Oblivion talk:Lifting the Vale

Wizards Stolen Ring

In the vale, anyone find the stolen wizards ring? In a half burried barrel to the right of the fortress is a note and a key. The first key opens a chest in the fallen tower to the left of the fortress revealing a second key. The second key opens a chest behind some rocks next to the path nearby part of a fallen wall revealing... yes, a third key. I can't find the third chest that the 'forgotten' key goes to. Anyone?

Edit: Found it on another site. 3rd chest is located to the west and up in the rocks/hills that over-look the entrance to the vale. Inside was a ring with +3 to 5 of your attributes. It's no ring of perfection, that's for sure.

There's already a link on the page about this. Check out The Forgotten Chests of Pale Pass. -- TheRealLurlock 18:44, 3 June 2006 (EDT)

Quest moved so I updated your link, Lurlock. --Actreal 06:43, 9 June 2006 (EDT)

Quests needed

An edit was reverted, I should let in clear that (at least with the official patch) you DO need to complete Two Sides of the Coin and A Brotherhood Betrayed for this quest to trigger, either that or have a high enough fame (not sure the exact number)--Juan_Anselm 13:26, 27 June 2006 (EDT)

• The quest triggered for me at a Fame of 15 and having done Two Sides of the Coin Noone81 04:08, 24 September 2006 (EDT)
• From What I can see looking in TES, you just need fame of greater than 10 (and then random other conditions such as not at a certain point in the main quest line, and you are currently in bruma etc). Alternator 04:40, 25 September 2006 (EDT)

I can also see no connection between this quest and either Two Sides of the Coin or A Brotherhood Betrayed. Completing those quests does not automatically start Lifting the Vale, and the only requirement that Tolgan has before talking to you about the quest is based on your Fame. Therefore I'm going to delete all references to Two Sides of the Coin and A Brotherhood Betrayed from this page. --Nephele 23:19, 25 March 2007 (EDT)

Alternatives to giving the tablet?

Talking to the Akaviri ghost, you have 3 options: give him the tablet; explain that you belong to Reman's army; and one other. Since I only tried the first, I'm curious: what happens if you try the others? Zompist 15:39, 9 July 2006 (EDT)

If you don't give him the orders, you'll have to fight him. Also the undead soldiers in the fort won't just magically die like they do if you give him the orders. --Sundaroct131088 07:39, 14 August 2007 (EDT)

The first option, as you pointed out, is to simply give him the orders. The second option is to state that you're "here for the madstone" at which point he'll say something to the general effect of "How dare you talk to me like that?!" and attempt to kill you. Finally, you can choose to tell him that you're "from the army of Reman" at which point he will say "Then prepare for battle! I'll not let this fortress fall to the dogs of Reman!" at which point he will again, attempt to kill you. --Saruuk 08:14, 14 August 2007 (EDT)

I tried all three versions and the outcome difference is the chests in the secret room are filled depending on your choice. If you chose either 1 or 3 then the chests are filled with low level junk. If you choose number 2 you get leveled magic items. [Zack]

Ummm, not really. The contents of the chests are randomly determined at the time when you enter that zone. The contents are not influenced by how you choose to deal with the commander. You just happened to have good luck one of the three times. --Nephele^Talk 02:45, 25 February 2008 (EST)

Serpent's Trail blocked

I found Serpent's Trail but it's blocked with ice. How do you open the tunnel?

Did you find the other landmarks first? I know that Dragon Claw Rock and the Sentinel both give journal updates, so it may be one of those things where you have to do it in order. Presumably you have to have started the quest as well. Can't just go there without being asked to by the Countess. --TheRealLurlock 13:48, 28 July 2006 (EDT)

The Draconian Madstone will be in a case on her right, after returning, easily to steal...

• The door will not open (or be revealed ) until you get the quest. Also the Map point will not show up.Noone81 04:09, 24 September 2006 (EDT)

Hafid Hollowleg

He runs the Jerall View Inn, if you ask him about Bruma he will tell you that Lyra Rosentia collects Akavari artifacts and that she might have a project. From what I can tell Lyra is of no importance but was possibly original meant to be the giver of this quest instead of the Countess ?? Alternator 04:40, 25 September 2006 (EDT)

Unreachable Area

In the Mouth of the Serpent, just past the first log trap, there's a gate on your right with a chest behind it. There appears to be no way to open that gate. Am I the only one who's having this problem? Using TCL, I went through and looked at the chest, and the contents weren't too shabby...nothing special, but not just random contents, either.--Robin Hood 21:32, 29 March 2007 (EDT)

