting Draugr of one form or another. Several of these Draugr (Draugr Scourge) can use the Unrelenting Force shout, which can be quite annoying. Some of the more powerful of the scourge variety will also conjure Frost Atronachs. They'll also disarm you if you let them get behind you. The hardest Draugr you will encounter are the Draugr Deathlords. They're quite a formidable foe, so be sure to have your potions at the ready.

Besides the Draugr, you'll face a few Frostvenom Spiders and Skeevers. Depending on your level, you will also face a few Dragon Cultists, ethereal mage-type enemies that pack quite a punch.

Be on the lookout for traps, as there are several and most of them are quite deadly. If you have a follower with you, you'll have to be constantly watching out for them—whether they're setting off the traps on you or on themselves. Especially watch out for your followers in the swinging axe corridors, because sometimes they'll get smashed beyond the wall. Supposedly, followers aren't supposed to die unless you kill them, but traps seems to do an equally good job of it if their health is low.

Several pedestals have items on them that hide a pressure plate. One such pedestal is the one with the Glass Claw on it. At least stand out of the way if you are going to take something off a pedestal. This is probably a good idea for opening chests too, since many of them are booby-trapped.

There will also be some soul gem traps, which will fry you in an instant if they have line of sight. They seem to get more powerful the closer you are to them also. Either sprint or use Whirlwind Sprint to get close and snatch the soul gem. This will disable the trap.

Once you get the key for the well, you'll be going underwater. You want at least one waterbreathing potion for the one in the well, as the exit is not the easiest to find. That is, of course, unless you're Argonian.


You'll find plenty of resources in the tomb, and lucky for you, there are smithing, alchemy, and enchanting stations in various places in the dungeon. I highly recommend you take the time to disenchant any magical items you find that you won't be using and create health and fire/magic resist potions (you won't need any poisons, since there are ton in the dungeon anyway; plus, the Draugr are resistant to poisons). You'll need the space as at the end of the tomb you'll be given several powerful and valuable items you'll want to save/make room for.

The Nordic Puzzle Door

You'll find the Glass Claw in the room with the soul gem trap and all the bookshelves. You will find the Nordic Puzzle Door down a long corridor off of this room. As with all Puzzle Door Claws, you can find the code for the door by looking at the claw in your inventory. But, in case you're just too lazy, the code is Fox, Owl, and Snake, top to bottom.

Fighting Rahgot

When you open the Nordic puzzle door, you will enter a very large room with steps leading up to a Nord Coffin. Inside the coffin is Rahgot, one of the Dragon Priests.

Before You enter the room

Rahgot has a very powerful Firewall Staff that will drain your health in a flash if you don't have your fire resistance up, so stock up on fire resist potions or don your enchanted armor if you have some. Even with your fire resistance up, you will need several heath potions to make it through this encounter alive. IF, and only if you have a different dragon priest staff on you, like hevnoraak, that will do about as much damage to him as he does to you.

It would also be a good idea to have a fortify armor potion available if you are a melee fighter, because Rahgot will spawn several Draugr at the beginning of the fight.


Once you have an ample supply of potions and you think you're ready, enter cautiously. Crouch and sneak up the steps, going very slowly over the top three. You want to trigger the lid of Rahgot's coffin without actually waking him up. If you successfully do this, retreat back down to the entrance and take out all the Draugr that have woken up. Draw them back into the corridor so that your fighting doesn't wake up Rahgot. Once the Dragur are dead, you can safely take on the big guy.

If you are an archer or distance fighter, you will want to draw Rahgot into the corridor, where you can fire on him from a distance. If he gets too close Whirlwind Sprint to get past him and draw him the other way. You want to keep him chasing you but never close enough to fire on you. This is probably the safest way to fight Rahgot, as his firewall staff has a limited range. It will take forever however, if you don't have a strong archery skill.

If you are a melee fighter, load yourself up on fire resist potions and coat your weapon with magicka draining poisons, then sprint in for the kill. Keep a close eye on your health, as the firewall spell will kill you before you know it. Keep your stamina up and take as many power swings as you can. He should go down before long.


Mopping up

You'll get some very impressive gear off of Rahgot, not the least of which is the Rahgot Mask, which counts as heavy armor and adds 70 stamina. It can be upgraded if you have the Arcane Blacksmith perk (orichalcum ingot required). You will also be rewarded with his Dragon Priest Staff, which does a whopping 50 points of fire damage.

There will be a chest across from Rahgot's crypt that has some valuable gear in it, and a table before the door with some stuff too. Once you've cleaned up, head to the door, which opens with the key you get off of Rahgot. Rather than jumping off the cliff, head to the right, where you will find the Word Wall that teaches you the Storm Call shout.

After you get the shout, jump off the cliff into the courtyard, where you will find Captain Valmir talking to a soldier (Stormcloak or Imperial depending on game events). He will not expect to see you, realize he's been caught and begin to attack you. After he has fallen, the soldier will attack you as well. These guys are nowhere near as tough as Rahgot was. Loot them, and you'll find that Captain Valmir was an imposter, and he seems to have been really working for the Dragon Cult or something. His instructions will direct you to Labyrinthian with the Dragon Priest Mask.

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Other Quests | Forelhost

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