Hello everybody!


im playing skyrim at the moment and ive encountered a bug in one of the main quests...
the quest is "the horn of jurgan windcaller"
the quest marker tell me to go inside a place and search for his horn...
the thing is once im entering Ustengrav after clearing the enemies in the first area the road forward is blocked by two pillars of stone! i cant move past them
its like the game doesnt realize im doing the quest.
i returned to hrothgar but no answers there... the quest is on and active but the path is blocked.
i tried to tcl only to get past the stones and everything was ok... i went through the whole dungeon. but in the end in the place with the tomb the quest marker points at the tomb... but nothing there is clickable...
i can see the tombs name when my mouse is over it but pressing E doesnt do a thing, and i cant find any letter from a friend...

Please help me get through this?
ive spent alot of hours on this character, i dont want to start all over just because of a bug.

and the worst part is i have no save file that i can get back too... never though ill need to go so far back.

I just completed this quest yesterday with no problems. To reach the end of this dungeon, you must complete a puzzle that requires the successful use of the Whirlwind Sprint shout. Attempting to bypass this puzzle with console commands will likely not work due to the necessary scripts not completing. Try providing more detail as to exactly where you are in the dungeon that your progress is impeded by "two pillars of stone."

Hey kastagir, thanks for replying...
i am not talking about the 3 stone puzzle... i did that after doing the tcl and got through it fine...
im talking about the very first area, the one you reach when you just entered the dungeon.
its like a hall that starts thin and gets wider and to continue you need to go to a path that is to your left... (to the right theres a chest)
but instead of an open path to the left i have two pillars of stone (or something that looks like it) .. its as if the game show me the quest is active and theres a quest mark telling me where to go, but it doesnt act like the quest is active...


Edit: Is there a way to upload a picture? i printscreened a picture that show where the path is blocked

Sorry, but without further details on the location or a screenshot, I can't identify exactly where in the dungeon you are seeing these pillars. I just returned to Ustengrav and there are no pillars blocking the path. Are you using any mods?

Is there a way i can send you an image? i print screened exactly where i see the blocked path...

i never use cheats or mods... i DID use once the tcl (go through walls) to go through the blocked path but other then that nothing...
i know you cant see a blocked path... it only happens to me. you wont see it.
but for me its there...
ill try to describe it better.
you go to ustengrav, there is a camp outside with a few bandits... you go down a set of round stairs and enter ustengrav,,,
right after you enter theres a fight going on in the distant,,,now the only way to go on from that battle ground and continue through the dungeon is the same pathway to the left (you will see it as just another path in skyrim, open.) but i see it blocked... by stones and rubbles.

Screenshots can be stored in the Steam cloud. By default they are stored in your steam directory but you can sync them with the cloud which will allow you to provide links to them. Check your Steam settings.

I know the passage you're talking about. I don't know why it is blocked for you - it is not something that is activated by a lever/button or event. I would suggest using a save from before entering Ustengrav, but you already said you didn't have one. The only other thing I can recommend is to verify the local game cache with Steam. You could also start another character and get to this point in the main quest to check - it shouldn't take too long.

i will try to start another character...to see if the path is still blocked
what do you mean by verify the local game cache with steam?
what is that and how can i do it? : )

thank you for caring man!

Open Steam so you see your library of games. Right-click on Skyrim and click on 'properties.' Click on the 'Local Files' tab and select the button that says 'Verify integrity of game cache..." This will check to see if any game files are missing or corrupt and download them through Steam if necessary.

