Skyrim talk:Missing In Action/Archive 1

This is an archive of past Skyrim talk:Missing In Action discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page, except for maintenance such as updating links.

Reward

I changed sword to weapon on "Return to Fralia for your reward: an enchanted weapon which deals elemental damage."

I've gotten an axe both times I've completed this quest.— Unsigned comment by 67.49.198.242 (talk) at 00:27 on 14 November 2011

You are correct about the reward. --Krusty 10:30, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

According to the article, when your character returns to Fralia at the conclusion of the quest, "she'll then reward you with a leveled weapon that Eorlund had made for Thorald." Except the weapon doesn't appear to be leveled. I reloaded many times, and my (level 70) character was always rewarded with a steel weapon. Random steel, but steel.MrC (talk) 18:39, 9 March 2013 (GMT)

Peaceful solution?

I told Avulstein that I would try for a peaceful solution, is it even possible? Malmern

I found Imperial orders for the release of a prisoner at the watch, but it doesn't do anything when you speak to the guards. Item ID# 000524DA

That might be referring to the possibility of sneaking in to release the prisoner. --Quillan^Talk 18:22, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Get the Missive, do not take it to anyone, go directly to general Tullius, at first he'll reject your request. Join Imperial Legion, take the oath, then talk to Tullius again, he will give you the order that works correctly. (Confirmed on patch 1.8 with the Unofficial Skyrim patch 1.8) — Unsigned comment by 60.28.140.2 (talk) at 07:09 on 30 November 2012

Minor bug

After you've found the journal that says Thorald is still alive, talk to Fralia, the option to ask "How can you be sure Thorald is still alive?" is still there, even if you tell her husband that he is. When not engaged in dialogue with her (i.e. when she's talking to you when you're standing next to her) she still says "Any news about my son?", I wonder if there's any audio of her saying "Have you rescued my son yet?" or something similar in the game, only it's not being triggered?

Just checked, nope :( Mardoxx 17:12, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Redirect

This page should redirect to Missing In Action as that one is the page generated by the bot and thus correctly capitalized. --Ijiero 18:37, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Claiming Allegience

The page says "The easiest way to do this is to claim allegiance to the Battle-Born, which will grant you free access to the lodge." There is no explanation of how to do this, and no other other resource I have checked mentions this option. Is this a mistake? RevDr 04:26, 17 November 2011 (UTC)

Nevermind, I managed it by speaking with Idolaf Battle-Born. Adding this info to the main page. RevDr 06:16, 17 November 2011 (UTC)

Peaceful Solution

(... not sure what happened to all the other talk-pieces, I logged in and suddenly they were gone, from history, too)

I've heard a rumor, which is yet to be substantiated, that if you show up at the Thalmor stronghold wearing a full set of Imperial LEGION Armor (not plain) they will let you in. Anybody confirm/deny?

--DaedalusMachina 20:46, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

I don't even see Imperial LEGION armor on the armor listing... I've been trying to figure this out, however. I agree that there has to be some sort of peaceful solution because there's too many strong hints. You can go to Tullius and ask about the prisoner, so there must be something you have to do to get him to agree. 71.237.240.207 07:32, 24 November 2011 (UTC)

I took out one of the guards, donned his armor (elven light) and still alerted the rest of the guards. Possibly not high enough of a Speechcraft to talk my way in? I'm fairly high on Sneak (85) and still alerting everyone around the Keep. --ChicagoWiz 06:20, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

I tried using the Thalmor mage robes, imperial armor, and elven armor stolen from the guard around back and the speech options did not change. I haven't tried this in the keep though. I did sneak past all the guards on the way to the target, but the interrogator is staring at him 24/7. Killing him does not count as murder though. 69.181.115.125 22:26, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

I forged the full-set of Imperial Armour using a forge, even with the shield. No new dialogue went out. Haven't tried using Imperial Light Armour, as I don't have the bracer. --223.18.166.21 15:48, 30 November 2011 (UTC)

I suspect the conversation option with Tullius is the key to completing this. Has anyone tried speaking to him during or after completing the Legion side quests? I'm about to start them, I'll report back if it has any affect. --174.53.152.188 23:17, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

I finished the quest by killing all of them and as soon as I started the fight journal entry "Find a way to release Thorald from Thalmor custody" went failed - so I believe there is another way. I don't plan on going Imperial in this go, but I have a savagame before the fight so will try again if I get any other info. --93.87.198.92 11:52, 14 December 2011 (UTC)

