The Well of Minlorada v1.1 Walkthrough

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1a - WALKTHROUGH
	1a.1 - Beginning - Elenglynn
	1a.2 - Darius Vitruvius' Home
	1a.3 - Voyager Mine
	1a.4 - Minlorada - Entry Hall
	1a.5 - Minlorada, Nagasel - "Halls of Death"
	1a.6 - Minlorada, Anyammissel - "Halls of Life"
	1a.7 - Minlorada, Meridiassel - "Halls of Meridia"
	1a.8 - Minlorada, Varlasel - "Hall of Stars"
	1a.9 - Minlorada, Meridiasel - "Halls of Meridia"
	1a.10 - Minlorada, Anyammissel - "Halls of Life"
	1a.11 - Darius Vitruvius' Home
2a - SECRETS
	2a.1 - Great Welkynd Stone
	2a.2 - Undead Companion
	2a.3 - Blessing of Arkay
	2a.4 - The Nirn Stone
	2a.5 - Ayleid Language

* If you find the difficulty to be too easy or too hard, please use the Difficulty slider in the Options to adjust it to your liking. It is hard to make proper use of the leveling system in Oblivion and still meet everyone's expectations. No shame in adjusting difficult in a mod.

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WALKTHROUGH
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1a.1 - Beginning - Elenglynn
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This quest can be started by exploring the exterior of the Ayleid Ruin, Elenglynn, which is located an even distance south of Chorrol and North of Skingrad. There, you will find a pedestal covered in Welkynd stones with a chest on top and a charred corpse nearby. Open the chest and take the Ancient Ayleid Scroll. On the Charred Corpse, you will find the Charred Journal, which hints at your next location.

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1a.2 - Darius Vitruvius' Home
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Darius' house can be found East of Chorrol. It's a large Imperial City-looking house out in the wilderness. Inside, you will find Darius Vitruvius. He will be reading in the entry room starting at 8AM for 11 hours, then eat for 2 hours, then sleep until he wakes up to read some more. Follow his dialogue and you'll be instructed to go to the Arcane University to retrieve an extended edition of The Firmament. 

You can find this book in the Arcane University lobby, so you do not have to be part of the Mages Guild to get it. It will be on the table on the right when you enter the lobby. Return this book to Darius Vitruvius and he will ask you to wait again. Now is a good time to explore Darius' home for secrets. There is a key hidden somewhere that can be used to open the chest in the top of his house. The contents are important for later. For more details, skip down to the Secrets section of this walkthrough. Return to Darius after one day, and he will then direct you to Voyager Mine, West of Chorrol, near the border of Hammerfell, and will mark the location on your map. 


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1a.3 - Voyager Mine
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Enter Voyager Mine. Once inside, you will find Goblins. The first area is fairly straight-forward. Follow the path, fight the goblins. In the second area, when you get past the traps, drop down the hole, and arrive in the room with the tent, there is a book called Ayleid Language Translations. It is not essential to have it, but it is worth picking up for later. You can also find this book on Darius Vitruvius, as well as on Darius' desk in the upstairs section of his home.

Proceed through the long tunnel until you arrive at the corpse of Losamivem. Reading his journal will give you some backstory, but not any important information. Near his corpse are some loose planks, push them to break them down. You will then see a large rock that will not move. If you have a Pickaxe in your inventory, you will be able to break the rock. The Recently-Used Pickaxe beside Losamivem will also work. Once past the rock, you will find the entrance to Minlorada. Time to head inside.


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1a.4 - Minlorada - Entry Hall
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Once inside, you will be "greeted" by El-Aprodina, though she only speaks Ayleidoon, so unless you're fluent, you'll have to refer to the Ayleid Language Translations book to understand what she's saying to you. When you come to a 4-way, head left through the door. Head past the blade traps and up the stairs. Straight ahead you will see a switch on the wall. Press it. The path before this switch leads to a room that is not essential, but has a chest in it. Head back to the 4-way and go straight from the entrance, into the foggy hallway lined with welkynd pedestals. Continue straight until you head up the stairs and arrive at the throne. Or rather, the fake throne. This is meant to seem as though it is the throne of Minlorada, but it is a trap. Sit on the throne and it will activate the secret wall behind you, as well as the four Dark Welkynd Stones around the throne. The safest thing to do here is to remain seated, as the Dark Welkynd Stones seem completely unable to harm you will you are sitting. Standing will most likely result in getting hit by most, if not all of them. 