So... check this out... i started a new game and did only the main quest and the path in ustengrav was clear and in the end there it was the mystirious note from delphin!
so it must be something i did wrong in my main char...
the only thing i noticed i now that i didnt see with my main char is this:
with my main char i finished the quest in bleak borrows (with the golden claw) and the dragon tablet before i even went to white run...
so while doing the main quest and talking to the yarl he told me to talk to his mage and that he will give me the quest to get the dragon tablet but i allready have it with me... so i talk to him and the quest is done and the dragon appears...

now when i first talked to the yarl and his mage in whiterun and only then went to get the dragon tablet...
the thing is... once i finished with the quest i saw the mage (falkar secret-fire? something like that) talk to delphin...
ive read the mystirious note was from her... maybe because i didnt see her with the main char the quest got broken?

this is so frustrating... i cant start the game all over, i spent 120 hours on my main char. is there anything else to try? a cheat? a trick? anything? i dont care as long as i can continue with the main quest...

I've never seen the Mage talk to Delphin yet there were no problems like you describe.
But I am (again) about to do the Horn quest. I did have the dragon stone allready when talking the first time to the Jarl and there were no problems, I handed it over to the Mage.
I'll see what 2 pillars you mean and report back.

Thanks for replying meegja! im looking forward to hear if you encountered any problems! ( i hope you dont! i think theres no true solution for this bug for now).

It is normal to see Delphine talking to Farengar if you retrieved the dragonstone before visiting Whiterun. Many people have followed this course of action without reporting any issues with subsequent quests. Was your previous character created under a different game version? I have seen some problems with saves created under one version not being able to continue properly with a newer version, but it is rare.

No probs here: did already have the stone when the mage asked for it and gave it.
Just did the Horn quest and no problems, the way was not blocked.

maybe, i cant recall if my save games where from b4 the patch... i wish there was some way to fix this...
i searched everywhere, through google, forums, administrators and even the support group of bethseda. there is no answer for my problem. at least not in this patch.
i guess ill stop play for now...
thank you guys, for your help!

In your affected game, try typing getstage MQ105Ustengrav in the console (notice that it is "getstage" and not "setstage"). Then compare the returned value to the list of quest stages http://uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Horn_of_Jurgen_Windcaller. If it doesn't look like the stage returned is where the quest should be at, you can use the console to advance the quest and continue on.


From what you've said here it isn't clear to me whether the note is present or not. In either case, you can try typing setstage MQ105Ustengrav 15 which should prompt you to read the note. If you are then able to read the note, you should be fine to continue on. If not, you can then type setstage MQ105Ustengrav 20. This will advance the quest to the point after which you would have read the note, prompting you to go to the Sleeping Giant Inn and ask about renting the "Attic Room." It may be necessary to close the console after each command to see if it has an effect, such as a journal entry/update. If these steps work, and you're able to continue the main quest, save your game and exit Skyrim. Steam achievements are disabled if the console is used, but they will be enabled again the next time you launch the game and load your save.

Important: before using any console commands, create a new save (not a quicksave). If you make any errors, or if for some reason following these steps doesn't work for you, you can always return to the save you created.

I did what you told me too... the quest did get updated ( i did the getstage, not sure what it did... and than the other two in order) but when i appraoch delphin in riverwood (the quest marker is pointing at her) all she does is asking me if i want to rent an ordinary room... nothing special.... so again, im stuck lol
where did you read about those commands? is there a list i can follow?

by the way im playing the game on pc in windows xp

What value was returned when you used the 'getstage' command? Did you receive journal updates when you used the setstage commands each time? Was the note ever present or accessible?

The quest stages are described at UESP.net. I provided a link in the previous post.

well, when i pressed getstage mq105ustengrav it replies "GetStage >> 10"
stones still there note still missing and quest still active.
then i pressed setstage mq105ustengrav 15 and it got a journal updated about the note but the note is still missing from the hand and its not in my inventory
so i pressed setstage mq105ustengrav 20 and i got another quest update that i need to go to the sleeping giant and rent the attic and the quest marker was updated too,
so i went there and talked to delphin but all she offer is an ordinary room, nothing else to do with her (and the quest marker is pointing at her).

im beggining to think there was something i did wrong in "the way of the voice"...
i mean, i did all the quest and it went fine i learned two words ones an upgrade for unrelenting force and one is whirlwind sprint.
but i think that something went wrong there... he gave me the quest "the horn of urgen windcaller"
but he and the other greybeard are standing still near the gate where i passed my whirlwind sprint training.
and the silent guy keeps yelling bex at the gate as if im still suppose to pass it
when i do it again they are telling me i did good and start walking back to their castle but a few seconds later they backtrack and return to the position of opening the gate and telling me to do it again.

its hard for me to explain =\ but it does seem like a bug... maybe thats the reason i cant continue?