It sounds like the chest that's the reward for The Forgotten Chests of Pale Pass. --Nephele 23:39, 29 March 2007 (EDT)

No, it's inside the dungeon, just after you enter, not at the mouth of Pale Pass. And looking around, the contents were about right for an Average lock chest for that dungeon; there were no magic items or anything "special" inside it.--Robin Hood 20:59, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

Oops, sorry, I should have read your question more carefully :| I've now identified the correct chest. It looks like perhaps the gate is controlled by the same levers that open and close the other gate/portcullis in that area; you might want to try seeing if they do anything. Or else I'll try to look at it more closely after dinner. --Nephele 22:27, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

I tried every lever I could find on that level, to no avail. So unless it's some trick setting of the levers, I'm guessing that it's a bug, and the lever just never got "hooked up" properly.--Robin Hood 22:38, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

OK, hopefully this is my last mistake on this one ;) The gate you want to open is named "RFHallWPortcullis01" and the other one is named "RFWHallPortcullis01". Because the names are so similar I got them mixed up going back and forth between windows. The one you want to open is in fact a static object, instead of an activator, so it will never move. It's possible that one of those two levers was supposed to be connected to it, but the developer got equally confused by the similar names. In short, you're right: it can't be accessed. --Nephele 23:33, 30 March 2007 (EDT)

Thanks, glad to know I'm not going crazy. I'm not sure what your policy is on leaving or deleting notes, but can I suggest that the basic idea, at least, be retained in some form or another, for anybody else who's wondering just how to get to it?.--Robin Hood

Discussions on talk pages are left in place so that other readers can refer to them later if they want to. If you'd like to also add a note about this into the article (or perhaps in the Oblivion:Fort Pale Pass article, although that article needs to be made easier to find), I think it would help other readers. --Nephele 02:21, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

As you can see, I added it to this article, but with a link to the Pale Pass Fort article.--Robin Hood 13:30, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

problem at end of quest

after i left pale pass the 'about to be attacked/being attacked' music continued, so i just kept on going, but even after entering and exiting the serpents trail, the music still went on. i ran all the way to bruma, and the music still didnt stop. i cant wait, sleep or fast travel and just as bad: when i talk to the countess she says 'The madstone awaits, and so does your reward if you retrieve it. She wont give me the reward and i have the madstone. ive tried loads of things, i even stayed invisible for about a game hour. plz help!!!

Problem solved... almost

Phew. i went back to pale pass and outside the fort found two undead akaviri coming after me. i killed them and now the music stopped and i can fast travel :P. unfortunately, i still cant complete the quests because the countess says the same thing as above^

The Fangs are Sharp

Following one suggested way of completing this quest, I decided that I would kamikaze trough and hand the orders in. Unfortunately, this led me into the Fangs of the Serpent, and the part of it that is on the left of the map (Look on the main page if this quest to find map links). It shows on the map 3 ways in and out of that part, but running that circuit of the room several times with no results except the door that I came is with. How exactly do I get to the Venom? I am currently invisible (using my starsign power) with only about 15secs left on it. My game is saved like this, with about10-15 skeletons in the room. How do I get out? Help Please!

There are five doors in all in/out of Fangs of the Serpent. My memory of the area is that one of those doors is in a lower section (I used it to get out of the zone after jumping down to the lower section), and it sounds like you've come in through that door. The other doors are all in an upper section. I think you need to backtrack to the Eyes of the Serpent and look for the other door from Eyes of the Serpent into the Fangs of the Serpent, which will put you on the upper level with the doors that lead forward (and also happens to have very few enemies, just lots of dart traps). --Nephele^Talk 13:45, 26 April 2007 (EDT)

Thanks Nephele, but I allready went on the chatroom because another problem developed through this. When i went invisible, some of the skeleton went back down the path from where I came, blocking it, as the path is very narrow. The only reason I used this kamikaze method was because the skeletons are very tough and I didn't wanna fight through them. When i went on the chatroom, a guy there told me to kill my way through the skeletons instead, and showed me how to reduce the difficulty so that I could.--Logiccube 08:10, 27 April 2007 (EDT)

strange bug

i didnt feel like killing all the skeletons in the serpent sections so i just ran past them, but every time i emerge from pale pass i get a glitch that says i cant sleep, wait, fast travel or anything because there are enemies nearby. i have walked all the way to bruma, and then to the imperial city and it still wont let me sleep or fast travel.

