Preparation
- The only dangers you must prepare for in visiting the Greybeards are foes you will encounter on your way there. If you lack significant combat experience and have yet to develop significant offensive and defensive capabilities, it may be helpful to ensure that you have a good supply of restore health potions with you.
- If you do not yet own a home, the routes to High Hrothgar offer at least two safe containers which you can use to store objects that you pick up which you can sell or use later. These are very helpful if you reach your carrying capacity as they can prevent the wastefulness of leaving things behind because they are too heavy to carry.
Travel to High Hrothgar
To reach High Hrothgar, you must ascend the 7,000 Steps, the base of which is located at Ivarstead.
Getting to Ivarstead
Three options for traveling to Ivarstead are detailed below in this section. If you prefer to find your own way, skip down to the section on Ivarstead.
If you have not discovered Ivarstead or a location near to it, your quickest route may be to fast travel to Helgen and proceed from there on foot or on horseback (Route 2 below). If you are up for a longer journey, you can set off directly from Whiterun (Route 1, then Route 2). Both of these options involve approaching Ivarstead over mountain passes via unmarked paths from the west.
Using the main roads following the signposts (Route 3), will take you on a substantially longer journey to Ivarstead by way of valley floors and lower hills and mountains to the east and then south. The following detailed guides provide some tips you may find especially useful if you are a relatively new arrival in Skyrim Province or if you like to plan and research your journeys before embarking on them.
Detailed Guided Walking Tour from Whiterun to Helgen (Route 1)
Leave Whiterun, pass Whiterun Stables, and turn left at the intersection, following the signpost toward Ivarstead. Shortly ahead grows a Nirnroot where a log extends into the river. At Pelagia Farm; as with many farms, you can harvest Wheat there, an alchemy ingredient valuable for creating healing potions.
Turn right on the paved road before crossing the bridge (not following the signpost to Iverstead) and proceed toward Riverwood. When you reach a bridge marked by another signpost, turn left and cross the bridge. When you reach Riverwood, turn onto the paved road that extends to the left shortly after you enter the town.
Proceed forward as the road begins to wind up the mountain pass and turns into an unpaved path. You will quickly encounter two successive points which can sometimes appear to be forks in the path, especially if traveling at night or bad weather and you can't see well. At both such places, there is a rock directly ahead of you, and in both places you should bear to the left. Continue on this path until it levels off. Where the path next begins to climb again, you may wish to save your game.
Just after the path narrows, between a rock wall on the left and a large rock on the right, and before opening up on both sides, you will enter an area in which you are likely to have an encounter with some kind of enemies, likely including some humans. These may be directly hostile to you or may attempt to extort money from you. If the latter occurs, you can pay them, attempt to plead that you have no money, or refuse. If you pay them, they will take your gold and allow you to proceed. If you say that you have no money, the result will vary. If you refuse them, prepare for a fight.
Shortly thereafter, the path becomes spottily-paved. Pay close attention here: you will soon reach a fork at which you should take a left. After doing so, your compass will show you heading roughly in the direction of your destination marker, and if you open your world map, it will show you pointing toward Helgen. Continue along this road and open the door into Helgen. Show the next section for a guided tour from this point to Ivarstead.
Detailed Guided Walking Tour from Helgen to Ivarstead (Route 2)
Since first being taken their as a prisoner, Helgen will have become infested by bandits. You will most likely have to contend with one group of them, but it may be possible to avoid the other if you wish. After entering the gate, stick to the paved road, which immediately turns left and heads out the tiny town's other gate. Search around Helgen a bit before leaving by this if you have an appetite for fighting and looting more bandits. You will now be heading east and will immediately encounter a fork. Take this to the left, following the roadsign toward Ivarstead.
Continue for some distance. Once you reach the crest of a hill, the pavement will end, and you will soon after discover Haemar's Shame. This is a cave inhabited by Vampires. If you choose to enter it, you may wish to first research the place and its related quests.
Continue past the cave as the road travels northeast and begins to descend.
