- Quest 5 (Dawnguard Side) - Searching for a Moth Priest
Prerequisites: Completion of the quest "A New Order" Quest Giver: Isran Region:Fort Dawnguard, Dragon Bridge, Forebears' Holdout Reward: (Random loot in Forebears' Holdout,) contents of the Elder Scroll (Sun)
Summary: After Serana's interrogation, you are tasked with finding a Moth Priest. By asking around, you follow his trail and must rescue him. Inside Fort Dawnguard, he reads the Elder Scroll.
Quest Description
Follow Isran
You have just been ordered by Isran to interrogate the female vampire who appeared at the fort together. Serana is waiting in the torture chamber and supposedly has important information to share.
Speak to Serana
Serana took a risk coming here, but somehow she trusts the player. She admits she would rather be elsewhere, but wants to entrust the player with significant information about herself, her Elder Scroll, and a prophecy. This obscure prophecy states that vampires would no longer have to fear the sun, and her father delved deep and lost himself in it, eventually becoming obsessed. He wants to rule the sun so that vampires can rule the world. Serana and her mother did not want to provoke a war against all of Tamriel and decided to hide the Elder Scroll along with Serana. Having been freed after all this time, she needs help to stop her father. Furthermore, she wants to convince the Dawnguard that she is on their side.
Speak to Isran Isran would still prefer to kill this "blood-sucking beast" on the spot. However, since the player trusts Serana, he allows her to stay here for the time being - not as a guest, but as a means to an end.
Serana suspects that her scroll can help destroy her father. Yet, only Moth Priests can read Elder Scrolls, and they live far away in Cyrodiil. Furthermore, they must prepare themselves for a long time before reading. Isran interjects that he saw an Imperial scholar passing by a few days ago. It is therefore possible that a Moth Priest is currently traveling in Skyrim. Isran gives the player free rein to search for the priest and suggests inquiring with innkeepers or carriage drivers.
Find a Moth Priest
Serana adds that the College of Winterhold would also be a good place to ask. She offers to accompany the player, but only if she is the sole companion.
It is not strictly necessary to take Serana specifically. Any other follower can help just as well with this task.
Information about the Moth Priest is not difficult to obtain. At the College, Urag gro-Shub mentions that the priest was conducting research in the library before departing for Dragon Bridge. Carriage drivers must first be bribed or persuaded before revealing that an old man in a gray robe wanted to go to Dragon Bridge. Not every innkeeper has information regarding this, and if they do, they will only disclose a portion of it without pressure. No matter where the information is obtained from, everything points to Dragon Bridge.
Ask anyone in Dragon Bridge if they have seen a Moth Priest
Once you arrive there, the city guard is the most reliable source of information. The Moth Priest is said to have driven through the town with a soldier escort. They headed south across the dragon bridge.
Look for clues along the road south of Dragon Bridge Investigate the ambush site Read the vampire's note Rescue the Moth Priest
You do not have to walk far after crossing the bridge to discover the remains of an ambush.
After the attack on the carriage and the escort of the Moth Priest.
An overturned carriage, a soldier's corpse, and even the horse is dead. However, a dead vampire lies there as well. If you do not realize it on your own, the game will prompt you to search the vampire. You will find Malkus's Note, which orders the abduction of the Moth Priest to Forebears' Holdout. His will is to be broken there. You can follow the blood trails to locate Forebears' Holdout. If that proves too difficult, the quest marker is, of course, still available.
Forebears' Holdout is a semi-ruined structure built inside a cavern. It has been occupied by vampires and is additionally guarded by vampire thralls and death hounds. The priest is held inside a magical barrier and is already under the hypnotic influence of the vampire Malkus.
Shut down the magical barrier
As the quest marker suggests, this current objective can only be achieved by interacting with Malkus. However, since he attacks immediately, your only option is to kill him. You will find a strange object on his corpse called the Weystone Focus. This must be inserted into its socket - the Weystone Source - up on a balcony, which dissolves the magical barrier. The now-freed priest is still confused, however, wishing to avenge his master, and attacks.
Defeat the enthralled Moth Priest Speak to the Moth Priest
You can fight him yourself or summon something to aid you. Your follower can also handle him, and in Serana's case, even a vampire reanimated from the dead. Once defeated, the Moth Priest regains his senses, introduces himself as Dexion Evicus, and expresses his gratitude for breaking the vampire's spell. He is surprised by the vampire attack, and you can inform him that you need him for the exact same reason they did - to read an Elder Scroll. He finds this remarkable and leaves the cavern toward Fort Dawnguard.
Report your success to Isran Speak to the Moth Priest
Isran is impressed that a Moth Priest was found so quickly. You are also greeted by Dexion as his savior, and he states he is ready to read the Elder Scroll. He asks everyone for quiet and immerses himself in the scroll.
Dexion Evicus reveals the secrets from Serana's Elder Scroll (Sun).
He reports of Auriel's Bow, of a hero from the ranks of the children of the night, and of darkness and light when the dragons return. Then, he realizes that the secret of the bow's power is written elsewhere. The missing parts of the prophecy are recorded in two other scrolls. These must be acquired to know the complete prophecy. Afterward, his vision fades, and he must rest due to exhaustion.
