Online:Of Brands and Bones

Convince a skeleton to reveal the Worm Cult's excavation plans. Zone: Imperial City This quest is part of the Zone Story Objective: Memorial District — Discover what Molag Bal is digging for beneath the city. Quest Giver: Drake of Blades Location(s): Memorial District Previous Quest: Scouting the Memorial District Next Quest: Scouting Quests; The Sublime Brazier Reward: Medium Tel Var Sack: 0000300300  Very High Leveled Gold XP Gain: Very High ID: 5473

"Dig. Seek the Dragonfire Cathedral with pick and spade. Smother, choke, and quench the light. By Molag Bal's will, obey."

Worm Cultists are digging up skeletons in the Memorial District and raising them as undead thralls. Some of these skeletons appear to be searching for something underground. I've agreed to help the Drake of Blades find out what they're looking for.

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to the Drake of Blades at the Alliance Rally Point in the Memorial District.
2. Find a Daedric Brand and a key to the chapel.
3. Go to the Defiled Chapel of Arkay and brand a skeleton.
4. Talk to the Drake of Blades in the Undertaker's Office.
5. Collect kindlepitch from the Xivkyn Soulbranders.
6. Destroy the dig site in the Crematorium.
7. Report to the Drake of Blades in the Alliance Base.

Detailed Walkthrough

You'll find the Drake of Blades at your Alliance Rally Point in the Memorial District. The Worm Cult has been digging up graves in the district, looking for corpses to raise. The Drake is particularly interested in a group of branded skeletons, which, instead of being outfitted as soldiers, have been made to dig in seemingly random locations. She'd like to know what they're digging for and why their masters want it. She informs you that skeletons can be branded by necromancers to bind them to a specific task. If you can steal a Daedric brand and a chapel key from the cultists in the area, you'll be able to get one of these skeletons to tell you what their orders are. The Drake wants you to steal a Daedric brand and use it on a skeleton in the chapel. The Drake has already ensured that the cultists won't bother you inside that building.

The Drake's been busy while you've been out bothering disturbed bones

You can acquire a Daedric Brand and the Old Brass Key by killing Worm Cultists and looting their corpses. Once you have both items, make your way to the Defiled Chapel of Arkay. To reach the chapel, head to the western side of the central roundabout surrounding the graves in the center of the district. Walk down the western road; the chapel is in the building on the south side of the road. Brand a skeleton lying in the pile of bones in front of the altar (beneath the three nooses). It will rise, salute you, repeat its orders and crumble. It says something about finding a Dragonfire Cathedral and "snuffing out the light".

Once you've gotten the information you need, exit the chapel and head towards the Undertaker's Office to meet with the Drake. The Undertaker's Office can be reached by heading east or west, then turning north, and making a turn (left if you went east and right if you went west) to go to the center of the northernmost street. The office is west of the Memorial Armory; right next door to it. You'll find her at the tail-end of an interrogation. She attempts to wrench more information about a map out of a cultist before realizing her captive is now dead. Tell her what you've learned.

"Dragonfire Cathedral? Are you sure you heard that correctly? Skeletons aren't all that articulate."

A ghostly voice said to seek the Dragonfire Cathedral and "quench the light."

"Hm. That must have been disconcerting."

What do you know about the Dragonfire Cathedral?

"It's a legend. Folktale … like Arkay's magic breeches.
According to the story, Alessia received a vision from Akatosh in one of the old Ayleid shrines beneath the city. Her followers tore it down and built a cathedral there."

Why would Molag Bal want to find it?

"The cathedral is supposed to be the resting place of Akatosh's "second gift" to Alessia—a powerful relic. What the relic actually does? I have no idea.
Molag Bal must be after this relic—that's why he's looking for the cathedral."

So how do we stop him?

"The map I took from this idiot points to the crematorium. I'll bet that's where Molag Bal's skeletons are digging now.
Honestly, I'm not convinced that the Dragonfire Cathedral is real. But we can't take the risk. We have to stop them."

So we go to the crematorium and ….

"We demolish the dig site.
Worm Cultists have been using concentrated kindlepitch to clear rubble. The Xivkyn Soulbranders have been distributing it since they arrived. If you can acquire some, we can use it to destroy their operation."

The cultists are digging intently near the Crematorium. The Drake doesn't think the Dragonfire Cathedral is real, but if it is, you need to destroy the cultists' dig site. She suggests you find Concentrated Kindlepitch off the corpses of Xivkyn Soulbranders, and use it to demolish the dig site. You'll find Xivkyn Soulbranders along the street in front of and to the west of the Undertaker's Office. Exit the building and collect three samples of Concentrated Kindlepitch. Once you have it, head for the eastern road. Head down the central roundabout, get on the main road heading east, and you'll find the Crematorium in a building on the south side of the street.

Enter the Crematorium. The Drake has disposed of the Worm Cultists within; you just need to set the kindlepitch in front of the newly dug mineshaft. The crate of explosives detonates, completely destroying the dig site. Meet the Drake back in your Alliance base to be rewarded for your part in crippling the cult's excavation.

Notes

• You may not be able to enter the Undertaker's Office if you're in a group^{[verification needed — is this problem caused by being in a group?]}
• Kindlepitch can be acquired from Xivkyn Soulbranders found outside of the designated areas on the map.

Bugs

• The Drake of Blades' dialogue after you place and explode the kindlepitch lacks audio to match the subtitles. ^?

Quest Stages

Of Brands and Bones
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	I must kill Worm Cultists to find a Daedric Brand and a key to the chapel. Objective: Collect the Chapel Key Objective: Collect a Daedric Brand
	I should enter the chapel to use the Daedric Brand and discover what the Worm Cult is doing with the exhumed skeletons. Objective: Go to the Chapel
	Now that I have a Daedric Brand and access to the chapel, I must brand a skeleton. The skeleton should recite its orders, revealing why it is digging in the Memorial District and what it hopes to find. Objective: Brand a Skeleton to Hear Its Confession
	The Worm Cult has been using the exhumed skeletons to excavate something called the Dragonfire Cathedral. I should meet up with the Drake of Blades in the Undertaker's Office to plan our next move. Objective: Meet the Drake in the Undertaker's Office
	I should tell the Drake of Blades about what I discovered in the chapel. Objective: Talk to the Drake of Blades
	The map that the Drake of Blades found indicates that the Worm Cult's skeletal minions are digging beneath the crematorium. I should collect concentrated kindlepitch from Xivkyn Soulbranders. I may be able to cause a cave in with the right amount. Objective: Collect Concentrated Kindlepitch: 0/3
	I've acquired the concentrated kindlepitch. I should make my way to the crematorium to meet up with the Drake of Blades. Objective: Meet the Drake in the Crematorium
	I must use the concentrated kindlepitch to destroy the Worm Cult's secret dig site. This should cripple their attempt to find the Dragonfire Cathedral. Objective: Destroy the Secret Dig Site
Finishes quest	I've destroyed the site where Molag Bal's skeletons were searching for something called the "Dragonfire Cathedral." Their digging operation is crippled. I should return to the alliance base and speak with the Drake of Blades about our next move. Objective: Talk to the Drake of Blades

Notes

* Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the game and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.

• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.