Try getting arrested. As soon as you're released, you may be confronted by the skeletons. --Sundaroct131088 07:45, 14 August 2007 (EDT)

Ring of the Vipereye

I was wondering if there was anyway to get rid of the Ring of the Vipereye. I am currently playing on the 360 so I can't use console commands.

Either get arrested and escape from prison or do a quest where the game forcibly removes all your possessions. You can also do the Permanent Quest Items glitch if you want. --Sundaroct131088 10:44, 16 August 2007 (EDT)

The ring bothered me too, not being able to remove it, but I never found any way to get rid of it in either the 360 or PS3 versions. If I break out of any jail, it always returns the second I leave the dungeon of whatever city I'm it. Harrow will not take it in the Dagon Shrine quest, and it also stays on me after doing Sanguine's quest. The best I've ever been able to do is just keep an eye out whenever I'm in Bruma and if I see anybody that looks like Tolgan, just run or fast-travel out immediately. Its hard, but possible, to never get the quest started by doing this.

Very good ingredients for this quest

The map, the side quest with the chests, the searching of skeletons, the countess giving the quest, even the names of the areas are fine. But something goes wrong - is it the enemies ? or the many quest markers ? Dunno :)

I'm not sure what your problem is... can you rephrase that so I know what sort of assistance you need? –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 01:22, 5 February 2008 (EST)

Half burried frozen barell outside the fort

When you finish the quest and leave the fort with the madstone, go to the far left of the fort on the frozen water and you'll come across a half buried barell with a note and a rusty key. The note says that a powerful ring is hidden somewhere in this valley.I have turned the place upside down but still got no luck in finding a locked chest or something familiar, the note is not very helpful... — Unsigned comment by Pat Ewing (talk • contribs)

See The Forgotten Chests of Pale Pass. --Gaebrial 03:32, 3 March 2008 (EST)

Mishaxhi's gold

(moved from the article)

• If you steal Mishaxhi's gold, and then talk to him right after the inventory goes away, you will most likely catch him right when the quest update shows up which will freeze your game and you will not be able to hit the PS button to reset, you will have to shut down the system.

I moved this because I have no idea what it's talking about. Anybody else? –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 10:49, 29 June 2008 (EDT)

I think this user is trying to say that if you pickpocket Mixashi and then immediately speak with him, a quest update may appear durnig your conversation (so you're still talking to him when the quest updates) that apperently freezes your game. Don't know what else he could mean. Anyone else? -- LordDagon 10:57, 15 July 2008 (EDT)

Obtaining Mishaxi's Sword

(moved from the article)

If you choose to attack him, you have a chance to take his levelled Akaviri Dai-Katana before the quest window; it fades away with his corpse. You can pickpocket him before, or immediately after, the conversation if you're quick enough (you can't pickpocket the equipped sword, though). It won't matter if he catches you, he will not attack. Alternatively, you can use the Skull of Corruption on him (before speaking) and the clone's Dai-Katana will fall to the ground - proceed to take any dialog option. Be warned, you must be sneaking/undetected when you fire the Skull, else he will come after you once the clone dies. You cannot yield to him, even with a custom 100 charm spell, once he begins to attack. You may also loot the clone: he wears a full set of Blades Armor.

I've moved this because it's based on a false premise. The Dai-Katana isn't leveled and isn't special - it's a perfectly normal sword as can be found at, for instance, Cloud Ruler Temple. All this nonsense about the Skull of Corruption is totally irrelevant to the quest. –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 12:08, 29 August 2008 (EDT)

Sorry, I said it was levelled because I got the sword with an attack of 10 and a weight of 24.-Talos 19:40, 29 August 2008 (EDT)

Don't worry about it - I'm glad your edit pointed out that the whole paragraph was a waste of time! –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 01:35, 30 August 2008 (EDT)

Quick question...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Ring of the Vipereye's stats aren't set until I return the Madstone to the Countess, correct? So, I can keep this quest unfinished until I am at a satisfying level, then finish it, as with any other leveled quest item reward, right? GenocideHeart 16:25, 3 March 2009 (EST)

Buying the Bruma house

Namely, a problem I've encountered is that I can't buy the house. My character is currently at Stage 30 (reached Dragonclaw Rock), and when I go to the Countess to buy the house in Bruma, all she does is demand to know if I've recovered the Madstone yet. If this stumbling block is consistent with all quest stages and all services offered (in other words, is she going to stand there and demand the Madstone if I ask her to deploy the troops to the Battle of Bruma?) then this should be our newest addition to the quest's Bugs section. —Dark Spark 07:35, 24 May 2009 (EDT)