Proceed through the passage behind the throne and into the large room. Go straight until you come to a hall with a path left and right--straight ahead is the exit, but it's blocked by a gate. Heading right will lead you to an optional room with a trap switch that will send two Ayleid Skeletons your way. Heading left will lead you to a Welkynd Pedestal--see the Secrets area for more information on this--here, you'll want to examine the statue on the left to see a switch near it. Press the switch and read the message. Now you want to head all the way back to the fake throne room.

If you don't notice right away, head down the stairs from the throne and look to your left. The wall should be open to a cave-like area. Go through the tunnel and jump over the chasm. Head through the next tunnel and back into the ruins. You'll find yourself on the ledge parralel to the one you were on before when you pressed the first switch--this area was previously blocked off by rocks. Now press the switch on the wall in the same location as the first switch. Head back to the room where you exited the cave and you will be greeted with the first mini-boss, the Ayleid Trap Master. It's best to fight him with ranged attacks, as his physical damage is quite high. He should not be too much trouble though, if you meet the recommended level. You can take his Ayleid Warhammer once he's dead, but he does not drop his armor. Head back the way you came and the final gate that was blocking the exit should now be open.
Proceed to the next area.

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1a.5 - Minlorada, Nagasel - "Halls of Death"
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Head along the path, fight off the Wraith and be careful of the spike trap on the floor. You will eventually find yourself in a large, open room with a waterfall and several paths branching off. To start with, you will probably notice an area on the left side of the room with bright Welkynd stones. Head there and, if you wish, pick up the Welkynd Chalice--more on this in the Secrets section. Head into the door near this Chalice. On your left and your right, you will see two switches on the wall. The switch on the right will lift the two cages on the right--which are empty--and will activate the Dark Welkynd Stones one-by-one. Press the switch on the left to reveal a Varla Stone and another switch. Press this switch to open up a secret door in the back of the room and an Ayleid Skeleton. At the end of the hall past the secret door is a third switch. Pressing it will lower a platform in the middle of the room with a key on it. Take the Nagasel First Key.

Now head back into the large room. Take a right and go forward, then another right (this would be left of where you originally entered the large room.) Once up the stairs, you will be on a ledge, which you should drop off of. An ethereal enemy should be waiting for you. Kill it and investigate the catacombs around you. One of them will have an Ayleid Dagger and another key. Take the Nagasel Third Key.

Return to the large room and go straight. You should run into another door leading up. The stairs should bring you to an ominous looking sarcophagus surrounded by white flames. Activate on the sarcophagus. Defeat the Ayleid Nether Lich that appears and loot his body for the Nagasel Second Key. Beware of the three Ayleid Skeletons that will walk out from the secret doors of the wall. You can avoid them entirely if you are stealthy enough. Unlock the door in the far corner of the room with the key from the Lich and walk through the hall. Press the switch at the end of the hall. Now return to the large room.

This time, you will want to head into the water. In the water, near the door you entered the large room in initially, you should see a door leading into a narrow hallway. Follow it and take a left. You'll come to another wide room with two skeletons in it and an opening leading down into deeper water--NOTE: If you have not pressed the switch after getting the Nagasel Second Key from the Lich, there will be a statue in the middle of this room and you will not be able to swim down!--Swim into the deep water and you should find a chest. Inside is the Nagasel Forth Key.

Return to the main room with the waterfall and proceed to the locked gate. You will need all four keys before you can proceed to the end of the hall. Just before the gate that requires the forth key, there are two paths with interesting views. These are not significant to the gameplay, but one is slightly relevant to the plot. Proceed to the end of the hall and you will find Kyrghan, an Ayleid Lich and the second miniboss. Fight him as you would any typical Lich, though he should be more challenging. Once he is defeated, go back to the main room and into the water. Follow the path you took earlier, but this time take a right. The giant pillar that was previously in this room should now be lowered, and another Ayleid Skeleton will attack you. Proceed down into the next level.

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1a.6 - Minlorada, Anyammissel - "Halls of Life"
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Head straight. Your game should Autosave. If you go too far, the bridge will collapse beneath you and a spiked grate will fly in your direction to push you back. You can avoid this by jumping over the falling bridge and by jumping onto the railing to avoid the spikes. A Varla Stone is at the end of the bridge.

