A walkthrough of the Skyrim murder mystery quest 'Blood on the Ice'. The blood trails that you should note on it will lead to a big chest beside the wall. Open it to find the journal of a certain someone calling himself the Butcher and a pile of flyers warning of this murderer.
| Stage | Objective |
| 1 | Get assistance from Jorleif |
| 10 | Question the witnesses |
| Windhelm is plagued by a shadowy killer. I've been asked to help investigate the latest murder. | |
| 20 | Report to the guard |
| 30 | Talk to <Alias=AuthorityFigure> |
| 40 | Examine the crime scene |
| Windhelm is plagued by a shadowy killer. I've been asked to help investigate the latest murder. Jorleif, the steward, may have advice from time to time. | |
| 41 | Talk to Helgird |
| 50 | Get access to Hjerim |
| 60 | Look for clues |
| 70 | Follow up on the clues from Hjerim |
| 76 | Meet Viola outside of Hjerim |
| 80 | Investigate Hjerim with Viola |
| 90 | Talk to <Alias=AuthorityFigure> |
| 100 | I discovered that Wuunferth the Unliving was the Butcher of Windhelm, and helped bring him to justice. |
| 120 | Patrol the streets of the Stone Quarter at night |
| 130 | Catch the murderer |
| 150 | Talk to <Alias=AuthorityFigure> |
| 250 | I discovered that Calixto Corrium was the Butcher of Windhelm, and helped bring him to justice. |
Being an excellent series of action role-playing game, surely The Elder Scroll isn’t a strange series with millions of players. With addictive gameplay and brilliant mechanics, this series game is received so many positive comments from gamers and critics. However, this article is not intended to praise how excellent this game is, because we both know that. Instead, we will mention and guide a side quest in The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim – Blood on the Ice. This is a quite special and hard quest that was assigned by Windheim Guard. Let’s follow us to learn more about this quest!
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Contents
- 2 Skyrim Blood on the Ice walkthrough
- 2.4 Investigate in the abandoned house
- 2.5 Narrowing the suspects
About Blood on the Ice quest
Blood on the Ice is a side quest in The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim that was assigned by Windheim Guard. It takes place in the Windheim city in an evening. The purpose of this quest is to investigate the killer’s identity who has killed at least 3 women. When completing this quest, the reward for players is necromancer amulet hjerim.
In order to activate Blood on the Ice quest, players just have to visit the city at least a certain number of times. The quest will officially activate when the player enters the graveyard district where is near the Temple of Arkay. The body of the latest victim is here. There is a Windhelm city guard will halt the player’s progress. His purpose is to ask the player if his character has seen anyone who is suspicious and tries to escape the scene.
Skyrim Blood on the Ice walkthrough
Initiating the Quest
To begin this task, you must go to Windhelm around midnight (from 7 pm to 6 am). If you are doing a Dark Brotherhood quest or have completed it, this quest may not appear. If this happens and the murder scene does not appear, killing “Grelod the kind” can fix this problem. Also, make sure there are no other missions related to the Windhelm, such as the Thieves Guild’s mission or The Companion’s mission. This can increase the chance of this Skyrim Blood on the Ice quest appearing.
When entering the graveyard district, you will see a city guard and a few NPC characters. They are standing near the scene of the murder. The victim is a young woman. She lies dead and is being tended to by a Priestess of Arkay temple. If you speak to the guard and ask him for what happened, he will tell you that this seems to be the latest murder in a series of murders. The reason that he can be assertive when telling that this murder is one of a series of murders is based on the method of murder. It has the same modus operandi with two previous murders that have been taking place in Windhelm of late. But nobody has seen the culprit of this series of murders.
Ask to be granted permission to help the investigation
You need to talk to the guard and ask him if they need the help with the investigation. At this time, the guard will agree as long as you are granted permission from the Jarl’s assistant. Then, you’ll need to find Jarl’s assistant to ask to be granted permission to help the investigation. This character can be found in the Palace of the Kings. During the day, he is often nearby the Jarl’s throne but at night, he usually sleeps on a bedroll in the keep’s kitchen. This kitchen is off the throne room. You will have to speak to him and he will give you permission to proceed. Besides that, don’t forget to ask him to pledge that both he and the city guards will support if needed.
Once you have permission granted, let’s head back to the graveyard again to speak to the city guard. He or she will ask you to interrogate the nearby witnesses. But don’t expect too much because none of them can give you any useful clues about the murderer. After that, let’s speak to the guard again to ask about the lack of any findings. He or she will confirm you that this is typically what happened for two previous murders. He or she also suggests you find clues about the murderer through speaking with the Priestess of Arkay. She is in charge of tending to bodies of victims. You can find something through the condition when bodies were found.
Body of evidence
By the suggestion of the guard, you will enter the catacombs of the Hall of the Dead to find the Priestess. She is there to prepare the body for its eternal rest. The Priestess is a strange woman and aside from a bit of gallows humor, she also tells you the detail of the victim’s wounds. It was inflicted by a curved blade and different from one of the embalming’s tools that she frequently uses. She also tells that she has ever seen a tool of necromancers but this info doesn’t provide any new leads. So, let’s exit the Hall of the Dead to search other clues.