After you have reached the bottom of the mountain and the road levels out, it becomes well-paved once again. After you pass between two square pillars and another quadrangular rock formation, begin to watch your compass for an icon of a shack. As it gets larger, you are approaching nearer. If you continue slightly past the point where this icon appears directly ahead of you and then moves quickly off to the left, you can turn to the left and see a shack from the road. This is the Alchemist's Shack. It is unoccupied, and entering it can provide you with several valuable items, including an alchemy lab and ingredients. If you do not yet own a home, this can serve you well as a temporary base. You can safely store things that you want to keep in the end table next to the bed. Unlike most containers, things that you put in it will stay there until you retrieve them.
From the shack, return to the road (to the south) and continue generally eastwards and toward the objective marker on your compass. Expect to encounter hostile animals in the area, such as wolves and bears. You may also encounter bandits who live nearby if they happen to be walking around close to the road.
After passing another area in which you will notice several cubic-shaped rock formations on both sides of the road, you'll encounter a T intersection marked by a signpost. Turn left here, toward Ivarstead.
Main Road Route: Detailed Guided Walking Tour from Whiterun to Ivarstead (Route 3)
Leave Whiterun, pass Whiterun Stables, and turn left at the intersection, following the signpost toward Ivarstead. Shortly ahead grows a Nirnroot where a log extends into the river. At Pelagia Farm, you can harvest Wheat, an alchemy ingredient valuable for creating healing potions.
At the intersection, proceed straight across the bridge, following the signpost toward Ivarstead. Shortly thereafter, you will likely encounter an animal, and then one or more characters such as bandits, soldiers, or someone who may have something to offer you, such as helpful information.
Continuing on, you will notice a stone bridge crossing high above the river and supported by towers on each side. This is Valtheim Towers, which bandits have taken over. You will discover the location as you approach it on the road. Any of multiple contingencies may unfold here. Sometimes there is no on around the road, and you may just pass by if you like. In this case, you may encounter two of the bandits approaching the tower from a little further on. If this occurs, they will not be hostile against you unless attacked. If one or two of them are near the entrance alongside the road, one of them will stop you and rather unconvincingly inform you that you are traveling on a "toll road." You can pay the toll for safe passage, try to convince them to let you pass for a smaller amount, claim to have no money, or attempt to intimidate them into letting you pass. Unless you have high persuasion skills, or are quite powerful, any choice but paying them will likely result in their attacking you.
If you engage in combat here, you will probably confront three bandits who tend to inhabit the entrance area and the top of the tower near the road. Fighting with them may or may not attract one, two, or three more of their comrades who are normally stationed on the other side of the bridge. Among the items that can be found in both tower structures are a number of healing potions.
Continue straight on the road eastwards past the towers. The road will take several sharp turns as it winds down a long descent before crossing the river on a bridge, a signpost at which verifies you are still on your way to Ivarstead. Shortly past the bridge, continue straight through a T intersection, also marked with a sign.
Shortly after passing this intersection, a stone-pile marker on the right indicates the path to the nearby cave Lost Knife Hideout, and immediately past this, on the left of the main road stands Fort Amol. It is likely that one of the combat mages guarding the fort's exterior will confront you on the road. The next section of road travels through an area that is particularly rich in wildlife, including hostile animals. After passing Fort Amol, cross over another bridge with a thundering waterfall to your right, and beyond that proceed straight through a T intersection.
After crossing yet another bridge with tiered waterfalls cascading down from your right, the road will turn you sharply eastwards. Continue straight through another T intersection and up the hill where the heretofore well-maintained paving stones become somewhat spotty. At the top of this hill, opposite a rotting log lining the left side of the road, is sited an Iron Ore vein.
Advancing past this, the road will curve and become narrower. Where constructed stone walls appear on both sides of the road, turn right at the intersection, and head westward up the hill, following the signpost marker. After climbing a short distance, the right side of the road opens up with a wide dirt shoulder on which you can find a Silver Ore vein. As you reach the crest of the hill here, you will discover Snapleg Cave whose exterior is normally unguarded.