This completes the quest. At the same time, three subsequent quests begin:
"Seeking Disclosure" is an overarching quest that encompasses two questlines starting with the following quests:
"Chasing Echoes" begins the search for the Elder Scroll (Blood).
In "Scroll Scouting", you must find the Elder Scroll (Dragon). This is the same scroll required for the main quest of "TES V: Skyrim". If you already possess this scroll, this quest is skipped.
Once both scrolls have been acquired, the overarching quest also ends.
Known Bugs
If you speak to the priest inside Forebears' Holdout before the magical barrier has been deactivated, he will remain permanently hostile afterward. This is an annoying issue. To test his behavior, you can wait until he leaves the cavern and then exit yourself. If he attacks in front of the entrance, you should reload a previous save and strictly follow this sequence: shut down the barrier, beat the priest into submission during combat, and only then speak to him.
It can happen that the priest is located outside the barrier when you enter Forebears' Holdout. In this case, you should not deactivate the magical barrier. Simply fight the vampires and send the priest to Fort Dawnguard.
When the priest reads the scroll, Serana is also present, and it can happen that she is still carrying the (same) Elder Scroll on her back.
Tips & Notes
Serana is aware of the existence and significance of the College of Winterhold. This is remarkable, as it implies that the College has existed since the beginnings of the First Era. Arch-Mage Aren can only trace the College's history back to the end of the Second Era, though he also mentions that many historical documents were lost. However, several clues suggest that the current structure cannot be the original one. Serana's knowledge of the College appears even stranger when considering that Vanus Galerion did not found the Mages Guild until 2E 230. Who occupied the College before then? The only known faction engaged with magic even earlier was the Psijic Order. Perhaps the College is more familiar to the Psijics than we have been led to believe... or it was a faction of mages that has not yet been mentioned.
As with many quests, disabling the quest marker would increase the tension here. The marker partially spoils the experience and is completely unnecessary for finding Forebears' Holdout or deactivating the magical barrier inside. Turning off the quest marker in the game options is not recommended, however, because some quests in TES V require it by design (such as "Kyne's Sacred Trials").
A chest is hidden behind the tallest tower in Forebears' Holdout. You must jump fearlessly and with precise aim to reach it.
If you sold the Elder Scroll (Dragon) to Urag gro-Shub in the past, you must buy it back from him. Naturally, he will demand double the price now, unless you are the Arch-Mage.
, Dragon Bridge, Forebears' Holdout
is waiting in the torture chamber and supposedly has important information to share.
would still prefer to kill this "blood-sucking beast" on the spot. However, since the player trusts Serana, he allows her to stay here for the time being - not as a guest, but as a means to an end.
, which orders the abduction of the Moth Priest to Forebears' Holdout. His will is to be broken there. You can follow the blood trails
to locate Forebears' Holdout. If that proves too difficult, the quest marker is, of course, still available.
built inside a cavern. It has been occupied by vampires and is additionally guarded by vampire thralls and death hounds
. The priest is held inside a magical barrier
and is already under the hypnotic influence of the vampire Malkus
.
. This must be inserted into its socket - the Weystone Source - up on a balcony, which dissolves the magical barrier. The now-freed priest is still confused, however, wishing to avenge his master, and attacks.
something to aid you. Your follower can also handle him, and in Serana's
case, even a vampire
reanimated from the dead. Once defeated, the Moth Priest
regains his senses, introduces himself as Dexion Evicus, and expresses his gratitude for breaking the vampire's spell. He is surprised by the vampire attack, and you can inform him that you need him for the exact same reason they did - to read an Elder Scroll. He finds this remarkable and leaves the cavern
toward Fort Dawnguard.
.
, Dragon Bridge, Forebears' Holdout
is waiting in the torture chamber and supposedly has important information to share.
would still prefer to kill this "blood-sucking beast" on the spot. However, since the player trusts Serana, he allows her to stay here for the time being - not as a guest, but as a means to an end.
, which orders the abduction of the Moth Priest to Forebears' Holdout. His will is to be broken there. You can follow the blood trails
to locate Forebears' Holdout. If that proves too difficult, the quest marker is, of course, still available.
built inside a cavern. It has been occupied by vampires and is additionally guarded by vampire thralls and death hounds
. The priest is held inside a magical barrier
and is already under the hypnotic influence of the vampire Malkus
.
something to aid you. Your follower can also handle him, and in Serana's
case, even a vampire
reanimated from the dead. Once defeated, the Moth Priest
regains his senses, introduces himself as Dexion Evicus, and expresses his gratitude for breaking the vampire's spell. He is surprised by the vampire attack, and you can inform him that you need him for the exact same reason they did - to read an Elder Scroll. He finds this remarkable and leaves the cavern
toward Fort Dawnguard.
.
afterward. This is an annoying issue. To test his behavior, you can wait until he leaves the cavern and then exit yourself. If he attacks in front of the entrance, you should reload a previous save and strictly follow this sequence: shut down the barrier, beat the priest into submission during combat, and only then speak to him.
