Online:Breaking the Barrier

Help the Battlereeve and the Guild gain access to the Firsthold Castle. Zone: Auridon This quest is part of the Zone Story Faction: Aldmeri Dominion Objective:  Firsthold — Save Firsthold from the Veiled Queen. Quest Giver: Curime in Firsthold; Razum-dar in Skywatch, Earos in Firsthold Location(s): Firsthold Prerequisite Quest: Lifting the Veil and Through the Ashes Previous Quest: To Firsthold Next Quest: Sever All Ties Reward: Average Leveled Gold XP Gain: 1044 ID: 4260

Destroy the wards

Firsthold is under assault by High Kinlady Estre. The First Auridon Marines have arrived to try and save the city, but the city is overrun with Daedra and the castle proper is surrounded by a magical barrier. (If quest given by Curime.)
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Razum-dar has asked me to travel to Firsthold to see what High Kinlady Estre, the Veiled Queen, plans for the city. (If quest given by Raz.)

Quick Walkthrough

1. Speak to Battlereeve Urcelmo outside the Firsthold Mages Guild.
2. Talk to Sinien in the Firsthold Mages Guild.
3. Use the Runed Talisman on the wards.
4. Talk to Razum-dar.

Detailed Walkthrough

Firsthold is under attack! Portals to Oblivion have opened inside the city and Daedra are pouring out of them. If you just completed To Firsthold, you can find Curime, a Firsthold guard, east of the Firsthold Wayshrine and in front of the entrance to the city. She directs you to Battlereeve Urcelmo at the Firsthold Mages Guild, straight ahead and across the bridge. (Alternatively, after completing Through the Ashes, you can talk to Razum-dar in Skywatch Manor. You tell him that Estre plans to attack Firsthold. Raz tells you to speak to Battlereeve Urcelmo in Firsthold. The quest will hint for you to enter through the eastern gate, at which point the quest will tell you to talk to Curime.)

The Battlereeve is in front of the guild hall. He says Estre sealed the castle -- and the Daedric portals -- within a magical barrier. He says if you destroy the wards, the barrier will fall. He sends you inside the guild hall to talk to Sinien, who knows how to destroy the wards. If you take a moment to talk to him further, he'll reveal the unusual nature of Firsthold's defenders:

Can you hold this position?

"We'll be fine. We've held them off this long. We can hold a bit longer. You just focus on what Sinien has to tell you."

Who are these defenders? They're not Marines.

"Firsthold must not fall. We've unsheathed our sharpest blades. Curious about these folk?"

Who are all these folk? The Wood Elves and Khajiit in leathers?

"Razum-dar's folk. Eyes of the Queen. I know you've worked with him before. Normally they'd never expose themselves like this.
The cat said: "We do not draw blades in the daylight." But here they are, making sure we live through this."

Who are those mages?

"Sinien's spellslingers. Mages from the guild hall. Normally they'd be curled up with a good book or brewing some obscure potion.
They've done the guild proud, backing us up."

The soldiers in heavy armor. Who are they?

"My personal elite guard. We call them Talons. The queen has her Eyes. I have my Talons.
Between the Talons and the Marines, the finest blades in Auridon are arrayed against Oblivion."

If you completed the North Beacon objective, his answer will be slightly different:

"I received word just before the blade came down. You fought beside my Talons at North Beacon. I'm damned proud of these folk. Between the Talons and the Marines, the finest soldiers in Auridon are arrayed against Oblivion."

Destroy the Wards

Inside, Sinien is across from the entrance, near the gold, glowing ring. You will act as the mages' "focus." All you need to do is use Sinien's Runed Talisman on the wards. The western ward is across from the Mages Guild. The eastern ward is to the east, across the bridge. After both wards are destroyed, talk to Razum-dar north of the wards to complete the quest.

Notes

• Defeating the Dremora battling the First Auridon Marines in the city doesn't yield exp or loot.
• Despite being most likely an Altmer or Aldmer relic, the Runed Talisman is depicted as the Ancient Nord whale symbol.

Quest Stages

Breaking the Barrier
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	Objective: Reach Firsthold's Front Gate
	Objective: Talk to Curime
	I should find Battlereeve Urcelmo in Firsthold and offer to help. Objective: Talk to Battlereeve Urcelmo Objective Hint: Before I enter Firsthold, I should speak with the guard controlling the front gate.
	I should enter the Mages Guild and speak to Sinien. Urcelmo told me she has a plan to destroy the wards and take down the barrier that surrounds the castle. Objective: Talk to Sinien
	I need to find the two wards that create the barrier around the city and use the talisman on them. This will allow Sinien and her group of battlemages to destroy it from afar. Objective: Destroy the Western Ward Objective: Destroy the Eastern Ward
Finishes quest	Now that the wards are destroyed, I should seek out Razum-dar. He's somewhere in the city. Objective: Talk to Razum-dar

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.

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