Further up the hill, you will see a busted-down empty cart on the right side of the road, and then an Imperial named Telrav who, if spoken to, will ask you to help him.
Continuing south on the road from this point, you will pass Sarethi Farm and then cross a bridge, on the far side of which grows a Nirnroot directly underneath. Past this, cross straight through a signposted T intersection toward Ivarstead, and you will begin to descend from the mountains. Shortly thereafter, you may meet some Revelers who will invite you to drink with them.
The paving becomes intermittent for a little while as you continue to descend into a valley. This is a dangerous area, where the likes of warlocks are known to roam. You will find yourself heading toward a cave directly in front of you. This is Honeystrand Cave, inhabited by bears inside and out, so don't be surprised if any wander onto or near the road. As you approach the cave, keep your eye out for a signpost on your left&emdash;it may be partially obscured by a bush. It will direct you to turn right toward Ivarstead, which is now very near.
Ivarstead
Things to Do in Ivarstead
You will soon see the town ahead of you, just beyond a bridge crossing a river. If you have not yet had much chance to successfully hunt game, this is a good place to do so: Enter into sneak mode before reaching the bridge. Look around, especially to your left, and you will likely see some Elk. These are likely either not to see you, or to remain frozen in place long enough for you to kill them with your most powerful bow and arrows or ranged spell. Collecting their hides is useful for making or improving armor and weapons (and thereby increasing your smithing skill). And they often carry antlers, which can be used to make some useful alchemy potions.
Searching in and around the river can provide you with more useful alchemy ingredients, such as Slaughterfish Eggs (from several nests located at the bottom of the river) and fishes. Salmon are useful only as food, but other species can be used to create useful potions. There is a Nirnroot on a small island east of the bridge, and another along the riverbank near the mill's waterwheel. The rapids near the waterwheel provide a good place for catching Salmon which can be somewhat helpful in sustaining your health, especially if you do not yet have the resources to make sufficient health potions or are not carrying more nutritious foods.
Touring the town itself beginning at its southern entrance, you will first find some salmon hung to dry, which can be taken. Next, on your left is the inn, where talking to people, especially the innkeeper, can result in learning about side-quests and additional information about your current destination, High Hrothgar. The information you may get about, Visiting the Shrine of Azura, will be particularly useful if and when you are filling and using a lot of soul gems to charge or create enchanted items. Many innkeepers will raise this topic if spoken to.
Someone in the inn will likely mention that Klimmek occasionally delivers supplies to the Greybeards. This is useful information to have, as explained below.
At the beginning of the bridge leading north from Ivarstead toward the 7,000 Steps, you will likely encounter an Elf and a Nord conversing. The Nord will be Klimmek. If you ask him about High Hrothgar, he will tell you that he was about to go there himself to deliver supplies. If you offer to take the supplies up for him, he will accept. This will activate the miscellaneous quest objective Bring the supplies to High Hrothgar in your journal. Klimmek will give you a bag of supplies and tell you to place them in a chest near the entrance to High Hrothgar. Speak to Klimmek again after finishing your business there, and he will pay you in gold.
Speak to Klimmek before the other man, or Klimmek may wander off and you'll have to go find him to get the job from him. If Klimmek is not standing near the bridge, he may be in the inn, in his home, or walking about the tiny town.
Your objective marker will point you to the base of the 7,000 steps, just past the bridge to the north of town.
The 7,000 Steps
When you start climbing the steps, you'll notice an "Etched Tablet", which you may read. You will pass nine more of these before reaching the top. Reading all of them grants you the blessing Voice of the Sky, which causes wildlife to neither flee nor attack you for 24 hours. You will encounter several leveled animals and monsters, and a few people who will tell you why they are on the steps.
At the fourth Etched Tablet, a meditating pilgrim, Karita, will warn you to "keep an eye out for wolves when heading to High Hrothgar". In reality, wolves are the least of your worries at this point. Once you pass her, you will will climb a long, straight flight of steps. At the top of these is a point where the path narrows between rocky cliffs. Just ahead of this, while traversing a curve to the left, a Frost Troll will jump down onto the path in front of you.