Rather keep the necklace

Anyone else think the reward was cheap and would rather hang onto the necklace? If i wasn't stacked with cure poison and disease potions i'd probably keep it myself. Is there anyway to get the necklace back? I tried pickpocketing her but she didn't have it. I'm going to assume it doesn't appear random in a display case in the following day or two right?— Unsigned comment by 86.42.210.25 (talk) at 23:32 on 20 July 2009 (UTC)

It is a good item; however, why would it be the reward when she wants it? I don't think there is a way to keep it other than not returning it to her or using the console. --Elliot^(T-C) 23:32, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Actually, you can get the necklace back. After the quest, it is placed in a display case to the right of her throne. You are then able to steal it. Wolok gro-Barok 08:58, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Err, no. Not at all. Resist disease and resist poison are two very situational effects which, even then, can easily be substituted with Cure Disease and Cure Poison spells or potions. On the other hand Resist Magic and some extra Agility, are two things that will provide benefit on the majority of the battles you will come across. 80.240.17.195 16:13, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Akavari Orders

So I completed this quest, gave the Countess the Madstone, etc. Then I thought that all that stuff from the quest would make a pretty BA display case (Akavari Shield, Katana, Messenger's Diary, Madstone, etc.). So I stole all the stuff, but when I took them I found out that the Akavari Orders were still tagged as a Quest Item. I think I remember being able to sell it to Ongar and buy it back, but when I did, it was still a Quest Item. I'm on a 360 so I can't use any fancy commands. Is anything I can do to put this thing in a Display Case? — Unsigned comment by 76.112.31.124 (talk) on 26 March 2010

Sorry, no. You're stuck with them. rpeh •T•C•E• 11:28, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

Bugged wall

So i did what the quest wanted me to do, but at the end, when speaking to the commander, i choose the option 'i am here for the madstone' (not sure if i remembered correctly) he attacked me, i killed him, but now the wall with the madstone behind it remains closed, i'm not sure if this is a known bug, but it sure is an annoying one, any help would be appreciated 87.211.76.248 22:25, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Even if you kill him the wall should lower. This sounds like a one off glitch. The only thing you can do is load an earlier save. --Manic 22:30, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the quick answer, luckily it's a one off glitch and not a frequent one (that I.P. is me, i just made a user account in the meantime) KrazorM 22:38, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Moved notes

• Shortly after you enter the Mouth of the Serpent, there is a gate with a chest behind it. Possibly due to a design flaw, you can never reach this chest unless you use the TCL command from the console. There is only random treasure in the chest; there are no unusual or quest-related items in it.
• The messenger's diary repeatedly refers to Reman Cyrodiil as "Remus". This may be a reference to Remus; one of two brothers who, according to mythology, founded Rome.
• If you found the orders, instead of fighting your way through the fort, run directly to the captain simply avoiding the enemies and possibly using Invisibility whenever you need a breather. After you hand in the orders the pursuit will cease (to be), and you will be able to safely pillage whatever the undead had guarded.
• If you want to fight your way through to increase your skills and make an extra bit of cash, kill all the undead except their commander and cart their gear back to the entrance and store it in the barrel near the entrance, after you "Take All" from it (when you do a Take All, the containers rarely if ever regenerate with new items). Then when you hand the orders to the commander at the end, all the undead you killed will be re-equipped with the same gear. Go around and loot them again, and you'll wind up with double the gear to sell, assuming you want to cart it all out of there.
• Before entering the entrance to Serpent's Trail, you are often ambushed by 2 or 3 enemies, one usually being Will-o-the-Wisp—a leveled creature. At lower levels, these enemies can easily overwhelm you; if this is the case, simply return later in the game, and equip your strongest silver, daedric, or enchanted weapon. Alternatively, just sneak your way in, where the enemies within the tunnel are much easier to defeat (and usually come at you one-on-one, rather than grouped).
• If you found the entrance to Serpent's Trail, leave, then return by quick jumping on the map, these enemies will attack your horse, almost certainly killing it. In this case, it is useful to leave your horse by Dragonclaw Rock, and walking West towards the entrance.
• It is possible to enlist the help of an Imperial Guard in fighting the enemies by the entrance to Serpent's Trail. Engage them, then run South East towards the roads between Bruma and Dragonclaw Rock, making sure at least one of the enemies follows you. An Imperial Guard is often found patrolling this road on horse, and will help you defeat them as soon as he spots them with you. However, he is pretty much useless against the Will-o-the-Wisp.

