- Learn the location of the Elder Scroll
- (Optional) Talk to Esbern or (Optional) Talk to Arngeir
- Recover the Elder Scroll
- Return to Paarthurnax with the Elder Scroll
After starting this quest, ask either Arngeir or Esbern about where one might locate an Elder Scroll. Both will point you in the same direction: the College of Winterhold. If you have not yet joined the college, Faralda will have you cast a spell of her choice. If you don't have it, she will sell it to you for a discounted price. You may also get a dialogue option to say "would you let a dragonborn in?", in which case she will ask you to show her a shout. She will let you in after this as well.
Once inside the college, talk to the librarian, Urag gro-Shub, who will provide two books on the Elder Scrolls, Effects of the Elder Scrolls and Ruminations on the Elder Scrolls. Upon reading the second book, and following the quest phase objective, Urag will tell you about its author, a man who knows much of the Elder Scrolls and left the college some years ago. Travel north to find Septimus Signus, at his outpost. He will tell you to visit a Dwemer ruin to find the scroll, and gives you two items which will act as keys in the rest of the quest.
This mission features a very large Dwemer ruin by the name of Alftand which acts as a gateway to Blackreach, a tremendous underground cavern. There are many auxiliary objectives to be found in Blackreach, meaning that this quest can be quite a lengthy one. Both Alftand and Blackreach contain Steam Centurions and Falmer, both of which are capable of making this quest near-impossible if preparations are not made.
The easiest way to attack this lengthy quest is to prepare yourself for multiple difficult battles. First, you must make your way through Alftand. It is a large dungeon with a lot of fighting, but it is very self explanatory on where to go. Eventually, you will reach a door, which you will walk out of, and encounter (2-4) Falmer. Kill the Falmer, and on each side of you will be two staircases. Walk up the staircase and there will be a lever which controls the gate below.
After the gate you will find a Dwarven Centurion, which can prove to be a challenge to low/mid level characters. One easy way to kill it is to trap him behind the gate, then attack from a distance in safety.
Continuing up more stairs, you will find Sulla Trebatius and Umana hiding from the Centurion. They are both hostile, but if left uninterrupted, they will begin bickering with each other and eventually break out into a fight. The player can finish off the survivor, or take the opportunity to depart quietly. Use the sphere given by Septimus Signus on a mysterious table to reveal a staircase. Blackreach is below. If you grabbed the key off the Centurion, you can also take a detour through the lift back to the surface in order to sell off the enormous loot you probably accumulated and then return to the lift to continue on down to Blackreach.
Finally, you will be in Blackreach, a vast, beautiful, eerie and dangerous underground cavern that will take a lot of time to traverse. Dwemer robotics and Falmer continue to be common enemies. Follow the cobblestone path to your ultimate destination, the Tower of Mzark. Low level players wanting to avoid encounters should give any buildings a wide berth and try to follow the river instead.
If you are leveled well and aren't afraid of fighting some Falmer, Dwemer machines and possibly a Giant, the quickest route from Alftand to the Tower of Mzark would be to follow the road to the left immediately out of the Alftand Cathedral. Continue along the road until you come to your first junction (T-shaped). Make a right and continue straight along that road and across a bridge until you see the Tower; it is difficult to miss.
Inside the Tower of Mzark, climb to the very top of the tower to a podium with several buttons. Activate the Lexicon Receptacle, so the Blank Lexicon rests on top of it. The two pedestals to the Receptacle’s left, the only ones currently active, open and close the Oculory lenses. Press the taller of the two pedestals (right of the one with the lens chart on it) three or four times, until the pedestal with the blue button to the left of the middle one starts to glow. Move to this new pedestal (at this point, the Blank Lexicon may be glowing blue). The two pedestals to the left of the Receptacle, the taller of which is now active, control the ceiling lens array. Press the button of the taller, left pedestal twice, until the button on the far left, smaller pedestal begins to glow. Now press that button, and a large set of lens crystals descends from the ceiling and stops. and the Elder Scroll will be revealed. Pick up the transcribed Lexicon and the Scroll.
With the Elder Scroll in hand, return to Paarthurnax at the Throat of the World to begin the next quest.
