Skyrim:Joining the Legion

Prove yourself worthy to join the Imperial Legion. Quest Giver: Legate Rikke Location(s): Fort Hraggstad, Castle Dour Next Quest: The Jagged Crown Reward: Induction into the Imperial Legion, Imperial Armor ID: CW01A Suggested Level: 6

Castle Dour, the base of the Imperial Legion

Quick Walkthrough

1. Go to Solitude.
2. Speak to General Tullius.
3. Speak to Legate Rikke.
4. Clear out bandits from Fort Hraggstad.
5. Return to Legate Rikke.
6. Take the Imperial Legion oath.

Detailed Walkthrough

Legate Rikke

"I'm telling you, Ulfric's planning an attack on Whiterun."

Whenever you meet soldiers of the Imperial Legion, they will encourage you to travel to Solitude and join. In Solitude, the guards will point you towards Legate Rikke at Castle Dour. When you enter, you will witness Rikke trying to convince an ill-informed General Tullius that Nords will follow their traditions, even in a time when loyalty is tested. Apparently, rebel leader Ulfric Stormcloak is preparing to attack Whiterun so the two strategists have their hands full. General Tullius will soon approach you and recall you from Helgen. He will then point you towards Rikke for more information.

Rikke will commend you for surviving the destruction of Helgen and tell you that she's arranged a small test of your skills before you're allowed to join the Legion. When asked which test she will explain: "The kind that evaluates your usefulness during... duress. I'm sending you to clear out Fort Hraagstad. If you survive, you'll pass. If you die, then I'll have no further use for your corpse." She will then explain that the Legion will set up a garrison at Fort Hraggstad but that the place has been overrun with bandits and needs to be cleared. She will not take no for an answer and will just angrily say: "What's the matter, soldier? I gave you an order. I want that fort, and I want it now. Move it!"

Prove Your Usefulness

The fort is located near the Thalmor Embassy, west of Solitude in the snowy terrain past Wolfskull Cave. Once there, a number of bandits will attack you on sight. The fort has archers, atop towers, so approach with caution. Once the exterior area is clear, locate the entrance to the fort and enter. It consists of two interior zones: the main zone and the prison, both of them accessible from separate entrances in the courtyard. In the prison, two bandits await you in the first room, with another guarding the area downstairs. In the main zone, two bandits and their chief will ambush you upon entering. You can find a copy of the Archery skill book, The Gold Ribbon of Merit upstairs. When all is said and done return to Legate Rikke in Solitude.

The Oath

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empire!"

In the castle, Rikke and Tullius will once again be debating, this time about the Jagged Crown. Tullius will once again show a lack of respect for Nordic tradition. Rikke will be pleased to see your success, and she will compliment you on a job well done: "Welcome back, soldier. I'm glad you made it in one piece. I'll send men to garrison the fort right away. You did well. I'm impressed. But before we go any further, it's time for you to officially join the Legion." She will then point you towards General Tullius to take the oath binding you to the service of the emperor and the Legion. Repeat the oath after Tullius:

"Upon my honor I do swear undying loyalty to the Emperor, Titus Mede II..."

"...and unwavering obedience to the officers of his great Empire."

"May those above judge me, and those below take me, if I fail in my duty."

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empire!"

Tullius will then welcome you to the Legion and send you to the castle's blacksmith, Beirand, who will equip you with a set of Imperial armor. You may choose heavy, medium, or light Imperial armor. The light set contains the light variation of Imperial armor, the medium set contains a set of Imperial studded armor and an Imperial shield. Once Tullius has sent you towards Beirand the quest ends and the next one starts, your first assignment for the Empire as an Auxiliary of the Imperial Legion, The Jagged Crown.

Achievements

One achievement is unlocked at the end of this quest:

• Taking Sides (10 points/Bronze) — Join the Stormcloaks or the Imperial Army

Notes

• On completing this quest you will immediately fail the Joining the Stormcloaks quest.
• You can still join the Imperial Legion after completing the Dark Brotherhood. The oath you take upon joining omits "Titus Mede II", but he'll still say "Long Live the Emperor!"
• Even though Legate Rikke says she will send troops to garrison the fort straight away if you return to Fort Hraggstad before speaking to her Imperial soldiers will already be present. Because you have not taken the Imperial oath yet you will be trespassing if you enter the buildings and you will get attacked if you do not leave.

Bugs

• You may encounter a bug/message "No Active Quest" or when you get closer to the fort the quest arrow may just disappear. Go ahead and clear out all the bandits around and in the prison first. Then, head to the main zone. The quest arrow will then reappear and point to the chief bandit. You can then properly clear out the fort and complete the quest.
• The objective Join the Imperial Legion may disappear from your list of miscellaneous objectives even though you have not chosen a side or taken any steps in the civil war questline. Going to Castle Dour and speaking to General Tullius may complete the quest successfully and begin the Imperial Legion quest, Joining the Legion. ^?
• Sometimes after completing the quest and being told a garrison of troops will be securing Fort Hraggstad, the next time you arrive there it will be repopulated by bandits.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.2.7, fixes this bug.

Quest Stages

Joining the Legion (CW01A)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
1		In order to prove myself to Legate Rikke, I am to clear out the bandits living at Fort Hraggstad. Objective 1: Clear out Fort Hraggstad
100		Objective 100: Report to Legate Rikke
160		Objective 160: Take the oath
200	Finishes quest
999	Fails quest

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 0, 150.

Notes

• Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, 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.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage CW01A stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest CW01A.