Skyrim:Black Book: Filament and Filigree (quest)

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Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge. Quest Giver: The Black Book Filament and Filigree Location(s): Kolbjorn Barrow, Apocrypha‎ Prerequisite Quest: Unearthed Reward: Secret of Arcana, Secret of Protection, or Secret of Strength power ID: DLC2BlackBook06Quest Suggested Level: 30

The Black Book in the excavated Kolbjorn Barrow

Quick Walkthrough

1. Read the Black Book Filament and Filigree in Kolbjorn Barrow.
2. Make your way through Apocrypha‎.
3. Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge and choose your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough

Dangerous Darkness

You can find the Black Book Filament and Filigree in Kolbjorn Barrow. Defeat Ahzidal and enter the standing sarcophagus opposite the gate you entered through. At the end of a rough tunnel you will find the Black Book in a circular chamber. Read the Book to be drawn into Apocrypha.

This area of Hermaeus Mora's realm consists of a long, straight, dark path with several hovering lights illuminating small patches. Use Candlelight or a torch to light your way, as the darkness will damage your health. Before proceeding, loot the pod hidden behind the left-hand statue at the foot of the stairs, as well as the random soul gems and the Sneak Skill Book 'Three Thieves' on the table to the right. Then climb the stairs, claim the contents of a second pod to the left of the doors and the scroll of invisibility beside it. Activate the scrye and deal with two leveled seekers and one leveled lurker, avoiding the whipping tentacles in alternating pools along the path. At the far end of the path, you will climb another set of stairs to a platform, where another leveled lurker will emerge from a pool and attack. After defeating this final foe, climb the last set of stairs to find a vessel, a few soul gems on another stone table, and the Black Book Filament and Filigree. Read the book to choose your reward, then read it again to return to Kolbjorn Barrow.

Rewards

Your choice of one of three greater powers:

• Secret of Strength — Power attacks cost no stamina for 30 seconds.
• Secret of Arcana — Spells cost no magicka for 30 seconds.
• Secret of Protection — You take half damage for 30 seconds.

Achievements

One achievement is related to this quest:

• Hidden Knowledge (40 points/Bronze)

Notes

• Other than using a light source, the damage caused by the darkness cannot be avoided by any means, including the Become Ethereal Shout and the console command tgm.
• You can change the reward at any time by traveling to Solstheim and re-reading the book. This will transport you to Apocrypha near the reward location and you can select a different one.

Bugs

• The burning sound effect that plays when you go into the darkness might not end.
  • Exiting to the main menu might solve this issue. If not, clearing the game cache should.
  • After you exit Apocrypha, load a different save then reload the auto-save that was just made and this will stop.
  • Your health might continue to deplete as if you're still in the shadows of Apocrypha.
  • Revisiting the Filament and Filigree and waiting to stop burning before leaving to Solstheim can fix this.
  • Transforming into a werewolf/vampire lord and back will cause the sound to stop.
  • Saving the game and loading that save may also fix the issue.

Quest Stages

Black Book: Filament and Filigree (DLC2BlackBook06Quest)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		I read the Black Book called "Filament and Filigree", and found myself in Hermaeus Mora's realm of Apocrypha. I should uncover the knowledge hidden here, or read the book again to escape. Objective 10: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge
20	Finishes quest	I uncovered the hidden knowledge contained in the Black Book "Filament and Filigree".

Notes

• Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, 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.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage DLC2BlackBook06Quest stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest DLC2BlackBook06Quest.

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