Skyrim mysteries

[perylousdemon]

Why do some dead bodies never get cleared away? It's quite sickening to see Alvor and his wife still lying by the river, months after being killed by a dragon.

I think the bodies of bandits and the like disappear because they eventually respawn. Alvor and Sigrid are unique, so they will never respawn; thus, their bodies will continue to lie by the river for all eternity. You could drop them in the river and hope they float far enough away that you won't see them anymore. *shrug*

[Hrolf Alfblod]

Why do some dead bodies never get cleared away? It's quite sickening to see Alvor and his wife still lying by the river, months after being killed by a dragon.

Why don't you clear them away yourself? Drag them off to be "burried under a tree", or just put the in the river to "float out to sea"

EDIT: Damn, Ninja'd

[Marelo]

Naw most bodies are supposed to disappear over time regardless of unique status. The problem is some of the bodies are missing a cleanup script. Take a stroll through the unofficial patch changelog and you'll see quite a lot of cleanup script additions to such NPCs (Sigrid and Alvor among them).

There are a few NPCs which don't disappear until you complete a certain quest, presumably in order to make sure you won't miss out on a quest item or something similar. The initial Dragonborn Cultists are the most commonly encountered example, because it happens to every single player at a certain point in the main quest and because the player tends to get attacked in well-trafficked areas like Whiterun or Ivarstead. The corpses won't disappear until you actually travel to Solstheim, which is annoying as all get out to me.

[Aarah]

When you guys say, 'drop them in the river' how are you 'grabbing' the bodies to do this?
I could use the Unrelenting Force shout to try to blast them over to it I suppose, but are u talking about some other method?

[BetaB17]

When you guys say, 'drop them in the river' how are you 'grabbing' the bodies to do this?
I could use the Unrelenting Force shout to try to blast them over to it I suppose, but are u talking about some other method?

The method really doesn't matter, so long as the result is the same. Personally I've had a few times where I had to hide a group of dead orcs in some very tall grass.. they never stood a chance against that giant.. Also in Markarth I have a group of dead Forswarn just floating just underneath the white-water of the big waterfall.. and one of the them is decapitated... Idk what happened to his head.. but every now and then when I enter the city I can see it rolling down the hill then falling straight into the water.. damn kids..


I have a honest question, how in the world can guards tell if any of your items are stolen? I mean, I have this flower.. and it looks exactly like a million others, how does he know it's stolen?

[Jabberdave]

When you guys say, 'drop them in the river' how are you 'grabbing' the bodies to do this?
I could use the Unrelenting Force shout to try to blast them over to it I suppose, but are u talking about some other method?

You can drag them. I'm on x-box, too, so picking up an item is tap A and that places it in your inventory. To pick it up for placement, hold A until the option to pick it up disappears and then carefully drag it, place it wherever. This is best done in first person if you like to run around in third person.

As for moving things with force and a little off topic, I like using Ice Spike on dead dragons. They go a looooong way and it makes me laugh.

[Aarah]

You can drag them. I'm on x-box, too, so picking up an item is tap A and that places it in your inventory. To pick it up for placement, hold A until the option to pick it up disappears and then carefully drag it, place it wherever. This is best done in first person if you like to run around in third person.

Ooo, thanks, i didnt know this. *runs off to start dragging everything*

I have a honest question, how in the world can guards tell if any of your items are stolen? I mean, I have this flower.. and it looks exactly like a million others, how does he know it's stolen?

The same way that they know you're a companion, or a college member etc, even when your face is completely covered. Some sort of psychic powers I bet.
After all, it's a mystery why all the guards look and sound exactly the same, so my guess is that they are psychic androids churned out of some hidden Skyrim factory...

[Jabberdave]

You can drag them. I'm on x-box, too, so picking up an item is tap A and that places it in your inventory. To pick it up for placement, hold A until the option to pick it up disappears and then carefully drag it, place it wherever. This is best done in first person if you like to run around in third person.

Ooo, thanks, i didnt know this. *runs off to start dragging everything*

Small items can be picked up and set on tables, shelves, whatever. Bodies are too heavy so you end up dragging them. It takes some practice before you can really put things where you want them.

[Belthazor]

I have a honest question, how in the world can guards tell if any of your items are stolen? I mean, I have this flower.. and it looks exactly like a million others, how does he know it's stolen?

Related question: How do shopkeepers know that an item is stolen? And why do they stop caring about it after you invested into the Fence perk? You were able to sell stolen items to every vendor in Morrowind. But in Skyrim you're more or less forced to join the Thieves Guild if you want to sell stolen stuff.

[Jabberdave]

I have a honest question, how in the world can guards tell if any of your items are stolen? I mean, I have this flower.. and it looks exactly like a million others, how does he know it's stolen?

Related question: How do shopkeepers know that an item is stolen? And why do they stop caring about it after you invested into the Fence perk? You were able to sell stolen items to every vendor in Morrowind. But in Skyrim you're more or less forced to join the Thieves Guild if you want to sell stolen stuff.

Doesn't Enthir buy stolen goods? I can't remember. My current character only steals what he can use, not items to sell.

[baratron]

Scenario: My Imperial, who is also a member of the Imperial Legion, is running down the road in full Imperial Armour. He approaches a Stormcloak soldier. The Stormcloak says "Staying safe, I hope?". WHY?!

This one's a Solstheim mystery, so I'll stick it behind a spoiler tag for anyone who doesn't want to know what happens in Vahlok's Tomb:

Spoiler:

Went into Vahlok's Tomb with the scholar Tharstan. It contains a total of three Word Walls. Oddly, Tharstan stood and translated the dragon runes on the Walls with great awe, yet was entirely unmoved when my Dragonborn absorbed the Words of Power.

