#ustengrav

[skyrim-dungeon-ratings]

Ustengrav

RATING: 7/10

Sometimes I like to jokingly call a dungeon my ‘wife’. With Ustengrav, it feels very much like she is.

Every time I go to Ustengrav I am delighted and surprised by something I did not notice before. From the little chain I found in a room I’d never touched before that opened up a secret chest room to the fact if you get stuck between the doors when doing the Whirlwind Sprint puzzle there’s chains that open them, or the fact this was my first time taking it slow and doing her legitimately (and discovering her anew as I do) there’s always something to enjoy about Ustengrav.

It’s really one of the dungeons that makes you wonder what this tomb would have been like back then. And yet, come the end of the day, she occupies the same niche as BFB and the Thalmor Embassy; done over and over again. She might not teach as much as BFB, but the shout-puzzles are a good way to coax the player into using them with more frequency.

Also shoutout to the fire jet floor. Really makes you grateful that Light Feet is a perk.

[my-screenshot-dump]

[scribeofskyrim]

Turdas, 7th of Frostfall, 4E 201

Tonight we're in Dragon Bridge, at the Four Shields.

Ustengrav was disappointing, but not a complete waste of time. We set out bright and early, all ready to fight out way through a horde of draugr. Inside, there's a stairwell that goes down a little ways, and then it opens into a large chamber with some pillars. We saw a pair of Necromancers controlling maybe a half dozen dead bandits. The bandits had pickaxes, and were digging at spots along the wall.

Of course, they attacked once they saw us, but it wasn't a hard fight. Taking out the magicians first made it easier. They had a decent amount of loot on them and some supplies, so we were able to load ourselves up with sellable goods before taking a look around.

Turns out there'd been a cave-in at some point, and any tunnels leading further into the tomb were blocked. Those necromancers had the dead bandits digging out the passageway down for them.

Damn.

Well, like I said, it wasn't a complete bust, so we went back to the house to think.

I can't sit still and think to save my life, apparently, so Lydia helped me build some weapon racks for the front of the house. We chatted about what could be done, and she said that I actually had quite a list of things we could do. I couldn't recall many, but she said that it was at least four times that.

I didn't believe her, but then Erandur started listing things off from where he'd been doing some alchemy in the main room. Valdimar joined in - He'd been going over the stitching on his armor at the table - and then Lydia kept going!

I admitted that all right, they had a point, I had a lot I could do. All I had to do was pick one.

Since they apparently remember things better than I do, I asked what they thought might have the best reward while I started loading up my pack with goods for Sayma's.

They said that since we were going to Solitude, we might as well start there. The biggest prize was probably going to come from the Palace itself, and Falk Firebeard did say there were some bandits that needed taken care of in a cave somewhere near Dragon Bridge.

So, once we crossed over to Solitude and finished with our trading, we set off to find the bandits.

I didn't know exactly where they were, just a vague direction, so we spent some time wandering around the mountain where we thought they were. A dragon circled us, but was thankfully focused elsewhere.

We found something that looked like it used to be a shrine, and, at the end of the road, the Thalmor Embassy.

As soon as we realized what it was, we turned around and went back down the mountain. I know Lydia and I didn't leave any survivors at Northwatch Keep, but I don't want to take any chances. There's another road leading to the top, so we'll try that tomorrow.

It started to rain, so even though it's early, we decided to come here and pack it in. No sense getting soaked through, then going up a snowy mountaintop to freeze to death while we try to find a cave.

At least we made out all right with what we got from Ustengrav and the extra books.

I do want to talk with Valdimar, but if it's something upsetting I don't want to do it here with a bunch of people around. Besides, he's clearly having a good time. He and Lydia are regaling Erandur and the other patrons with tales of what we saw in the Dwemer ruins.

I should start paying attention, though, because I know I didn't fight off THAT many Dwarven metal spiders.

[helgiafterdark]

[lakeviewcellar]

Horn restored

[moodcrab]

Fixing Delphine

This bitch.

I actually like that they made a character that is on your side but is somewhat unlikable, Delphine is Team Dragonborn, but she's not really one of the good guys. And that's cool, conflict means drama. So what's the problem? Well unfortunately, this drama is surface level and isn't used to drive the story, so It's kind of just annoying.

People oversimplify their hatred of Delphine into "She wants you to kill Paarthurnax," because unlike Delphine, people actually like Paarthurnax. Understandable, but barely scratches the surface. We'll get to The Paarthurnax Dilemma in time, but that quest is a symptom, not the illness itself.