(←) I can find 2 dialog options through the console help function related to this, dial: ms09tulliusthoraldbranchtopic (000524cb) "I need a prisoner released from northwatch keep" and dial: ms09justiciargiveorder (000524ca) "Here's an order from general tullius himself". This leads me to believe that some trigger to get tullius to give you the order is not triggering correctly or has not been found yet. --77.251.85.45 04:48, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

Using the console help function I found the following Item tagged as BOOK - ID: 000524DA - 'Imperial Order'. I cheated it into my inventory and it reads like this:

"Note from Tullius allowing for release of prisoner from Northwatch Keep". So there should definitely be an option to get this item and to use it!!! Or Maybe these are just fragments of an unfinished alternative quest end?! --77.64.189.252 06:57, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

I've seen this discussed elsewhere. The gist of it was that some kind of bug prevents you from getting the order, so as of patch 1.3 it's not actually possible to release him without fighting. ThuumofReason 16:36, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

(←) Can anyone please provide ID codes for Imperial legion armor? — Unsigned comment by 109.86.60.213 (talk) at 11:34 on 27 November 2011

It says over at another wiki that Imperial Legion Armor can be found on a body in Fort Greymoor but I haven't checked this out yet. (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Missing_in_Action#No_Bloodshed_Bug)166.192.35.119 03:28, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

It's the same even after finishing the IL questline, i.e. the article is correct. --Lexter 20:17, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

If you're playing via PC, you can use the Console to gain acces to the Testing Hall using the code, "COC QASmoke", without the quotation marks. Then look for the containers with the armor. If that method doesn't appeal to you, use the Console and write in "HELP", without the quotation marks, followed by the name of what you are looking for, written inside quotation marks. Then the answer will have the code you need to add the item! Leo Star Dragon 1 (talk) 03:50, 19 April 2013 (GMT)

After the War

Has anyone waited till after the war to attempt this quest? I did, and when I entered the Gray-Mane's home, I was attacked by Avulstein. He said something like "Who have you brought into our home, Mother?" and just charged with his axe. I tried to submit him with fists, but Fralia wouldn't talk to me, just cower. I tried to run away, and Avulstein chased me, killing guards in his way, and I failed the quest. I have no idea what I did wrong, but I'm thinking you have to do this before the war. I sided with the Stormcloaks, and even murdered Idolaf Battle-Born in the streets, getting a bounty from Jarl Gray-Mane (which amused the hell out of me) and a bunch of hired thugs chasing me. Voraxith 08:18, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

He charges with the axe, but he doesn't actually attack. — Unsigned comment by 173.58.136.53 (talk) at 06:14 on 4 December 2011

I'm in the middle of the war now (as an Imperial), but I got the quest before the war started. Had no trouble talking to Avulstein, Fralia, or Thorald last night when I finally got around to completing it. Oshaugm 12:35, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

Try sneaking, worked for me. Just don't stay in his house to long after he finishes talking to you... — Unsigned comment by 174.88.88.20 (talk) at 22:38 on 31 December 2011

I did this quest after the war, having sided with the Stormcloaks and the same thing happened to me. I think it was the bounty that caused him to charge me. Every time I went to his home, he would attack me. I had killed Idolaf and gotten a 1000G bounty, but as soon as I went to jail and served time, I was able to talk to Avulstein without any problems. — Unsigned comment by 75.34.61.226 (talk) at 16:31 on 29 January 2013

Hi! Ahem, SPOILER ALERT! Maybe? I'm here now, because I can't get the quest to complete right, though it did once before. When it did, here's what I learned. It makes for sense, story wise, to do this quest early on, or during the war, not after, because when you rescue the guy, he and his brother then leave home "forever" to join the Stormcloaks, leaving behind a proud but sad mother who fears that she may never see her sons again. So if the war is over when you do this quest, what would they do instead? But anyway, I'm still looking for that fix that let me do the quest peacefully once before. Good luck to the rest of you! EDIT: I forgot to mention that once I was promoted, I was able to ask the general for the paper. However, I'm at the gate now, and the guard won't escort me to the prisoner. Before, he'd take the order from the general and escort me. Now he won't take the order even if he sees that I have it. So now I don't know how to precede without a fix. Other than to reload, and forego the peaceful option and take the brother with me. Leo Star Dragon 1 (talk) 22:50, 18 April 2013 (GMT)

The only way to finish it peacefully is via mods (the Unofficial Skyrim Patch is listed on the page). You couldn't even glitch it fixed because the simply don't exist in-game otherwise. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 22:56, 18 April 2013 (GMT)

Completing Alone

You can complete this quest by yourself; just did it on the PC. Some of the fights are a little tough by yourself, so come armed with plenty of restorative items.