Get back to the murder scene, you will find some new evidence. The victim’s blood is not only pooled surround where the body was found but also there are several large smears of it leading away from that area. Go following the blood, you will arrive at a doorstep. It belongs to an abandoned house and the front door is locked firmly. At this point, if your Lockpicking Skill is high enough, you can solve this door. Oppositely, you will have to speak to several NPC characters who live around the town to acquire the key. After that, let’s enter the house and you can find some important clues here.
Investigate in the abandoned house
When entering the house, you will realize that nobody has been here for a long time. The reason is that there are lots of cobwebs and a thick layer of dust here. However, when taking a closer look, you will see a trail of blood smears. Following it, you will come to a small chest which has been pushed up against the far left wall.
It also bears spatters of blood on its surface. In addition, there are several pamphlets warning of the night creature. Its author is a local woman who is known as Viola, calls “The Butcher”, and a journal. Reading the journal, you will realize that it speaks about the horrible intentions of its owner. It also discloses a terrible motive behind the murders. The murderer is trying to collect some human’s body parts to serve for a nefarious purpose.
When moving farther into the house, you’ll see a wardrobe and 2 bookcases. One on the far wall and another is on your right as you enter a small alcove. There are only a few articles of clothing in the wardrobe but you find some terrible things in the bookcases. The bookcase next to the wardrobe has several pamphlets like the ones you see on the chest. There is a strange amulet lying beneath them.
Explore the horrible things in the secret room
In addition, checking the rest bookcase, you will realize that it is a false back and can be opened. Open it, you will be led into a secret room filled with blood and the remains of prior victims’ skeletal. There is an operation table in the center of the room. Its surface is marred with congealed blood. On the left of the table is a set of shelves containing the implements that used to dissect bodies.
How To Start Blood On The Ice Quest Skyrim
Upon one of the shelves is another journal. It explains more detail about the owner’s intention and the purpose of collecting body parts. These bodies will be used in some sort of necromantic ritual. The more important is that its owner doesn’t collect enough all the components that he needs. This means he is going to kill another victim, and soon. With these key pieces of evidence, you can leave here and continue to search.
Narrowing the suspects
Speak to the curio shop owner
With all of these clues, now, it the time to head back outside and speak the guard whom you see first. Let’s ask him about the strange amulet and he will guide you to speak to a Windhelm resident. This resident operates a sort of curio shop and he might know quite detail about the things like this. In addition, ask the guard about the pamphlets and he or she will tell you about its author. The author of the pamphlets has been at this leaflet campaign for many months since the murders started. His purpose ostensibly is to raise awareness of the dangers. However, both the city guard and the local populace view it as a nuisance.
When speaking with the curio shop owner, he will tell you that the Jarl’s court wizard is the person who typically carries the amulet. He also tells you that he will pay 500 gold for this amulet if you agree to sell it. At this time, if you don’t grab the amulet, the game will skip over this portion of the quest. Doing so, the quest will be broken and end with the result is that you incriminate the court wizard. You can either agree to sell it to the curio shop owner or keep it. But no matter what you decide, you still have another lead to follow up.
Speak to Viola
After that, you need to speak to the old woman Viola about her pamphlets. She will tell you about the present court wizard. She tells that he arrived in this city the first time when he was suspected involving with necromancy at the college of Winterhold. But don’t be hurry to accuse him! You should have a chat with him and listen to his reason. Meanwhile, Viola wants to see the secret room alone and asks you to meet her there later.
Making decision
At this time, the quest can continue in one of two ways. If you return to the Jarl’s assistant and accuse the court wizard as the nurderer, he is caught. However, soon afterward, there is another murder with the same modus operandi. This means the real killer is still at large and you have accused the wrong man. In case you decide to speak to the wizard and listen to his explanation, the story can lead you elsewhere.
But don’t worry, even when you accused the wrong man, you still can continue to investigate. Let’s go and speak with the court wizard in the jail cell. And of course, when you choose to listen to him right from the start, you will get more clues. He will explain with you that he’s been studying the murders and has identified a pattern. He’s realized that all of the murders so far have coincided with the important dates and times of a practitioner of necromancy. He also tells you that if he’s right, there will be another murder soon. Within the next few nights, the killer likely wants to strike again. He also advises you to patroll in the market district to catch the killer in the act. Because according to his calculation, this murder probably takes place in the market.
Ambushing the ambusher
Patrol the market district after 5 pm (in game), the murderer appears. This time, he continues to kill another young lady. Then, you give chase the murderer. He runs back to the abandoned house. Now, you realize the murderer is CalixtoCorrium. When inside the house, he will attack you to kill and loot the body. So, you should go to tell Jorleif about what has just happened. Surely he will tell you that you have done a great service for the Windhelm city. And of course, the quest Blood on the Ice completed successfully.
In addition, there is another way to complete this quest. You can kill the murderer right when he approaches his intended victim. And of course, the quest is still resolved as normal and you can save the life of a young lady.
Blood On The Ice Bugs
Conclusion: Above is all guide about Skyrim Blood on the Ice quest. Hope that with this guide, you can complete this side quest easily. Finally, thank you for reading!