If I could sum up Delphine in a word it would be "inconsistent." For example, she's a fugitive waging a one woman war on the Thalmor from the shadows, who's only survived this long from sheer paranoia - but she also uses her real name and leaves a note in Ustengrav for whoever happens to pick it up with directions and a pass word to her secret hide out.

She needs to go through her super secret contact Farengar to use the Jarl's resources to go into Bleak Falls Barrow, a tutorial level dungeon she can see from her house, and she's impressed that you did it - but she also goes personally to the other side of the country to delve alone into the massive Ustengrav to steal the Horn of Jurgan Windcaller, no issues, just a quick in and out twenty minute adventure.

She takes the fact that you found her Ustengrav note as proof you're the Greybeard's new guy and not some Thalmor plant even though she herself, a non Dragonborn, had also completed Ustengrav and taken the horn proving it's totally possible. She even points this out in her own dialogue then demands we prove who we are, even though that was the whole point of the Ustengrav note. It's also a pretty big assumption that just because I'm the guy the Greybeards call Dragonborn that I can't ALSO be with the Thalmor.

We are left with this awkward sense that the writers are flailing to make us think this woman is competent and objective, without actually having her do anything that clever. Just act like the dumb thing was smart and have her act like a cocky brat if questioned about it.

Inconsistency. It's her thing. Does she hate the Thalmor? That would make sense given what we know about her. But that gets dropped half way through the main story and suddenly she hates The Greybeards, for absolutely no reason at all. She gives a reason, but it's bullshit.

In her own words, "If the greybeards had their way, the dragonborn would sit on a mountain talking to the sky." But that's not true is it. We know The Greybeards, they encouraged us to fulfill our destiny. Even if you say you want to follow their Way of the Voice, they'll be glad to hear it but warn you not to let it get in the way of what needs to be done. Delphine even uses Tiber Septim as an example, which is even stupider because The Greybeards actively encouraged Tiber to conquer Tamriel. Have I read more in game books than the dialogue writers??

But that's not the end of it, when it becomes convenient for the plot this hatred is flipped once again from The Greybeards onto dragons. Not Alduin. All dragons. Despite the fact that, as a Blade, she should know about Nafaalilargus, a dragon ally of the Empire and the Blades for thousands of years, and the Blades don't just indiscriminately kill all dragons no matter the circumstances, and that Tiber Septim himself almost certainly met Paarthurnax at some point, she suddenly seems to be acting like she has a personal grudge against dragons. Which brings us to the Paarthurnax Dilemma...

See here's the thing, you could easily write off the frustration everyone feels towards this quest as Bethesda's crappy design, where there is no conclusion other than to kill Paarthurnax, or else leave an unfinished quest languishing in the menu. Bethesda apparently didn't consider the idea that anybody would actually prefer to turn on the Blades, even though the Blades have become a bit of a running joke among the fans, or that anyone would take umbrage with Delphine giving out orders and ultimatums.

But no, it's so much worse than that. Delphine being a surly unlikable c u n t from the day we met her is one thing, but the fact that she has been wrong about almost everything she's ever said in game, and still having the AUDACITY to treat us like her work bitch and us never, not once, getting the opportunity to put her in her place... That's not poor quest design, that's the game gaslighting us.

Let's do a quick list of every one of Delphine's theories, and how many were actually correct shall we:

You are not the Dragonborn ❌

The Greybeards shouldn't be trusted to identify a Dragonborn ❌

The dragons aren't just coming back, they're coming back to life ✅

The Thalmor have something to do with the dragons returning ❌

Esbern is dead ❌

The Greybeards just want the Dragonborn to sit on a mountain and meditate ❌

The Greybeards wanted Tiber Septim to just sit on a mountain and meditate ❌

Paarthurnax, having lived in exile for thousands of years, deserves corporal punishment ❌

As ACTING Grand Master of the Blades, she gets to boss around the Dragonborn ❌

She deserves a seat at the peace negotiations ❌

And these are just the things that are factually wrong, leaving aside opinions on her morality and shitty attitude. This is the woman the game presents to us as a shrewd strategist.

BUT I CAN FIX HER!

Like I said I like the idea of a character who is on your side but is somewhat unlikable. It actually won't take much to make Delphine endearing to the fans. We have to do a Boromir on her. A Lot of people dislike Boromir throughout the Fellowship of the Ring but weep at his death. We have to tweak three things to have the same thing happen to Delphine:

1. Make her actually competent and useful so that while we don't agree with her we can see why she does the things she does, and desire to keep her around.