Did not have the problem with the bug regarding the brothers and exiting the back door; however I went alone. The bug may only trigger if Avulstein came along. — Unsigned comment by 98.69.234.224 (talk) at 20:00 on 26 November 2011

The sneaky way

I snuck into the stronghold, using invisibility potions, without killing any guards, until I found the interrogator in the same room with Thorald. If you kill the interrogator and free Thorald, and start sneaking out, Thorald will follow you but he ignores all the guards, just as the guards ignore him, even during later combat. So I'm guessing it's possible to sneak your way out while Thorald runs behind you, and therefore it's possible to complete this without killing anyone, with the possible exception of the interrogator. However, there are ways to incapacitate NPCs without killing them, and disappear while they're immobilized, such as paralysis poisons and the Ice Form shout. It's also possible that the interrogator leaves the room if you wait long enough, but I can't be sure. Just thought I'd mention all this. — Unsigned comment by 46.163.204.248 (talk) at 12:34 on 29 November 2011

Another tip for those who wants a stealth approach for this quest: after you sneak your way in from the back door entrance (master lock door) there are two guards, one sitting, one patrolling the prison cells, make your way down to the corridor and walk through the doori there's another guard there sitting and facing towards the wall, oblivious to your presence even if you make noises, go straight to the torture room ahead, take out the interrogator and save Thorald. Now go back the same way, Thalmor will ignore Thorald, just sneak your way back to the door you used to get in and escort Thorald to safety. Now, this may not apply to everyone but for some reason in my game Thorald was dropping from a short distance as I walk out the door and making a noise that was alerting the guards. This is what I did to fix it: as soon as the game loads once you exit the door, open the console, type: " TLC " (without quotes, and make sure nothing is currently selected) to turn off clipping mode then close the console and immediately re open the console and activate TLC again. This will eliminate that sound Thorald makes. --Heartseeker (talk) 04:18, 28 November 2012 (GMT)

The summary mentions that the interorgator is alone with Thorald

I found that he had the entire garrison in the room, is this a bug!! — Unsigned comment by 92.13.121.12 (talk) at 13:02 on 3 January 2013

Imperial Order

I was searching for items with imperial order and there is a book called "Imperial Order". It says "Note from Tullius allowing for release of prisoner from Northwatch Keep". Item # is 000524DA Even if you give yourself the item it doesn't open up any additional dialogs with the guard, its likely just a prop that you get along with a quest flag that allows another optional dialog. But at least it helps to know that the order is given by Tullius. — Unsigned comment by 65.182.48.69 (talk) at 07:14 on 1 December 2011

I wouldn't go as far as giving by him. It may be just a fake that you can get off of someone, potentially the thieves guild? --213.178.113.186 20:22, 7 December 2011 (UTC)

Another Bug

Okay so I have encountered a very problematic bug with this quest and I am probably the first to experience this as I found no case similar to mine. I have not finished the main quest yet, rather I went out and started doing sidequests first with Guild quests. First I became Archmage and while in the College of Winterhold the Orc Urug something told me to find books for him. Okay one of the books just so happened to be in Northwatch Keep so naturally I went there unaware of the Missing in Action quest yet. I am greeted by the A-hole Thalmor who I proceed to cut down. I enter the Keep loot it and get the book. I release all of the prisoners there and leave to return the book to Urug. Well after that I go to Whitrun and get the quest Missing In Action. I proceed with it normally doing what the Gray-Mane dude asks for and I decide to storm the Keep with him. I fast travel there having already been there and wait an hour for him to get there. I meet him outside keep and a dragon attacks we kill it I absorb the soul he is amazed blah blah blah. Then we go to the door of the Keep and I enter then bam screen freezes and I have to turn off my game. I have it on Xbox 360 and it is installed to my hard drive so I know it is not the disc and it freezes no matter what even if I turn it off reload all that stuff. Plus my earliest auto save is already too late in the quest. I hate incomplete quests and can anyone tell if there is any other way besides restarting? 50.36.48.243 19:09, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

I Failed It?

