Online:The Keystone

The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995
Jump to: navigation, search


Recover the keystone from the prison dungeon.
Zone: Shadowfen
Objective: White Rose Prison — Recover the Keystone from the prison.
Quest Giver: Jurni
Location(s): White Rose Prison Dungeon
Prerequisite Quest: And Throw Away The Key
Reward: Warden's Gauntlets
High Leveled Gold
XP Gain: High Experience XP
ID: 3846
The keystone
The keystone is located within the White Rose Prison Dungeon. I've agreed to find it and use it to free the prisoners here.


Quick Walkthrough[edit]

  1. Talk to Jurni.
  2. Find Sargon in the prison dungeon.
  3. Reach the warden's office.
  4. Choose whether to recover the keystone or not.
  5. Find Gerent Hernik outside the prison.

Detailed Walkthrough[edit]

After giving the supplies to Jurni, she asks :

"What did General Raetus promise you in exchange for the supplies? There had to be something."
He said you'd tell me where the keystone is, as long as I use it to free the prisoners.
"And you agreed? He may not have mentioned the danger.
The keystone is in the prison dungeon. I don't know exactly where. And I should warn you: the dungeon is crawling with cannibals."
Is there anything else I should know?
"Sargon might be able to help you. He's in the dungeon, foraging for supplies.
Here, let me put this ointment on you. It'll mask your scent from the ferals. But not for long."
I'll head to the dungeon.

Jurni anoints you with the Feral Ointment effect, which makes the feral prisoners passive for one minute. You have to go all the way to the dungeon to locate the keystone. Search for the Redguard soldier Sargon. You'll find him hiding from the ferals. He may have some advice for you :

"By Satakal, you scared me! I've been dodging ferals for hours. I thought they had finally found me.
Who are you?"
I need the keystone. Jurni said you could help me find it.
"Jurni is a good woman. May I live long enough to tell her so.
If you're looking for the Bellael keystone, does that mean you're going to free us?"
If I can. Do you know where it is?
"It's probably in the prison warden's office. It'll be a long walk. The shorter paths up to it crumbled or collapsed long ago.
There will be a lot of ferals to deal with on the way up."
That won't be a problem.
"I'll come with you, if it means our release. Just don't expect me to fight.
Friendly advice? If you have to shut an iron gate, keep your fingers away from the bars."
Noted. Let's go.

Make your way through the hordes of cannibals and reach the warden's office. Inside, you find the keystone, quietly sitting on a table. You should read the book on the prison warden's desk, and speak to Sargon before you try taking the keystone:

"We finally made it. I thought we were done for, once or twice.
Before you take the keystone, there's something you must know."
I'm listening.
"There's some kind of link between the Bellael keystone and prisoners going feral.
If you don't use it to free us, if you just take the keystone away, the results will be disastrous."
What do you mean?
"Over time, all the prisoners bound to the keystone lose their minds. They become feral. Please, don't leave us to that fate.
The prison warden had a book about the keystones. They knew, and they still did this to us!"
I'll keep that in mind.

It is left to you to sacrifice the keystone or the prisoners.

Absorbing the Keystone[edit]

If you absorb the artifact, Sargon will be killed in the process and hordes of cannibals will spawn to kill you. Destroy them and find Gerent Hernik outside of the prison. He'll be tied up by the stocks, as General Raetus was driven mad. Kill the Imperial leader and meet Hernik once again to explain what you did with the keystone. He'll be surprised, but thinks you made the best choice :

"Thanks for saving me back there. Whatever you did, General Raetus wasn't pleased, not at all.
Did you recover the keystone?"
Yes. I … absorbed it.
"You absorbed it?
Well, I suppose that's better than leaving it, as long as we can still access its power."

He'll then give you Warden's Gauntlets as a reward.

Destroying the Keystone[edit]

If you destroy the Keystone, the prisoners will be freed from the influence of the artifact. Still, ferals will try to overwhelm you. Sargon will tell you to meet with General Raetus, as he'll probably want to thank you:

"I felt it! When you used the keystone to free us, it was like shackles fell from my neck."
What will you do now that you're free to leave?
"Yesterday, I thought I'd spend my remaining years trying to keep these people alive. Now I have options, and that's a good feeling. Thank you.
You'll want to find the gerent and let him know about the keystone."
Good luck.

You then have to tell Gerent Hernik of your choice. He'll hope you made the right one while giving you the same reward as above, ending the quest.


Quest Stages[edit]

The Keystone
Finishes Quest Journal Entry
I should enter the prison dungeon and locate the keystone.
Objective: Enter the Dungeon
I need to find Sargon, a prisoner who entered the dungeon while foraging for supplies.
Objective: Find Sargon
Sargon believes the keystone is located within the prison warden's office, which will be in the structure above the cells. We'll need to find our way up there.
Objective: Find the Warden's Office
Sargon wants to speak with me before I do anything with the keystone.
Objective: Talk to Sargon
I must make a choice: I can absorb the keystone or release the prisoners.
Objective: Decide the Prisoners' Fate
Objective Hint: Read the Book
Objective Hint: Gerent Hernik must still be somewhere within the prison grounds. I need to locate him and tell him what happened to the keystone.
The power released from the keystone has riled up the cannibals. I need to kill them and survive.
Objective: Survive the Feral Onslaught
I've freed the prisoners by destroying the keystone. I should speak with General Raetus.
Objective: Talk to General Raetus
Hidden Objective: Leave the Dungeon
Objective Hint: I should leave the way I came in.
(If you freed the prisoners)
Finishes quest☑ I need to speak with Gerent Hernik and tell him about the Keystone.
Objective: Meet Hernik Outside
I chose to absorb the keystone instead of using it to free the prisoners. General Raetus was driven mad. I must escape the prison and let Gerent Hernik know.
Objective: Escape White Rose Prison
Objective Hint: Kill General Raetus
(If you absorbed the keystone)
Finishes quest☑ Gerent Hernik fled from the prison ahead of me. I should meet him outside the prison walls.
Objective: Meet Hernik Outside
Objective Hint: Gerent Hernik fled from the prison after I killed General Raetus. I should meet him outside the prison walls.
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.