Skyrim Main Quest Walkthrough Part 1: Bleak Falls Barrow to the Greybeards

This is part 1 of our full Skyrim main quest walkthrough. It picks up where our beginner's guide ends: you've escaped Helgen and reached Whiterun. Here you'll get the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow, kill your first dragon, discover you're Dragonborn, climb to the Greybeards and recover the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller.

Skyrim main quest walkthrough: ← Beginner's guide  |  Part 2 →

The whole walkthrough

Quests in this part

1. Before the Storm
2. Bleak Falls Barrow
3. Dragon Rising
4. The Way of the Voice
5. The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller

1. Before the Storm: warn the Jarl

After Helgen, follow Ralof or Hadvar to Riverwood. Whoever you followed asks you to tell the Jarl of Whiterun about the dragon. Walk north-east to Whiterun, climb to Dragonsreach at the top of the city and talk to Jarl Balgruuf. He sends you to his court wizard, Farengar Secret-Fire, who wants an old stone tablet from a ruin above Riverwood.

Tip: before you leave Riverwood, visit the Riverwood Trader. The owner, Lucan, has had a golden claw stolen. Agree to get it back: you'll find it in Bleak Falls Barrow anyway, and you need it there.

2. Bleak Falls Barrow: the Dragonstone

Bleak Falls Barrow is the ancient Nordic tomb on the mountain above Riverwood. It's your first real dungeon, so take healing potions.

• Bandits first. The outside and the first halls are full of bandits. Use doorways so they come at you one at a time.
• The pillar puzzle. In a room with a locked gate, turn the three pillars so their animal symbols match the carvings above the gate: snake, snake, whale. Then pull the lever. Pull it before solving the puzzle and you'll get darts in the face.
• The spider and Arvel. A giant frostbite spider guards a webbed room. Once it's dead, a bandit called Arvel the Swift is stuck in the web: he has the Golden Claw. He'll run, so be ready to chase him.
• The claw door. Deep inside is a big round door with three rings. The answer is on the palm of the Golden Claw: bear, moth, owl, from the outer ring to the inner one. Then use the claw on the keyhole.
• The word wall and the boss. In the final chamber, walk up to the glowing wall to learn your first Word of Power, Fus (Unrelenting Force). A powerful draugr then bursts out of the coffin. Use the pillars for cover, and hit it hard.

Take the Dragonstone from the chest in the same chamber, then follow the passage out: it brings you back outside near Riverwood. Return the claw to Lucan for a reward.

3. Dragon Rising: your first dragon

Bring the Dragonstone to Farengar. A woman in a hood is with him (remember her, she matters later). Before you can relax, the Jarl's housecarl, Irileth, bursts in: a dragon is attacking the Western Watchtower.

Join the guards at the watchtower. Use the tower for cover, shoot arrows or spells when the dragon is flying, and get close when it lands. When the dragon, Mirmulnir, dies, something strange happens: you absorb its soul. The guards realise what you are: Dragonborn. Thunder rolls across the sky as an ancient order on the mountain calls your name.

Report back to the Jarl. He makes you a Thane of Whiterun, gives you a weapon and a housecarl, Lydia, who will follow and fight for you, and lets you buy the house Breezehome. Use the dragon soul you absorbed to unlock your first Shout in the Magic menu.

4. The Way of the Voice: the Greybeards

The Greybeards live in High Hrothgar, a monastery high up the Throat of the World, the tallest mountain in Skyrim. Travel to the village of Ivarstead and climb the 7,000 Steps behind it. Watch for wolves, a frost troll near the top and the stone tablets along the path that tell the history of the Voice.

Inside, talk to Arngeir. The Greybeards test you and teach you more of the Way of the Voice: the second word of Unrelenting Force and a new Shout, Whirlwind Sprint, which you use to dash through a closing gate in their courtyard. Then they send you on a final trial.

5. The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller

The Greybeards ask you to recover the horn of their founder from Ustengrav, an ancient tomb in the marshes north-west of Morthal. It's a long dungeon with draugr, a word wall and a gate puzzle where you use Whirlwind Sprint to get through three gates before they close.

When you finally reach the horn's pedestal, it's empty. There's only a note: someone wants you to rent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood. Go there and ask the innkeeper, Delphine, for the attic room. She's the hooded woman from Farengar's room, and she has the horn. She wants to know whether you're really Dragonborn, which starts part 2.

You can return the horn to the Greybeards at any point: they recognise you formally as Dragonborn and give you more of the Voice.

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Want the world map on your wall? A Skyrim map poster is a great way to plan your next adventure.

Tips for this part

• Don't rush. After Dragon Rising, dragons start appearing across Skyrim. Spend some time levelling up and getting better gear before the later quests.
• Save before the boss in Bleak Falls Barrow. It's a big difficulty spike for new characters.
• Keep Lydia alive by not using area spells near her.

Playing on console or picking it up again? The Skyrim Anniversary Edition includes the three expansions and all the extra Creation Club content, and it's often on sale.

My take

This stretch is Skyrim at its best: a creepy first dungeon, a first dragon fight that makes you feel powerful, and that long climb to High Hrothgar with the world opening up below you. Take your time, explore and enjoy it. When you're ready, part 2 brings in the Blades and the real conspiracy.

Skyrim main quest walkthrough: ← Beginner's guide  |  Part 2: the Blades and the Elder Scroll →