Themap ofThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis a vast land filled with settlements, dungeons, and other interesting landmarks — many of which players will likely run past in their travels. Given this, it’s easy to miss out on the quests that are hidden in specific locations.
One such quest is entitled Frostflow Abyss. Unlike many of the game’s quests, which are prompted by talking to NPCs, this one simply requires the player to enter the Frostflow Lighthouse. Many may unknowingly skip this quest altogether, as the lighthouse is very much detached fromSkyrim’s many settlements. However, it has since become popular among the community for the chilling tale that accompanies it.
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Finding the Frostflow Lighthouse in Skyrim
Upon entering the lighthouse, it immediately becomes clear that something isn’t right. The player will find the corpse of a Redguard woman lying in the central room,with a Falmer sword next to her. By the fireplace will be a Chaurus carcass and a wooden ax laying among the remains, hinting that the woman put up a fight but ultimately lost. The rest of the space will be in disarray, the dining table destroyed and chairs strewn about.
By now, the Frostflow Abyss quest will trigger, urging the player to find out who — or what — committed the murders in Frostflow Lighthouse. While players can easily complete this quest without reading through the notes and journals within the location, these are necessary to understandeverything that happened to the Redguard womanand her family.
Strange Noises and Missing Items
Should the player search the woman’s body, they’ll find a book known as Habd’s Journal. Reading it reveals thatHabd was a Redguard sailorwho had saved up to buy the lighthouse after spotting it during his travels. He and his family moved into the place soon after.
In later entries, Habd talks of how his wife, Ramati, has noted that things keep going missing in the cellar. Meanwhile, Sudi swears she’s been hearing scratching noises down there, so Habd decides to make the trip to town to buy skeever traps. The final entry in the journal was likely written upon Habd’s return, as it confirms that the dead Redguard woman was his wife, killed by a “horrible bug-like creature.” Habd then explains that he’ll be going down the cellar to find the rest of his family and locking the door behind him to ensure the creatures don’t escape.
Sure enough, the door to the cellar is locked. ASkyrimplayer skilled at lockpickingcould easily gain access, but investigating the ground floor further will reveal the key’s hiding spot. In one of the bedrooms, the player can find Sudi’s Journal. There, she admits that she dislikes Skyrim and the lighthouse because there’s nothing to do. She also talks about the scratching noises that she heard from the cellar. At first, she thought it was just her father or Mani but changed her mind when she later heard the noises again after everyone had gone to bed. Finally, she notes that Mani keeps sneaking into the cellar, so she hid his key in their mother’s favorite keepsake.
This “favorite keepsake” is the burial urn atop the fireplace. Although, before pressing further, there’s plenty more that the player can learn simply by rummaging through the family’s belongings. In the same room is a Letter from Mani that he had planned to give to his sister. There, he writes that he is aware Sudi is only lying about the noises in the cellar to stop him from leaving (though this clearly isn’t the case). Still, nothing will dissuade him from returning toHammerfell. This is likely why he’s in the cellar so often, to gather things for the trip.
In the adjacent bedroom, the player can also find Ramati’s Journal on an end table. She mentions how items have gone missing from the cellar and complains about Mani and Sudi’s suggestions that it could be skeevers. However, the most important detail from Ramati’s Journal is her promise to Habd: “When he died I would put his bones in the lighthouse fire so he could look out over the ocean forever.” This note will becrucial for completing this side quest.
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A Sailor’s Last Request
Should the player press on through the locked cellar door, they’ll find that the entire lower floor has been filled with snow andChaurus are waiting to attack. At the far side of the room, two shelves lay knocked over, revealing a gaping hole in the wall. Going down this path will lead the player to an entire cave system. Soon, the player will come across distinct tents belonging to Falmer camps, and in that first area, they’ll find Mani’s remains.
Continuing further into the cave, the player willneed to defeat more Falmerand Frostbite Spiders. In a much larger cavern, they’ll find Sudi’s corpse inside one of the Falmer’s makeshift cells. Next to her are two notes that suggest she was kept there for quite a while. The first scrawled page reveals that she was with her father at one point after he was also captured by the Falmer, but he was unresponsive and feverish.
In the second, bloodstained note, Sudi explains that the Falmer had plenty of other victims — all of which they took deeper into the cave. She and her father heard screams emanating from the depths, but no one ever came back. Finally, the Falmer took Sudi’s sickly father away. After which, she took her life with the dagger that he’d left.
Pressing on, the player will arrive atthe lair of the Chaurus Reaper— one much larger than any other variant in the game — though defeating it won’t mark the quest complete. Upon defeating the Chaurus Reaper and searching its body, the player will find a unique item known as Habd’s remains and the lighthouse key.
The player must now make their way back to the lighthouse using a shortcut within the cave system. After which, they need to ascend to the top of the structure and place Habd’s remains in the lighthouse torch. By doing so, the player grants Habd’s last wish, effectively completing the quest andgrantingSkyrimplayers the special effectSailor’s Repose.
Thus ends the story of Habd and his family. The Frostflow Abyss quest is easily one of the most unsettling in the game, given that the victims were innocent people wanting to live their lives in peace. It only goes to showhow dangerous the land of Skyrim is, and how even those who have done no wrong can fall prey to the evils lurking underneath the surface.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