I just walked out of Acadias Couldron one day and it failed. Strange — Unsigned comment by VORSEY (talk • contribs) at 23:20 on 12 December 2011

Thorald hostile?

I didn't think about the Find a way to release Thorald from Thalmor custody part of the quest and decided to storm through stormwatch. I got to Thorald and a group of guards. While fighting the guards, Thorald runs up and starts attacking me. I finish killing the guards, yet I can't get him to stop fighting me and my objectives are 'Rescue Thorald from Northwatch Keep' and 'Speak to Thorald Gray-Mane' but can't complete them, somehow, because Thorald is now hostile to me. Help? (my save before coming here got overwritten). 74.190.29.242 11:54, 15 December 2011 (UTC)

I had this - I thought that maybe it's because my character is an elf (though dark elf not high elf). I brawled with him until he was knocked to the ground, then he became friendly and we got out of there! Maturin 08:35, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Cleared it before getting the quest

Seems bugged. I cleared north watch keep before getting the quest (well I will kill every thalmor guys/gals on sight), after I got the quest, and tried to attempt get into the keep, the game shuts and back to windows. Any idea about this? — Unsigned comment by 219.80.131.150 (talk) at 16:19 on 21 December 2011

Bug on "Missing in Action" (Xbox 360: Skyrim)

Happy to know I'm not the only Skyrim player that this happened to. I cleared out Northwatch Keep of it's Thalmor members out of complete boredeom (No knowledge of this quest at the time). After realizing my attempts to speed increase my smithing stat required a level up; I started completing side quests to level up. THAT'S when I discovered this quest. Went back to Northwatch and entered; Game froze withing about a minuet in the loading screen. Tried again several times and even let my Xbox sit and cool off. Same result. I'm a treasure hunter and have stored QUITE a lot of loot. Mainly in my potions/ingredients/food (annoying to sort) and my MISC items (just kind of throw stuff in there). However I've made it a rule to have ONE of every weapon/armor type and style there is. The massive amount of loot I've collected (enough that I have thirteen thousand gold sitting in a drawer in my Whiterun house) may be why my game is glitched; however it may not be. Either way; hope Bethesda fixes it. Any common fixes for it are welcome. — Unsigned comment by 98.109.87.233 (talk) on January 5, 2012 03:08

Another bug found: I cleared all Northwatch Keep before setting free Thorald. When I tried to escape with him Thorald didn't move from the room and didn't pick any weapon. I solved the problem pushing him: after having left the room he was standing like he was ready to fight and finally he followed me. To push him, I put my carachter on his back and then I move the left stick like as I was running. After a while Thorald moved for few meters. I went on in this way until we left the room.— Unsigned comment by 93.50.86.67 (talk) at 00:10 on 11 February 2012 (UTC)

Figured out how to fix the above bug: Thorald will NOT leave the room without a weapon! If you have picked up all the weapons in the room, he won't leave. Simple fix...simply place a weapon (sword or dagger) on one of the tables in the room. He will pick it up and then follow you. Quest complete. — Unsigned comment by 74.197.192.113 (talk) on 28 April 2012

Alternative quest reward and Eorlund's relevance

The article states "if Eorlund is dead, she will give you gold instead." There's no previous mention of Eorlund in the article and so it's not clear why his death affects the reward you receive; presumably Eorlund makes the enchanted weapon with which you are rewarded, which he can't do if he's dead. If this is correct I think the article should mention it. --Reka 18:59, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

He did make the weapon, but Eorlund isn't directly involved in the quest. When you bring the news to Fralia, she mentions that Eorlund made a new weapon for Thorald, intending it as a present to celebrate his homecoming. But since he won't be home right away, she wants you to have it instead; Eorlund can make another one when the war is over. That would be why she gives you gold if he's no longer alive. --184.43.67.178 02:17, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

Thorald's choice of weapon

When I released Thorald from his shackles, he immediately went to the nearby table and picked up a dagger. I don't know if this is scripted or something any combat-ready NPC will automatically do, but he refuses to pick up armour or better weapons even when I drop them at his feet, or when he walks past a replete weapon rack. I've scanned the article and talk pages for Followers and NPCs but cannot find any information on forcing an NPC to pick up a new (better) weapon, other than trading with a follower - which cannot be done with Thorald. If the player is stuck with an unarmoured Thorald wielding a dagger, it might be worth mentioning this in the article in order to warn players who may have been planning to fight their way out after sneaking in! --Reka 11:29, 21 January 2012 (UTC)