2. Have her mistakes called out and have consequences.

3. Have her redeem her mistakes with a badass honourable death.

[halliserres]

USTENGRAV DEPTHS

[vernfernn]

i don’t think i’ve ever told anyone this but like, during one of my first Skyrim play throughs, i was working up to build Lakeview manner. Lydia was my companion for the majority of the beginning, and she followed me around literally everywhere. holding all the materials i was hoarding, fighting my battles for me (i was new and inexperienced), and generally doing all the heavy work and getting literally no reward.

and when i say holding all my materials, i mean all my materials. all my good gems. my stone. clay. other miscellaneous ingots and bs i was never gonna look at nor use. countless dragon bones, scales, cast iron pots, ingredients and potions i “may need someday”.

she followed me everywhere, fought dragons, went missing when i ran from the dragons, disappeared when i started getting the hang of the game, and i never really bat an eye until i was at the half finished house and several dragons spawned in to attack me (i always fast traveled and that kind of triggered a dragon to always spawn whenever i got to the house) and was constantly screaming for her because i was low level and had no idea what i was doing.

“LYDIA WHERE DID YOUR SWORN TO CARRY MY BURDENS ASS GO IM GETTING FLAMED ALIVE IN FRONT OF A DEAD MUDCRAB!”

anyways

she also was there for when i became thane of falkreath and followed me when i painstakingly tried to figure out who i was supposed to do quests for to become thane.

i remember going into some sort of cave to find a journal for the priest of arkay only for it to be infested with the draugr (my sworn enemies at the time because they freaked me out) and she ended up getting locked out of the boss fight.

she got stuck behind a door while i sniped those idiots from a distance and somehow did not get spotted.

anyways, after building up all the wings for Lakeview (with spotty interior decor) we went to a mine so i could get a bunch of iron because i needed nails and hinges for my basement.

we finally get home and of course—a dragon decides to attack. again.

and i’m fighting for my life here, trying not to die and reload my quick save from literal hours ago.

and lydia thinks this is the perfect time to ask to be my steward.

with fire literally raining down from the heavens, burning my character alive, i hastily say yes without even realizing what she was asking for, and go into the offensive to put down this habanero lizard and steal its soul. classic hot girl shit.

she, me, and rayya (the housecarl you get when becoming thane of falkreath) fight this damn thing and kill it within literal minutes (i felt so proud of myself for not struggling during this fight.)

me later realizing i don’t have a follower behind me anymore when i fast travel to falkreath to buy more building materials for my house. the entire time i was wondering if Lydia glitched again (she got stuck behind a wall in ustengrav before and during that fetch quest for that one priest so i decided i would backtrack once i finished buying building materials to furnish my house.)

i teleport back to my house and almost immediately see lydia walk around like she owned the place. it was then i realized she wasn’t my follower anymore, and i assumed that my game had indeed glitched so i go up to her to see what the problem is or to recruit her again.

que lydias talk screen having the options to decorate my house when i talk to her, and i realize what happened. i immediately have second thoughts when i hear how happy she is about being my Steward and i feel guilty for wanting her as a follower again. so i just leave her there along with like 15k gold to furnish my house.

i also have a housecarl as mentioned before: rayya. and as i’m playing (and marrying some lass from riverwood for the money and literally nothing else because i was DESPERATE to have the house fully furnished.)

i eventually realized it was a bit odd that there where three women living in one house under one roof along side two kids and a husky and other small creature. (it was either a rat, bunny, or mud crab i do not remember.)

que me replaying this character a several more times and keeping up the tradition of having Lydia as a steward for Lakeview and Rayya as another household member but never adopt any kids or marry again because i’m now a master at scamming vendors in the game. plus the kids were annoying, and always ungrateful, and always asking for cash or gifts (none of which they were ever grateful for).

as the years progress i grow attached to my character and start creating a small story for him because we have a lot of history and i got attached.

i’m then wondering how i would explain Lydia and Rayya.

it hits me.

lesbians.

they’re married and employed by a really cool landlord who also happens to be the prophesied savior of the world.

they simply live out their years in a big house with the best scenery and local necromancer to keep them company. once tasked to follow and guard a guy who could yell really loud, now living out in the woods with an early retirement.

now in my head they are married and live in the big ass house with a cool husky, some chickens, a cow, carriage, horse, bard, and the occasional giant on its way to absolutely murder the chickens and cow whenever he stops by. classic cottagecore—warrior—lesbian story.

que me going through the house to see if there would be enough beds for everyone.

minus the one in the wing i used to create a primary bedroom, there’s another bed for two people upstairs. in my mind that bed is theirs and they’re married

lydia kept one of my amulets of mara my first play through when i agreed to let her be my steward (she kept a lot of my stuff, and i was unable to get it back because i felt too guilty taking the one thing she seemed to like). ((also i tried pickpocketing her but failed every single time)).

i grow genuinely attached to this idea and can never keep Lydia as a companion when it comes to getting my house furnished and feel a sense of pride when i’m reuniting her with her one true love.

anyways, that’s the story of how i came to love two completely unrelated characters and no one will understand my attachment to them. i love them so much and want them to be happy.

they’re married, idc

[hircines-hunter]

I'll answer the ask you sent me in the morning, but let me ask the same thing back about Sifkni and Roar of a Wolfborn-!!! I remember you've mentioned it has been years so I'd love to know how it began ☺️

Take your time!!!! No rush!!!!