NOTE: If you wish to return to previous areas of the dungeon after falling off of this bridge, one of the statues has fallen on its side, and you can use that by jumping on its head, then onto its body, and then onto the arm/hands. You can do this with level 5 acrobatics, but there is a potion later on that will also help.

In this long, dark room, there are three exits. One is near the entrance on the right side in the back. This will lead to an optional room with a skeleton in it, as well as two panels. One reads "Av molag anyammis," and the other, "Tya an magicka." These translate to "From fire, life" and "Taste the magicka." These are hints to a puzzle later on, but you do not need to read them to complete it. Another exit is straight forward from the path of the bridge, behind the statue at the end. It will lead to a room with Azura and the "Crown of Minlorada." This room is a death trap. If you attempt to pick up the Crown, it will disintegrate, the door will become blocked, and red lights will fill the room. There is no way to escape this room. Load the autosave.

The correct exit to this long room is on the left from the entrance. You will then find a large room with a bridge in the middle, which has two gates blocking the path. Take a right and drop off the bridge. Head straight, through the door, down the stairs. Take note of the corner of this room, with the fallen chandelier, the vines, and the zombie. You will find a switch at the end of a small hall in this room. Press it. Return to the big room with the bridge and climb up the stairs on the opposite side. Return to the bridge and cross it, as the gates are now lowered. You will come to a 4-way. On the left, the bridge is broken but two unique potions can be found here. These, in addition to other benefits, will increase your Acrobatics, so you can return to previous levels if you were having trouble jumping on the statue. On your right, appears to be a dead end, with a statue of Arkay in a cage. Head straight from the 4-way into a large room with a statue of Alessia and a pillar pointing at it.

This is the room where the Ayleid text from before becomes relevant. There are three switches. From right-to-left, the first switch will rotate the statue. You want the statue of Alessia to be facing the pillar. The next switch will ask you to select a spell. Select Fire. The third statue will cast the selected spell at the statue. When the fire spell hits Alessia when she is facing it, walls will rise up and Aprodina will regard you again, this time, referring to you as Al-Esh--the actual name of Alessia. When the walls lower, a statue of Meridia will have taken the place of Alessia. Proceed up the stairs and into the next room. To your left is a dead end--see the Secrets section. To your right, head through the door.

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1a.7 - Minlorada, Meridiasel - "Halls of Meridia"
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You are outside in a vibrant, beautiful area. Quite the opposite of the last section, no? Head straight, as you cannot go off the beaten path in this location and explore. If you look past the fence on your right, you will see the Well of Minlorada, but it is off-limits. Head forward, up the stairs, and into the building.

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1a.8 - Minlorada, Varlasel - "Hall of Stars"
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Time for the final battle. El-Aprodina awaits you. She will most likely start the battle by turning invisible, though sometimes she does not. She has two weapons she will use during the fight. The first is a staff which will paralyze, silence, and cause Shock damage. You want to avoid the attacks with this staff as best you can, as it leaves you open to her more powerful casted spells. If you engage her in close-quarters combat, or if she runs out of charges from her staff, she will switch to a Claymore, which is enchanted with Shock Damage. Aprodina is designed to be a fairly challenging fight without being too ridiculous. Hopefully I succeeded in that. Once El-Aprodina is dead, the quest will progress. You should then take her staff and Claymore, as well as the REAL Crown of Minlorada. In the chests, you will find all of the Ayleid Armor and Weapons. Very special thanks to jgreybear AKA lomir for allowing me to use these items! Now, return back outside.

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1a.9 - Minlorada, Meridiasel - "Halls of Meridia"
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The fence will now be gone and you can access the Well of Minlorada. You will be given a choice, either snuff out the well, preventing anyone from misuing it again, or draw from its power, taking it for your own and leaving open the possibility of someone else misusing it when its power replenishes. If you draw from its power, you will receive bonuses to Health, Magicka, and Resist Disease. Return back into Minlorada, Anyammissel where you first entered the outdoors.

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1a.10 - Minlorada, Anyammissel - "Halls of Life"
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Go straight and you will find that the wall on the right has opened up. Head through the new passage and you will find the exit. Return to Darius Vitruvius.

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1a.11 - Darius Vitruvius' Home
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Speak to Darius and tell him what happened.

You have completed the quest, The Well of Minlorada! congratulations! I hope you enjoyed it. Refer to the Secrets section for extra rewards and some things you might have missed!