In my game he walked to the nearest weapon rack and grabbed a glass war axe from it. It's possible NPCs have a preference based on type, e.g. he'll walk past a powerful bow for an iron dagger because he has a higher one handed skill. But yes, since he's not an actual follower, you can't dictate what he equips. I would try picking up all the other weapons in the room, then drop what you want him to use at his feet before releasing him. EmmBee 12:02, 22 January 2012 (UTC)

Strange... I wonder what made your Thorald choose a glass war axe instead of the steel/iron dagger that mine chose. I'm not worried about it enough to go back to an old save and retry it, but I'll probably experiment on my next playthrough. There is obviously some kind of logic at work there though! --Reka 20:19, 22 January 2012 (UTC)

When I did the quest, he ignored the weapons on the nearby table and instead grabbed a Woodcutter's Axe. I didn't leave any glass axes lying around, though. --184.43.67.178 02:22, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

Late follow-up, but I just tested this with the above suggestions. On the table beside Tharold were two iron daggers and an elven dagger. Before I freed him, I claimed the elven one, then tossed the other two behind the barrels in the opposite corner. I placed an elven battle axe on the table. After I turned him loose, he ignored the axe and went to the corner and somehow retrieved one of the iron blades. On another load, I placed all the daggers in the chest, and left the axe out. He ran toward the chest, but then stopped and put up his dukes. On subsequent trials, he would pick up no other weapon but the dagger. X36071.61.174.190 01:12, 17 January 2015 (GMT)Imbalance

Bug

Everytime I try to free Tharold from Thalmor I enter the prison from the front or side entrance and it says mission failed. Is there a secret entrance I have to use? — Unsigned comment by 24.8.145.234 (talk) at 01:00 on 26 January 2012

Perhaps the failure relates to the stage of the quest whereby you must try to release Tharold peacefully? If you enter Northwatch Keep, the Thalmor there automatically become hostile, and you have to free Tharold in a less-than-peaceful manner, thus making the peaceful option impossible. --Reka 09:57, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

You got that message because you told his brother you would try to find a way to free Tharold peacefully. It's a bug in the game that such an avenue isn't possible. You now have to fight your way through. It's best to always let his brother come along for the fun so you don't have to fight through the Thalmor alone. 96.37.228.113 21:17, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

What about after?

I am curious, does anyone know where the Grey-Manes go after you complete the quest? They mention joining the storm cloaks. 64.119.75.204 16:51, 21 February 2012 (UTC)Jason I tried finding out with the console typing a command to move to thorald I appeared at northwatch where you get out with thorald and nobody is there so I assume he just dissapears altogether from the game.

Nope, he will be found in the castle in Windhelm asking to join the Stormcloaks. Later, if you sided with them as well, there is a good chance he will be fighting with you when you take Fort Amol.

Olfina Gray-Mane

The article mentions being able to pick-pocket a letter from Olfina Gray-Mane about her romance with Jon Battle-Born, but I've tried pick-pocketing her and she isn't carrying any letter, is this a bug or is the letter actually somewhere else? I'm going to check the house but I didn't see anything the first time I looked. -- Haravikk 17:18, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

Never mind, it turns out the letter is on Jon Battle-Born, not Olfina, I'll correct the page. -- Haravikk 17:38, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

Bug- No quest update after speaking to Fralia

I got the quest, then went to the Gray-Manes' house, and there was no dialogue option with Fralia to update it. So I went and got the missive, went back, tried again. Still nothing. Also, Alvustein would not speak to me, just said stuff about the war, but no dialogue opened. So I went to Northwatch, killed all the Thalmor, but Thorald wasn't there. I've had a look around, can't seem to find a solution or even any mention of this happening to other players. Could anyone help me out please? 106.71.208.81 07:48, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Can't Get Quest