Specific Strategies for Killing or Otherwise Surviving the Frost Troll
Trolls are equipped with very powerful arms and sharp claws. Their ability to use these rapidly, along with a very high ability to regenerate their health, makes trolls formidable enemies. The vital keys to fighting them are the use of fire damage attacks, using any available allies to take some of the troll's blows, keeping up a sustained attack until the troll is dead (thus preventing it from healing itself), and maintaining your health at a high level during battle.
One step-by-step combat strategy (based on a number of assumptions):
- Command your follower to "wait there", behind (to the south of) Karita, a meter or two south of the stone-pile, in the rocky area there.
- Ensure that you are equipped with your strongest armor, including a shield. (If you have no one-handed weapon with a fire damage effect, but you do have a two-handed weapon with a fire damage effect, it may be better to equip the two-handed weapon instead of a shield.)
- Ensure that your follower is equipped with the strongest bow and arrows available.
- If you have a poison with an aversion/weakness to fire effect, use it to poison a weapon. The best choice is a one-handed fire damage (if you have more than one, your lightest and therefore fastest, will be best; second choice, a two-handed fire damage weapon; and third choice, a fast (lightweight) one-handed weapon.
- Move toward High Hrothgar until the troll becomes aware of your presence. You may wish to save your game near the top of the stairs.
- Run, but do not sprint, back down the stairs. Trolls are fast with their arms and claws, but not so fast on their feet. The troll can not quite keep up with you when you are running. It is a bit tricky to let the troll stay close enough that it will keep chasing you without letting it get close enough to break any of your bones. One method is to keep fairly far ahead of the troll and turn around to look periodically. If the troll retreats, you will need to chase after it to regain its attention. The best method is to listen carefully as you run away, keeping a close enough distance so that you can just hear the troll's heavy breathing.
- Continue until both Karita and your follower engage the troll.
- Use any potion you may have that fortifies your health.
- As soon as the troll is engaged in close physical combat with Karita, your follower, or both, strike with your poisoned weapon, if you have one, then continue attacking with your weapon that causes fire damage or a fire destruction spell. If you are using a weapon enchanted with a fire damage effect, hitting often may be more effective than using power attacks. Attack continuously and relentlessly until you sustain an injury. If you do not have a weapon with a fire effect, switch to a flame spell or fire damage scrolls after striking once with a weapon with an aversion/weakness to fire poison.
- The moment you sustain an injury, restore your health with food or potions, and if using a weapon, poison it again with your strongest poison. Failing to stop and heal yourself quickly enough and often enough will be the most likely cause of losing your life.
- Repeat 9-10 until the troll is dead. Karita will now almost certainly be in the same condition as the troll, and she will be carrying some valuables of which you may relieve her.
- NOTES
- If you do not have a follower, the recommended strategy is the same. Your chances of success may be significantly reduced, depending on a number of factors. The major loss involves the fact that Karita will seldom last long enough to deal much damage to the troll or absorb much of the troll's hostility.
- Hitting the troll and then moving away to avoid damage is likely to be an ineffective strategy because trolls regenerate health when they are injured. If you are very deft and can evade a strike without taking time away from dealing damage such maneuvers may be helpful. Your best bet, is likely to hit it as hard and often as you can while it is also busy with your follower, and to attacking relentlessly until it is dead—again, this does entail stopping to heal yourself each time you are hurt.
- Can't seem to beat it? Don't feel discouraged if you cannot kill the troll after many attempts. There are a number of ways to surmount this obstacle.
- Simply reduce the difficulty level of the game: ESC > SETTINGS > GAMEPLAY > DIFFICULTY. Reducing the difficulty by each level makes your enemies' attacks somewhat less powerful and yours somewhat more powerful.
- Avoid the troll entirely: You can bypass the troll and escape its noticing you by climbing around the rocks to the left of the area.
- If you are determined to kill that troll but are unable to do so at present, another alternative is to detour from your climb to High Hothgar for now, and return to it when you are stronger or have better supplies, capabilities, etc. Maybe all that you need are more restore health potions or a stronger means to inflict fire damage.
