I feel like there is supposed to be more to it than just killing him and getting an iron battle axe/daedra heart/3 Black soul gems...

I thought that portal would open up to somewhere, feels like an unfinished mini quest imo.

Let's not forget the hours of fun hunting for the fragments then wandering around aimlessly trying to remember where to take them, checking the map to see if the lock symbol has finally appeared again.

Best guess, it was all for sh&t's and giggles. Not even an enchanted ax, even bandit leaders have those.

Don't even get me started on finding those f n opus pages I've been through that place so many times finding spell books and reaper fragments and the horse skull and I've only found 6 or 7 of those pages

I spent ages looking for more fragments in the hope of getting that portal open, and I never even got the benefit of the reapers few items, it glitched out on me and only one enemies remains were raidable and it was not the Reapers. Most of them ended up as green specks, I was a bit disgusted after going through all that. But the fight was was at least worth it.

Everything else I had no complaints about, they put enough soul husks, enemies and places to fill soul gems to at least make it interesting covering every square inch of ground looking for who knows what. Otherwise I would never have has a clue of where I had already been, it all looked the same to me.

He is just a Mini-Boss...maybe he is referenced in the original visit to the Soul Cairn in Daggerfall or Battlespire or where ever that was

I also think its unfinished, if you look in the middle of the floor, it looks like one of those teleporters that you encounter in Soul Cairn, but its blocked off.

I assumed killing him would unblock the teleporter, but I guess not

Well, I just got through hours of searching for those f#%king reaper gem fragments in the hopes that that stinking portal would open up and allow me some sort of reward, but to no avail. And now, after finding the fragments and still nothing happens save for a breeze of a mini-boss fight, and becoming fed up with searching for a solution on my own, did I look here for some form of assistance, only to find that you've all had the same WTF moments that I've had! No opening of the portal for you guys either! Man I wish I'd just looked here first! Oh well, live and learn...

It was a letdown. The pay off did not match the build up. Especially the loot.

I really loved the Soul Cairn. Great goosebumps.

Oh, and Arvak's skull was actually easy to find, in fact, I found it even before speaking to the guy. But then I reloaded because I didn't want to miss the dialogue and because it felt like cheating.

I also found a Keeper before speaking to Valerica... I almost broke the game if I hadn't reload again, because if you find it before the quest you can't progress.