If anyone wants to read the actual fic! Here’s the link!

It’s 46 chapters long. 202k on gdoc and word but 201k on AO3! It is finished! It’s Farkas/OC and there’s some Skjor/OC and mentions of another pairing. :3c

It all started a month after Skyrim came out. And I made Sifkni officially. I was gonna do the Companions and Main Quest like normal. Originally she was to become a werewolf through companions quest. Via Farkas instead of Aela bc she asked him.

But then the Dragonborn DLC came out and there was that werewolf pack. I changed everything. It mostly lived in my head. Her. Her pack. Her and Farkas.

I didn’t start writing about her until 2014 (I may rewrite the thing?) it’s a short 6 chapter fic from when her mother passed to the final attack on her pack before canon events. (I may be willing to share but it’s poorly written and 10 years old.)

And the roar of a wolfborn that has been finished is technically the 3rd draft! I started to write Roaw at the same time as her other fic in 2014 as well.

Because of the pack I made her born a wolf. And the first draft Sifkni and Farkas take it a lot slower than the 3rd draft. Like a lot slower. Lol. Sifkni mourned her husband. More. She had more… moments where she would talk super fondly and then start crying.

Farkas was down bad. Like worse than the latest draft. Trust me. He had it so bad. Vilkas had to be like dude calm tf down my brother.

Sifkni also was Asexual af in the original. I’m not sure what happened btwn then and now. But yeah.

I started the 2nd draft in 2023 going thru editing and tweaking and fixing and writing newer chapters. Before I finally jumped the gun , deleted the old version and started the new one. This time I decided to add the past events into the main fic (I found most people didn’t want to read the prequel). I added more nightmares. More mourning. More crying and changed a Lot! From what happened in the pack to how she reacts and remembers . To how the actual plot goes. I never intended for a lot of what happened to happen. The dragon attack that had her stuck in jorrvaskr for 2 months. Thats where a lot of her bonding with Farkas happens. Btwn ustengrav and the dragon. I never intended for them to ever get married. But… that happened. I never intended for later events to happen.

And saving skjor!?? Man that’s probably the biggest change I still have the old draft with Skjor’s death and the aftermath lol 😂

I never imagined I would ever finish it too I am so very proud of what I wrote! And that’s it’s finished!

But, yeah….. Sifkni has been through a lot from day 1 up til 13 years later….. and I am

But yeah… that is Sifkni. Her origins. And the journey to the ending.

And now I get to work on the Sequel. Which is all new. I’ve never planned or plotted this. It is mostly going to be a lot shorter than roaw. But it’s also the means for Sifkni to peacefully pass onto the Hunting Grounds! >:3c there will be a lot of reopening of old wounds. We get to meet her pack again! And Hircine will be there!

[powdermelonkeg]

Okay, time to buckle down and finish up Cirinel. I've been stumbling over her for over a year now and I am GOING to make this deadline if it kills me.

Need to polish up her lines. And I need a kick to help me do it.

SO! *claps hands*

[arlathen]

bleak falls barrow i can run through in like ten minutes. you know what main quest dungeon i NEVER have the stamina for? fucking ustengrav.

[forta-ver]

On today's adventures in Skyrim: decided I was NOT going to tromp through the entire inner workings of the Ustengrav Depths. Again.

I was going to take a shortcut!

This is so absurd:

Wish I'd taken a clip of this fucker sliding ever-so-slowly down the side of the pillar.

If I'd had any sense, I'd've started from the left side of the pillar, instead of risking the idiot falling to their death shimmying along from the right.

Anyways. Survival mode is going great. Thanks for asking.

[my-screenshot-dump]

[scribeofskyrim]

Middas, 6th of Frostfall, 4E 201

All right, there's definitely something up with Valdimar. Lydia and I are sure of it. But I'll get to that later.

First, the mine was a bust, but at least I got some lumber ordered and we discovered something interesting nearby.

More like re-discovered.