Then when I fought the main baddie of the dungeon, he said "How amazing! A real Dragon Priest! In all my years as a historian, I never thought I'd see anything like that."

Yet it's entirely normal for you to see men absorbing words of power from walls?

[The SheoDovah]

The absorbing of words of power may just be a mechanic that serves to let players know that they have unlocked a new word and to be flashy instead of us absorbing the knowledge just by reading it in a non-flashy way.

[Aarah]

. Oddly, Tharstan stood and translated the dragon runes on the Walls with great awe, yet was entirely unmoved when my Dragonborn absorbed the Words of Power.

I find this a mystery too. It's also a bit annoying as it's really cool absorbing the power and I want some acknowledgement of that.
At least people are more surprised when you use shouts near them.

A mystery I came across a while ago was a large standing stone (not the usual kind) and it had markings on it. A place name came up on the screen (ive forgotten now) and it registers as the cave symbol on the map. However, the stone seems to do nothing and I cannot find a cave anywhere nearby. I need to go back and look again, if I can find it, but I have no idea what it is.

Personal mysteries for me (just not found out yet): where r the rings 4 the gauntlet in the midden? What ball shape goes in the missing space in the Atronach forge? What books go on some random book plinths found around Skyrim?

(please dont tell me the answers to any of these mysteries! They r good ones!)

[CBR JGWRR]

All the word wall special effects are for is letting the player know they've read the word - its just reading the word and understanding its meaning, then projecting it into a shout.

[philfredobob]

I remember a diary entry in Solstheim, in that dungeon where you can make the spider-bomb guys, where the writer talks about how they ''blocked off the room with the chanting'', and then later, you can find the room, blocked by web, and inside, there's a word wall.

So it may not be just the player who hears stuff. The special effects are probably just be for the sake of fanciness and clarity, though.

EDIT: Here's the journal I'm on about: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Dragonborn:Merilar%27s_Journal

[The SheoDovah]

The Dovahkin has a mysterious friend that always know where he shouts and sends him a letter. A thought occured to me. It's Talos. He is forbidden to interfer directly so he uses an avatar that doesn't draw any attention and helps the Dovahkiin indirectly as he doesn't want to see Alduin win and may hope that they defeat the Thalmor.

[philfredobob]

You're not the first person to believe that.

Me ...well.... I prefer to choose to think that it's just a mysterious friend. I hate bringing gods into stuff.

[Marelo]

The Talos idea is usually put forth to rationalize the ludicrous awareness of this mysterious friend. You'd pretty much need to be a god to know all the times the Dragonborn shouted in random places with no survivors.

That said, it's not like there's no precedent. Talos shows up in Morrowind to offer the Nerevarine a blessing, and isn't exactly forthcoming about his identity.

[Crusader's Amour]

Another theory about the "friend" that makes a scary amount of sense:

Spoiler:

It's Hermaeus Mora. I mean, the friend can hear you shouting in Apocrypha, and I'm not sure even Talos could do that...

[Archer]

Another theory about the "friend" that makes a scary amount of sense:

Spoiler:

It's Hermaeus Mora. I mean, the friend can hear you shouting in Apocrypha, and I'm not sure even Talos could do that...

That really does make a lot of sense. Combine that with the fact that Hermaeus Mora has supposedly known that the DB would become his servant, and it is logical that he would want you to expand your knowledge and power.

[Crusader's Amour]

Of course, it's also apparently possible to get a letter from shouting in Pelagius' mind. Maybe Sheogorath told Mora about it over drinks at New Sheoth.

[Marelo]

Some people see Sheogorath as another aspect of Talos/Lorkhan/Akatosh.

(I mean we all know that the real answer is that it's a game mechanic to point the player toward word walls, and that it probably didn't get examined that closely by the developers at the time. But it's still fun to think about how it could possibly work with the lore.)

Regarding whether Talos could know about shouts in Apocrypha, dude's got CHIM. There's not a whole lot in the entire Aurbis he couldn't know.

[BetaB17]

Then again, that could easily just be a fault on the game mechanic itself. The use in dungeons, wilderness, and settlements were the obvious settings at first, so really Talos, or hell even some other spirit could be the source.. however in reality the letter is at random, so really any secluded place aside from say.. one area or a few others.. really jut bypass logic on it's own. I mean.. how does my friend know I was shouting inside of the Azura Star? So really such special places don't really distinguish with any entity, even if it wasn't a fault on the mechanics<_<

[Marelo]

Talos (and Vivec, for that matter) could know of something inside the Star.

I mean, if the mysterious friend has to know pretty much all things all the time to work with the lore, there are options. I don't think Mora is one, since part of his whole deal is pursuing things he doesn't already know. But CHIM entails this kind of power and knowledge, and we know of at least three entities with access to it.

Alternatively, there isn't a mysterious friend at all. It just sort of... happens. The letter appears and the courier takes it, under the mistaken, befuddled impression that there must have been someone who knew you well enough to send it. The dream can know and shape itself in unconscious ways as well as conscious, I'd wager. But between this and it being Talos, Vivec, or Mankar Camoran (of all people) I'd go with Talos, who has both the means and a concrete reason to do something like this.

[noobishlord]

Hmm... I rather like the idea of Sheogorath hearing me shout and whispering it to someone to deliver a letter to me. I have a mod that replaces all loading screen tips with something Sheogorath would say, so him paying attention to what I'm doing and whispering to mortals doesn't seem to be entirely out of place on my file.

Edit: On second thought, maybe it's M'aiq. That Khajiit seems to be everywhere, and seems to have knowledge on practically everything. And since Khajiit like to sneak, maybe we just can't see him.

Edit/Edit: What if M'aiq is the Tamriel incarnation of Sheogorath! Imagine the zaniness!