I have a completely different bug for the same quest, on returning the horn to High Hrothgar only Arngeir responds to the return of the Horn the others continue their meditation and ignore me. The last word of relenting force appears, I learn it but Wulfgar does not teach me its meaning, in some attempts I have made he is not even in the entrance hall. I have tried talking to him but have just been ignored. On talking with Arngeir al you get is Wulfgar will now teach you the meaning of Dah to push.
This is my 5th run through and the first time I have encountered this problem, This character is a Female Imperial level 67 with 198 hours of play, that is a lot to lose so has anyone any ideas on how to get round it. I have tried using one of my own dragon souls, did not work still stuck in the loop.

Yes, it does seem like a bug, but don't count on this being something that gets fixed by an update. Since you can't say definitively why this occurred, and you have confirmed that it didn't occur on another playthrough, the standard approach is going to always be "try again from an earlier save." As you can't do that, you should take away from this the necessity to make (and keep) more saves while playing through the game. Quicksave and autosave are not adequate for a TES game. I don't see this as Bethesda's fault necessarily, but as something that goes along with such a large scale game.

Hello ferghanmhor, sadly i never really got to the part of the quest your talking about, im stuck at getting the horn...i hope your problem gets resolved!

kast, i know that bugs are unavoidable in these kind of games.. but even if i did save every time a new save.
... lets say that with my main char i would have saved 100000 times... that wouldnt make a difference, i would still had to go back to a save that is about 5 or 10 hours after the beginning. that's still losing about 100 hours of game play.
you can play the game without even knowing that something went wrong and discover it only in much, much
later parts of the game, when your actually facing the problem.

i really hope they will find a solution for this bug.
if not maybe ill just keep playing for fun, without never finishing the game...

games like skyrim are fun because you can basicly do whatever you want without fear. these bugs are taking that feeling away from me.
bugs that even touch the main quest should be fixed.
i think i deserve better than "start all over again"

btw, thanks alot for trying to help me man! it means alot!

I just did this questline today, and have almost the exact same problem.
I talked to Arngeir and returned the horn, he then tells I should meet them all inside, but remains where he is
When I went inside and talked to Wulfgar, he just got up, waved his arms in front of himself and goes back to meditating, T

I found out that I had to go down to the gate in th courtyard where Borri was standing before the others would go inside, I could then complete it.

My question now is this.
Are all the Greybeards there or is it just Wulfgar?
If thats the case then what I just described should work.
If not, then have you tried loading one of the 3 autosaves?
Could be it helps just to load again.

Hi Bansheedragon thanks for the response, I have loaded the autosaves and have also gone off done other things and then returned 3 times result is just the same. Last save I have Borri and Wulfgar are meditating in the entrance hall I go and talk to Arngier who is meditating in one of the alcoves, I am told to follow him to learn the last word of unrelenting force, when we get to the entrance hall the word is already glowing under the point where wulfgar is meditating, the forth member walks into the hall but does nothing. After I learn the word I am told Wulfgar will now give me his understanding, nothing happens if I talk to Wulfgar he stands up then sits down, if I talk to Arngeir then the other three leave the hall and I am in the same old loop. I have reloaded this save 3 times but no change. 1.5 has broken far more than it has fixedas I have 3 sub quests that used to work fine that are now broken. Will abandon this game until a fix or work around is available.