I've been pruning the notes sections to articles. Feel free to re-add these with a just cause. --AKB ^Talk 06:47, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

I added the note about the unreachable chest to the Pale Pass Fort page. I spent about 30 minutes trying to find some way to reach it, under the assumption there wouldn't be a chest visible behind the gate if it was inaccessable, before finally finding the note buried here. I do agree it seems more appropriate to the page for the area though, rather than the quest, so I added it there. EmmBee 16:06, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

~Countess won't take the Madstone?! D:

I already had one Madstone in my inventory (PC), but she wouldn't take it.. So I went ahead to Pale Pass, got another one, and came back.. "I have the Madstone! Two of them.. ._." "Lying doesn't become you." Dx What can I do to get her to take it? 166.216.162.35 20:31, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

Sounds like a bug. Reload before you gave her the first amulet and see if she takes it. --Manic 20:41, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

Firstly, try to avoid having usually-unattainable quest items in your inventory before a quest ;) Try these console commands:

NarinaCarvainREF.AddItem MS12Madstone 1
Player.RemoveItem MS12Madstone 2

The 2 of the second is because you said you had two, just change it to 1 if you want to keep a copy. --SerCenKing ^Talk 15:26, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

Return to the Pass

After the quest is completed, can I go back to pale pass, through the fort and everything?Stouf761 01:51, 13 July 2011 (UTC)

I've been able to do so... For me, the fort was empty of Akaviri Warriors or any other creatures. It might be an ideal "House" if there are any safe containers. The main draw back is traveling to get there.

I've only revisited with one character on goty 360 no mods Ahriman 23:51, 5 November 2011 (UTC)

Ancient Akaviri Katana availability?

Rpeh mentioned that Ancient Akaviri Katanas could be obtained here. My character is only 15, are they level dependent or in a particular place? I would like to obtain one early in the game, but not start such an involved quest until later. Ahriman 00:05, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

There are plenty of them available. The Skeletons that guard Pale Pass all carry them. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 19:48, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

I thought they only carried the Ruined Akaviri Katanas, can anyone verify? I'm currently working on tedious leveling and can't check. — Unsigned comment by Ahriman (talk • contribs) on 7 November 2011

They only carry ruined katanas and shields. If I said the Ancient Katanas could be obtained here I was wrong. Try Pale Pass instead - two of the Blades skeletons have them. rpeh •T•C•E• 09:30, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

I guess I'm just missing them, I couldn't find any Blade Skeletons with Ancient Katanas... The only thing I've found at Pale Pass and the Pale Pass Fort is the Undead/Dead Akaviri Soldiers and Mishaxhi. Perhaps you were thinking of the Blood of the Divines quest. This was the post that I was looking at > Katanas and Dai Katanas I guess I'll just have to wait... . Ahriman 23:24, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

The Ruined Akaviri Katanas are all within Lifting the Vale, one on each of the Undead Akaviri, alive and dead states. The Ancient Akaviri Katanas are found during Blood of the Divine, in Sancre Tor, specifically on the 2 Undead Blades without enchanted weapons. Those 2 are the only available in normal gameplay. It is also present in a test area and a leveled list that is never used. Rpeh said in his post Ancient Akaviri Katanas in both locations, but the one for Pale Pass should have been Ruined. --DKong27 ^{Tk Ctr Em} 23:58, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

Bug after prematurely attacking Mishaxhi

I attacked and killed Mishaxhi before I even spoke to him, and now the game won't allow me to search the corpse. The usual search icon and text comes up but when I press A (XBox), nothing happens. — Unsigned comment by 174.62.219.201 (talk) at 03:57 on 26 September 2012‎ (GMT)

Lever won't open first gate

As I enter the fort and kill the first sceleton there is a gate with a lever on the left side. I pull the lever and the gate won't open

Quest stage 90 triggered after finding the madstone and leaving the fort, countess will not take the madstone

(Steam GOTY edition with the unofficial patches) I deciphered the given letter and map to find Pale Pass, and basically made the quest jump from stage 15 to stage 100. After taking the madstone and trying to leave, quest stage 90 was triggered while I was leaving the fort and now the countess will not take the madstone. I assume it's because the latest entry in the log is step 90 and the game doesn't see that I've actually completed the quest, and I don't know how to fix it. --32.211.7.194 05:05, 26 July 2018 (UTC)