- It is possible to take this as a sign that you may wish to adjust your general strategy for accomplishing your goals in Skyrim Province. For example, instead of charging straight through the main quest line, you may wish to do more side quests and activities that will generate cash that you can use to buy things that will support and strengthen you; improve some of your skills, etc. Reviewing Tips for First-Time Players may be helpful. You are also likely to find someone who will be willing to give you some advice by asking some questions on the discussion ("talk") page for this quest, or on the wiki's Skyrim Forum: [[1]]].
High Hrothgar and the Greybeards
At the top of the steps is the tenth Etched Tablet and a chest in which you may place Klimmek's supplies if you have them. This chest is a safe container: Anything you store in it will remain there until you retrieve it.
Demonstrate Your Gift
On entering High Hrothgar, you'll be met by the Greybeards, masters of the "Way of The Voice". One of them, Arngeir, will greet you. He will descend the stairs ahead of you and to your left as you enter the room, and you may need to stay close to him to hear everything he says. He will respond to your appearance as follows: "So, the Dragonborn appears, at this moment in the turning of the age."
He will ask you to prove you are truly the dragonborn by shouting at them, letting them "taste of your voice".
You will note in your journal, "Demonstrate your 'Unrelenting Force' Shout." Arngeir will assure you that your shout cannot harm them. Direct your shout at Arngeir, or at any of the Greybeards.
Speak to Arngeir
Arngeir will then identify himself as "Master Angeir", tell you that he speaks for the rest of the Greybeards, affirm you as Dragonborn, and ask why you have come. If you converse with him further, you can learn that you are not the first who has been gifted with dragon blood by Akatosh, the chief deity of the Nine Divines. You are, however, the first Dragonborn who has been revealed to them in the current age. He will tell you that the Greybeards are here to teach you and to guide you in using your gift in "the fulfillment of your destiny." If asked about your destiny, Arngeir will tell you that it "is for you to discover", and that they "can show you the way, but not your destination."
Learn Ro from Einarth
Arngeir will teach you that, as a dragon blood, your inborn gift allows you to use Thu'um, or dragon shouts, which consist of phrases containing Words of Power. Each Word of Power that you learn and add to a given phrase makes the associated shout stronger. He informs you that Einarth will now teach you the second word to the Unrelenting Force Shout, Ro.
Einarth will cause the Word to appear emblazoned on the floor in written form. Stand directly over the word to learn it.
As you are learning the word, Arngeir moves toward the west side of the room and continues to speak to you. He will explain that once you learn a Word of Power, your special ability allows you to "unlock" it by absorbing the soul of a dragon after slaying it. For the word Ro which you have just learned, however, Einarth will unlock it for you magically. After he does so, Arngeir will direct you to use your newly-strengthened Unrelenting Force shout on three ethereal targets which the Greybeards will cause to appear in the room.
Angeir will comment on your quick learning as you do so, and after you have finished he will tell you to follow Master Borri outside for the next lesson. Although your objective marker will point at Master Borri, staying close to Angier once you pass through the courtyard will allow you to hear what Arngeir has to say, and generally while you are in the courtyard, Arngeir will make several comments which you can hear clearly only if you remain near him.
Learn Wuld from Borri
In the courtyard, Master Borri will cause the Word Wuld to become emblazoned on the frozen ground. Angier will explain that "you must hear the word within yourself before you can project it into a Thu'um." Approach the Word in order to learn it.
Learning Wuld enables you to use the Whirlwind Sprint shout.
speaks to you on behalf of the other Greybeards (whose voices are too powerful for conversation). After proving you are the Dragonborn by using the Unrelenting Force shout, they welcome you to their monastery and instruct you on how to use the Dragon Shouts, or Thu'um.
They teach you another Word, Wuld, for Whirlwind Sprint. You'll be asked to practice it by using the Shout to get through the gate Master Borri opens before it closes. When you're finished, Argneir will send you on the last test, to get the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller.
