Companions - Kodlak is dead, what now?

[Atom.Little]

I had just completed the 'Blood's Honor' quest and returned in order to turn it in to Kodlak. Back in Whiterun most of the Companions were standing outside Jorvaskr with weapons raised, and Aela the Huntress told me The Silverhand had attacked while I was away. Inside Jorvaskr I found Kodlak dead, and Farkas (or it may have been his brother, Vilkas) came over and said now he and I would revenge Kodlak.

But I never got a quest, so I didn't quote know what to do. I left Whiterun (sometimes leaving and returning to a location is what it takes to trigger a new quest), but when I returned a game-week later the scene was the same as when I left: Most of the companions are standing outside Jorvaskr, Aela the Huntress tells me they've been attacked by The Silverhand, and inside Jorvaskr everybody are sitting around dead or dying bodies. One of them laying deeply wounded at the floor just like a week earlier (I tried to heal her but to no effect).

Can anybody tell me what's supposed to happen next? Have I run into a bug of sorts? If yes, what can I do about it (except for reloading an earlier save)? - I'd actually hate having to reload as I've done some very demanding and some very tedeious quests in the time that has past.

Thanks in advance for responses.

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NB. - I should mention that I've just made this post once but for some reason it doesn't appear on the discussions list - at least not on my screen. If somehow it's turned up anyway, I apologize for the multi-posting.

[Valadeus]

The next person you need to talk to is Vilkas, you should see him somewhere near Kodlak's body. He will explain that he's looking for revenge and send you on a quest to gather the remaining pieces of Wuuthrad.

Alternatively, if you can't speak to Vilkas or the quest won't start when you do, there's a bug that if the "Helm of Winterhold" quest is active, you won't be able to start the quest until you complete that quest. If that quest is active in your journal, you'll need to go through Driftshade Refuge (I believe you have to not kill anyone) and get the crown to complete that quest before this one will begin. Alternatively, you can use the console to finish Helm of Winterhold by typing "setstage favor158 20" into the console.

This bug also occurs if you've already cleared Driftshade Refuge. If you've done so, you'll need to wait 30 in game days for the dungeon to reset before this quest can begin.

[Atom.Little]

Originally posted by ArtOfLight:

The next person you need to talk to is Vilkas, you should see him somewhere near Kodlak's body. He will explain that he's looking for revenge and send you on a quest to gather the remaining pieces of Wuuthrad.

Yes, this is what happened. I thought at first he was Farkas because the two look alike and share the same voice over.

From what I was told by another player Vilkas will leave the room after telling me we're going to avenge Kodlak, and I'm supposed to follow him to... Wuuthrad? I never get the quest, just the conversation, and Vilkas disappears too quickly for me to follow him, and he doesn't have a quest marker.

Originally posted by ArtOfLight:

Alternatively, if you can't speak to Vilkas or the quest won't start when you do, there's a bug that if the "Helm of Winterhold" quest is active, you won't be able to start the quest until you complete that quest.

Oh, that's probably what's wrong, then. I do have that quest sitting in acvtive mode in my quest log (I always leave most of my quests on Active because it allows me to see if there are a number of quests at or near a location that I can do combined.

I'm glad you mention this.

Originally posted by ArtOfLight:

If that quest is active in your journal, you'll need to go through Driftshade Refuge (I believe you have to not kill anyone) and get the crown to complete that quest before this one will begin. Alternatively, you can use the console to finish Helm of Winterhold by typing "setstage favor158 20" into the console.

Ah, this is where Driftshade Refuge gets into the picture.

Not killing anyone is important in order for me to be able to complete the 'Helm of Winterhold' quest or begin the Companions quest 'The Purity of Revenge'? (<-- I think that's the name of the quest I'm trying to get started, right?)

Originally posted by ArtOfLight:

This bug also occurs if you've already cleared Driftshade Refuge. If you've done so, you'll need to wait 30 in game days for the dungeon to reset before this quest can begin.

Ah yes, this was what the other player mentioned. Now I understand the mentioning of the Driftshade Refuge location.

Thanks for helping out.

[Atom.Little]

If others run into the issue described above and find this debate, you may find the info at the following link helpful: Purity of Revenge[www.uesp.net].

[Atom.Little]

Update: I've checked 'Helm of Winterhold' and Driftshade Refuge in-game. It turns out that Drifshade Refuge was already marked on my map, but I missed it when I looked the first time because I thought it was located further to the North-West(1*).

When I arrived at Driftshade Vilkas wasn't there, but the "Helm of Winterhold" quest marker was, so I entered the place intending to sneak my way through and get the item without killing any of the NPCs.

But you're not very likely to make it through the dungeon all the way to the quest item alive without killing at least some of the stronger mobs - unless you're very experienced.

So I guess for me it will be another month before I can complete the Companions' quest 'The Purity of Revenge'. Oh well, I'll live - as long as I can get it done. After all, doing the Companions quest line is part of the reason I decided to make another Skyrim play-through.
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(1*) - A wrong impression that I somehow got when I looked the place up on an otherwise great Skyrim Map on the web. Interested folks can find it here[www.uesp.net].