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2a SECRETS
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2a.1 - Great Welkynd Stone
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All Ayleid cities were supposed to have a Great Welkynd Stone, and Minlorada is no exception. The path to obtaining this stone starts in Darius Vitruvius' home. Little does he know, he has a very important artifact that can be used in Minlorada. During one point of the quest, he will offer you a room upstairs to sleep in. If you head upstairs and look in the trash can beside his desk, you will find an undelivered love letter which hints that flowers are the key to his treasure. Head into the room with the bed and you'll find another trash can near a pitcher. The trash can will be filled with flowers, but if you knock it over and dump out the contents, or look inside, you will also find a secret key. This key can be used in the Top section of Darius' house--you will need to pick the lock or pickpocket the key from Darius to get there. Open the Ayleid Chest and retrieve the Ayleid Panel.

Now, you will be able to use this panel in Minlorada, Anyammissel, just before the exit. You will find a large hall lined with welkynd stones and a slot to insert the carving in. Doing so will open the wall and give you passage to the Great Welknd Stone chambers. Keep in mind, taking the stone has its consequences. Several skeletons will spawn. Ghosts will also be released. However, the Great Welkynd Stone can either be sold for a large amount of money, or used to receive a permament boost to Magicka.

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2a.2 - Undead Companion
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In the main entry room of Minlorada, you will find a Welkynd Pedestal. If you have a Welkynd Stone in your inventory, it will react to it. The Welkynd Pedestal requires 40 Welkynd Stones to be used. There are exactly 40 Welkynd Stones scattered around Minlorada, as well as 5 in Darius' home. Any Welkynd Stones will do though. Once you have 40, it will make them into Welkynd Liquid, but you cannot hold it yourself. In Minlorada, Nagasel, you will find the Welkynd Chalice. This item is great for decorating a house with, but it is also used to contain Liquid Welkynd! Fill the Chalice with it, then head back to Nagasel. After you defeat Kyrghan, the Ayleid Lich, you will have the option to pour the Liquid Welkynd onto his corpse. Doing so will resurrect him, but he will not attack you this time. Activate on him and he will offer to join you as a companion.

As a companion, Kyrghan isn't much compared to many of the other companion mods out there. He can follow, wait, and you can teleport him to your location, and that's about it. He is, however, very cool to look at, and a fairly formidable ally to have.

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2a.3 - Blessing of Arkay
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In Minlorada, Nagasel, there's a door that leads to a dead end, with a bunch of rubble blocking the path and an altar sticking out. If you walk in close and examine the altar, you will find an "Ayleid Tool" on it. Take it and head into Minlorada, Anyammissel. In the room with a bridge and a large Welkynd cluster in the middle, take a right at the 4-way and you will find a cage with a statue of Arkay inside. Use the Ayleid Tool to break the cage open, then activate on Arkay to receive a blessing.

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2a.4 - The Nirn Stone
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Just before the entrance to Minlorada, while still in the cave, there is a Heaven Stone at the top of the chasm. It will be quite difficult to make your way up there, your Acrobatics will need to be very high, and you will need to be a bit creative with your jumps. If you make it up there, you will find the Nirn Stone. If your Fame is at 100, you will receive the Greater Power, Nirn's Breath (Detect Life 100 ft, Fortify Fatigue 200 pts, Fortify Health 100 pts on Self for 120 Seconds.) This effect was always in the game, but the Nirn Stone itself did not exist in vanilla Oblivion, so it was unobtainable. This is just a small bonus to add it back in the game.

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2a.5 - Ayleid Language
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Not so much a secret as it is a little bonus. The Ayleid Queen, El-Aprodina, will speak to the player throughout the exploration of the ruins. You can find a book that will translate several Ayleid words in three locations: in Darius' inventory, on Darius' desk upstairs, and inside Voyager Mine, on the ledge in the area with the tent.
In case you missed it, or did not have time to translate, or just did not bother, the translations are as follows:
Man mitta angua morimath? - "Who enters my darkened home?"
Abagaianye ni! - "I do not fear you!"
Angua anyammis ae oio! - "My life is eternal!"
Heca! Heca! - "Begone! Begone!"
Av molag, anyammis. Haha! Heca, Al-Esh! - "From fire, life. Haha! Begone, Alessia!"

There are two other instances which use the Ayleid language as part of a puzzle. See 1a.6 for more.