I started a new game and I was heading to Dragonsreach after completing Bleak Falls Barrow. It was nighttime (not sure if that matters) and I passed the Blonde Battleborn guy you see talking to the female blacksmith upon first arriving at Whiterun. As he walked by me, he started his dialogue from when he talks to Fralia Gray-mane about how her son, "Chose his side and chose poorly," or something like that. I dismissed it thinking I could just pick the quest up later and I entered Dragonsreach. I'm a little ways passed the message to whiterun quest (stormcloak side) and I've waited day after day and the scene where the battleborns argue with Fralia won't occur. Did I miss it? Everytime I talk to her the only dialogue options available are about her husband being the best blacksmith and there is no option to ask, "How do you know your son is still alive," and "How do you know they're lying?". I've done this quest multiple times on other play throughs but this is the first time that this has occured. — Unsigned comment by Hailfang24 (talk • contribs) at 05:54 on 9 April 2012

Talking to Avulstein or taking the missive (if possible), should start the quest. The Silencer has spoken 06:10, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

Same here, though Fralia is dead so I cannot do the quest anyway which is a major fault in the game — Unsigned comment by 86.145.132.136 (talk) at 14:58 on 25 August 2012

Nothing I do starts the quest.Maybe it's because of the unofficial patch? — Unsigned comment by 151.73.212.172 (talk) at 01:37 on 6 October 2012‎

I also have this problem. It's either because of Dawnguard, or the latest official patch.

Imperial Order 2

It is possible to get the imperial order from Tullius. I'm about halfway through with the Imperial quest and asked him to release a prisoner from Northwatch Keep. He said something like "The Thalmor? I can only imagine the headaches this is going to cause... Here, take this. This should get your prisoner out assuming they even honor it." Then I received an Imperial order. After that I visited Northwatch Keep and talked to the guard. He keeps saying "What? Even if we had a prisoner with that name, we would only allow that with an Imperial order." But then there's a new dialogue option where you can show him the note and he says "That seems allright. Follow me." But then he just stands there doing nothing. — Unsigned comment by Penrutet (talk • contribs) at 09:14 on 20 September 2012

I got the imperial order from tullius and got the dialogue to follow the thalmor into the dungeon to release Thorald but, as I was walking into the keep whilst following the thalmor, the thalmor attacked me anyway. — Unsigned comment by 86.156.169.201 (talk) at 23:29 on 24 October 2012‎

Yeah, me too. I was alone and wearing all Imperial armor. Bug confirmed, even after patches, official and unofficial. I wonder if the war needs to progress further or a truce needs to be negotiated. --Cybersquirt (talk) 22:12, 24 July 2015 (UTC)

Bug I can't talk with/free Thoral

I'm entering the room, Thoral is hanging at the wall - but I can't talk to him. When I use a weapon to open the handcuffs, he will always fight and die in the end....— Unsigned comment by 91.64.210.97 (talk) at 12:05 on 6 November 2012

Can't complete, Solo.

So I have done everything up to the point where you go outside with the guy you are meant to rescue but when we get there nothing happens at all, it wont let me complete the quest. Dx I have it on Xbox. Is there something I may have missed, I went alone, killed all the elves, released him and now that we are at the quest marker nothing is happening! — Unsigned comment by 95.145.134.4 (talk) at 15:00 on 29 March 2013 GMT

I have the same problem. I went with his brother and I am at the quest marker but it won't let me finish the quest. What did you do? — Unsigned comment by 211.31.44.152 (talk) at 12:34 on 2 April 2013‎ GMT

I was able to fix this by going back into the keep and coming back out again. Just don't hit wait before the quest message updates. — Unsigned comment by 24.127.42.13 (talk) at 15:58 on 15 August 2013 (GMT)

House Gray-Mane is closed and Avulstein turns hostile

Just experienced described bug which is marked as unconfirmed. The only unofficial mod installed is Unofficial Patch. Using "moveto player" on Avulstein solved the problem. 178.252.126.70 07:49, 10 September 2013 (GMT)

confirmed on that one. I have the same bug. house remains locked, day or night, and picking the lock does not help. Avulstein will not talk to you. — Unsigned comment by 60.234.198.129 (talk) at 05:53 on 27 September 2013

60.234.198.129, can you specify what platform you play on, and if you are playing on PC do you have any mods (including the unofficial patch/es)? — ABCface^◥ 19:54, 27 September 2013 (GMT)