Not too far from the house is a ruin next to a campsite, with two dead bandits laying around. I know we stopped by it before, but we were on our way somewhere and just took a moment to loot the bodies before we went on our way.

It was right in our path from the mine to the house, so of course I peeked at it again. I didn't open the door, but as I looked around I heard Lydia ask the others if they heard gears turning. She swore she could hear gears turning.

I shot her a look and pointed out a simple fact that's been gnawing at my brain for the past few days.

We're getting short on gold.

Now, we're not as short as we've been, not by a long shot! Besides, I still haven't been to Sayma's to sell off all the extra books I have or some of the random gems and stuff I've picked up.

But we are running low, and I can't believe I'm saying that when I still have over two thousand septims on me.

We had more before we started running around in Windhelm. A lot more.

I don't regret solving the murders, but staying at Candlehearth Hall for as long as we did and ordering most of our meals put a dent in our funds.

Lydia said she knew that, and was just waiting for me to catch up.

I have a sneaking suspicion she knows exactly how much gold I have in my bag.

Valdimar cut in and said the ruins were called Ustengrav. He'd grown up hearing legends about it, and promised to fill us all in once we got back here. It was getting late, and we were all getting hungry, anyway.

I'd managed to get a few deer while we were running around, so I made us some venison stew while Valdimar told us about Ustengrav.

There's not much to it, really. Ustengrav doesn't look like much, but it's the burial place of Jurgen Windcaller, one of the most powerful Tongues of his era, founder of the Greybeads and builder of High Hrothgar. It's clearly fallen into disrepair, and now bandits occasionally use the tomb as a hideout.

I was curious about Tongues, so while we ate Lydia explained that most people have the ability to learn Shouts and therefore become Tongues. Nords in particular try to because they believe that their voice and their breath are their "life essence". Valdimar said this was because the Nords believe Kyne (Kynareth) breathed them into existence at the top of the Throat of the World.

I had no idea! No wonder Nords value Bards so much.

But this is where it gets interesting.

Erandur laughed a bit, and said something like, "So, as the Dunmer were born from the ash and fire on Red Mountain, you Nords came from the wind and ice on Mount Hrothgar."

I thought that was a little poetic, and said as much. Lydia nodded and hummed with approval into her mug of ale, but Valdimar was quiet. He and Erandur were sitting next to each other.

He was staring at Erandur like he'd suddenly grown antlers.

Erandur must've felt him staring, and turned to look at Valdimar. He looked uncomfortable at being stared at so hard (Anyone would. Valdimar has dark eyes, and they can be a little… Intense) but all he could do was ask, "What?"

Valdimar said, very slowly, that he'd said almost the exact same thing, a long time ago. He kept staring, and Erandur kept shifting in his seat. I shot Lydia a look to make sure she was seeing this.

I'll admit, I don't know what we were seeing, but we were seeing something!

Erandur looked like he wanted to pull his hood over his head (I'd convinced him to push it back, but he absolutely refused to take off his scarf) but he managed to ask, "And?"

Valdimar gave him a big, warm smile - The first normal Valdimar Thing he'd done in this little exchange - and said that he was glad someone else had made the connection! He gave Erandur a little nudge with his mug like he does sometimes. Erandur did his nervous laugh and said, "Of course."

I could tell Erandur was struggling with the situation (whatever it was), so I asked Lydia if she would help me carry some buckets of water to the cellar for a bath. I smelled like the swamp water we'd been swimming through, and I didn't want to get that smell on my sheets.

That seemed to break the spell. She agreed to help, Valdimar said he'd take care of the dishes, and Erandur excused himself to do his evening prayers.

Obviously we talked once we were in the cellar - Lydia washed up, too - but we couldn't figure out what was going on. We feel like it has something to do with the College of Winterhold, though. Or maybe not the College itself, it might be just Winterhold, but still. Something BIG happened in Valdimar's past, I just know it!

I just need to figure out how to make him talk.

[helgiafterdark]

hjaalmarch

[blockedragon]

So the trip to Morthal was interesting...

Lucien got ambushed on our first day by a Voriplasm while I was looking for ingredients. One quickly became like ten as they started splitting like the Minecraft slimes.

Then on the way back from Ustengrav we got our shit absolutely rocked by an Indrik. This again! Damn thing ran away before we could finish it off...

Then Morthal got its shit rocked by an Indrik! Possibly the same one as before, back for revenge. The call of an elk now scares me shitless, I'm always worried that these technicolor nightmares are lurking just around the corner. It killed Hroggar, and also took out Jorgen along the way. I felt bad for them but not bad enough to not loot the housekeys.

This town just can't catch a break!