I'm experiencing a similar bug at a prior stage of the quest: I can't talk to Fralia, since the house is locked, and if i enter it Fralia and Avulstein play the initial dialogue between them, and then proceed to tell me that i shouldn't be there. Moving Fralia (refid 0001A684) to me with moveto just causes her tu run back home, without responding to interaction. The unofficial patches are installed, along with a couple of mods that make citizens run home in case of vampire\dragon attacks (the other few mods installed shouldn't be relevant to this due to their non-scripted nature) Ytsejam91 (talk) 10:24, 1 October 2013 (GMT)

PC player all unofficial patches(v2)installed,house permanently locked day and night.Tried waiting did not help — Unsigned comment by 81.178.239.164 (talk) at 17:57 on 3 December 2013

This happened to me. Probably an issue with the unofficial patch. I was able to fix it by giving myself a key to the Gray-Mane house (player.additem 00093b0b 1) and then adding myself to the WhiterunHouseGrayManeFaction (player.addfac 00093b1c 0). If you don't add yourself to the faction, you will be trespassing. Afterwards, I removed the key (player.removeitem 00093b0b 1) and faction (player.removefac 00093b1c) to avoid creating bugs. —24.113.65.28 09:20, 30 December 2013 (GMT)

If house gray-mane is locked possible workaround.

I had the house of gray-mane locked and couldn't enter it to get the quest from the woman. I didn't find any fix to this, but I managed to get the quest without getting bounty just by rushing thins up. Get inside the house, go fast to Avulstein and interrupt the scripted discussion that he has with the woman and talk to him as fast as you can (interrupting the dialogs) all the way (by pressing repeatedly E or mouse-clicking the dialog choice). Choose what you want to say to him then get as fast as you can out of there. It worked for me. Plus, when I got back from talking to the battle-born with the information he gave me, the Gray-Mane house wasn't locked (due to my prior lockpicking) and also they weren't turning hostiles anymore (I stayed like 20 minutes inside to check). — Unsigned comment by 71.61.174.190 (talk) at 01:12 on 17 January 2015 (GMT)

This didn't work for me. While I was able to speed through the initial dialogue, I found the Imperial Missive and went to give it to Avulstein and he didn't even have any of his quest dialogue, he just told me to get out over and over. I don't know if talking to Jon produces different results, but I would say that console commands are probably the best fix for this bug. Zul do onikaan^{Laan tinvaak} 13:28, 20 May 2015 (GMT)

Office is locked?

The office door is locked and there is no key for it: I'm not finding this to be the case, as Alfhild Battle-Born just walked up to it and opened it herself. I found her sitting right in front of the missive, with the missive free to take (was good in the house because of the "Battle-Born" answer). DaedalusMachina (talk) 15:05, 21 May 2015 (GMT)

There is no key, NPCs do not need keys to unlock doors. As noted already sometimes a Battle-Born will have been in that room and left the office wide open. Once the door is opened the NPCs regard that seat as a normal seat and can randomly sit there at any point. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 15:27, 21 May 2015 (GMT)

Avulstein returned to Whiterun

After talking to him first time I chose to fight our way to prison. But I didn't go straight there, but explored other areas of the map. So when I returned to Whiterun some day (a week later or so), did my business and was going outside, I met Avulstein running back home. He didn't greet me nor respond to me when I tried to talk. I didn't follow him inside the house because it was locked, should have tried probably. Any ideas what that could be? — Unsigned comment by 95.79.216.90 (talk) at 14:52 on 20 December 2015 (UTC)

I'm not sure, try to continue the quest or go into the house if you're curious. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 14:52, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

When I finally arrived to the keep, everyone was on their places. We proceeded to assault Thalmors, and no one of Avulstein's friends died. Didn't get any glass armor though (I'm on lvl 38), everyone was dressed in elven, but the treasure chest had enchanted daedric gauntlets, so it's ok. — Unsigned comment by 95.79.216.90 (talk) at 14:09 on 12 January 2016 (GMT)

Beast form bug

I met Thorald in beast form, and he somehow unshackled himself and attacked me. He ignored the Thalmor, and they ignored him back. I fled to avoid killing him, and came back in human form. He was just waiting, ignoring the surviving Thalmors, and I could speak the freeing dialog once the nearby enemies were dead. I first got away to clear the remaining Thalmor, especially the one on the roof, and when I came back in, Thorald was back in his shackles… What an obedient prisoner, who return back to his torture post after all his jailers were killed! — Unsigned comment by 78.192.102.230 (talk) at 16:00 on 18 May 2016 (UTC)

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