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I'm Level 6. I skipped the interview with the Count of Cheydinhal and went right into the Oblivion Gate. I scrambled down the slopes, and found the two surviving knights without first entering The Bowels. I didn't let Farwil tell me about Oblivion so he and his sidekick wouldn't follow me (on advice from another website; I'm told that when I find the Sigil Stone and close the Oblivion Gate Farwil will meet me, unharmed).

Right behind them is a gate to The Bowels. I go through it. I appear to have entered on the bottom (last) level. There's no way I can find to get up to the prior levels. I guess I've somehow bypassed The Bowels entirely.

But when I get to the War Gate it still says the Gate is "opened elsewhere." I can't find any kind of lever in the vicinity of the Gate itself, nor in the bottom layer of The Bowels, nor anyplace else in this realm of Oblivion.

Thinking the lever might be in the Bowels, I've been looking for the proper way in (since the Bowels Gate behind Farwil seems to be the gate from which I should have emerged, not the one I should enter). Can't find it. The directions say to "follow the path" after entering this realm, and it seems I should find The Bowels' entrance. So I've tried starting over by re-entering the Oblivion Gate at Cheydinhal. But the path seems to peter out, leaving me to scramble down the slopes and go directly to meet Farwil in front of The Bowels' exit gate. Can't find any other Bowels gate.

There doesn't seem to be any other way into the Main Tower besides the War Gate. So I'm stumped.

What am I doing wrong?

--arsesq

youve got to walk all the way around through alot of caves, you cant open the gate.. go back across the bridge and go right

I guess I do have to go through all the caves.

Still can't find the entrance. Back across which bridge? The one in front of the War Gate? If so, when I turn right I don't see any entrance either in the game or marked on the map. Is that because I haven't interviewed the Count?

--arsesq

No this isn't because you haven't interviewed with the count. Just try searching harder and looking for dark and hidden paths. Also, just to let you know, if you haven't talked to the count you won't get the reward for saving his son since technically he never asked you too. As far as I know you also won't get the Fame bump because the son can claim to have closed it himself.

Arok2092 wrote:Also, just to let you know, if you haven't talked to the count you won't get the reward for saving his son since technically he never asked you too.

Wrong, in fact you don't even need to talk to his son. Just close the gate and the kid will be outside (as long as he didn't get killed of course, which is unlikely if you avoid talking with the spoiled brat), talk to him and then go see the count and you'll get your reward.

Thank you both for your kind, albeit conflicting, advice. I'll look for the door a bit more, and then go back and start over by interviewing the count. The door: I go "back across the bridge" and turn right. Is that, as I suppose, the bridge leading to the war gate (there's another bridge which doesn't seem to lead anywhere).

--arsesq

galraen wrote:Wrong, in fact you don't even need to talk to his son. Just close the gate and the kid will be outside (as long as he didn't get killed of course, which is unlikely if you avoid talking with the spoiled brat), talk to him and then go see the count and you'll get your reward.

Well I believe you then Galraen but I would like it to be known that my evidence for this comes from the Official Elderscrolls Oblivion strategy guide. Although I'm pretty sure I've found it a bit mistaken in a few ways anyway.

Arok2092 wrote:Well I believe you then Galraen but I would like it to be known that my evidence for this comes from the Official Elderscrolls Oblivion strategy guide. Although I'm pretty sure I've found it a bit mistaken in a few ways anyway.

I'm going by personal experience Arok, I hate having followers, so since my first run through the game, every time I've done the 'Aid for Bruma' quest I've gone straight through the gate, avoided talking to the kid, shut the gate. Then when I've exited the kid's always been there, I've talked to him, been told to see his dad (and got accepted into the Knights of the Thorn), seen his dad and been given the choice of reward.

Now I am playing on a PC, so I guess it's possible that things might be different on an XBox, that has I confess, only just occurred to me.

Well, I'm on a PC.

Somebody tell me more precisely whether I have to go through the caves (I gather it's necessary), and if so, how in hell I get into them. The gate behind the kid definitely isn't it; that's the exit. Also, once in the caves, is there a lever or something I have to pull, or do I just have to get through them in one piece?

--arsesq (who's postponing further questing until he gets this resolved)

OK. I've got my character directly in front of the War Gate, facing away from it. Now, please, with as much detail as possible, what do I do to get into the caves?

--arsesq (who's frozen here until somebody bails him out)

You could try typing movetoqt into the console. Make sure that you have the correct quest set as active first though.

PS If all else fails, exit the Oblivion gate, and type

Setstage ms13 80

into the console.

Hoo hah. Sounds terrific. I'll try it today. God Bless.

OK. "movetoqt" seems to drop me into some kind of lava pit which kills me instantly; no chance to do anything to avoid it.

"Setstage ms13 80" sounds promising, but I have first to exit the Oblivion gate, and where I am I can't get to it. I think it's impossible to retrace my steps. I can't climb back up some of the slopes I slid down on my way in.

Please explain what "movetoqt" is supposed to do. Is there anything I can type that puts me in front of, but not through, the entrance to the caves (which I can't find).

Well I can't help you with this part but just as another idea try forgoing this quest and instead just beat the main quest which will close all the Oblivion gates at the end and then go back to where the gate was that you are at right now and the son of the Count should be there for you to talk too. I'm not saying you have to do that, but if all else fails...

Thanks so much for trying to help. I'll do that if I can't figure some way out of this thing. I'm getting stubborn now, though.

--arsesq

Brute Force Solution

Just so you know, I got through. First I used "coc cheydinhalbridgeinn" to get myself back on the other side of the Oblivion Gate. Then I went through the Oblivion Gate again, and this time crept *very* slowly down the path. I had been too hasty before. The path didn't peter out. Instead, I found the proper entrance to The Bowels. I got through that part of The Bowels without finding any lever to open the War Gate.

Then I followed the path south to the second entrance to The Bowels. Didn't find any lever there either. Dropped through two levels to the bottom, and emerged where the Wayward Knight and his sidekick awaited me.

I avoided conversation with them and went right to the War Gate. Still said this gate was opened elsewhere.

I resorted to the console again. I tried clicking on the gate and entering "unlock". It reported the War Gate was unlocked, but when I tried it was still shut.

I tried "tgm", but even in God Mode I couldn't budge the War Gate.

Finally I clicked on the War Gate and entered "disable". It disappeared and I waltzed through the empty space where it had been, dispatched a couple of daedra, and now stand just inside the entrance to the Main Tower.

Pfui. Still, thanks for all your help. Your suggestions involving the console led me to an effective workaround. I still wonder what I did wrong, but I'm too sick of this place to care anymore.

--arsesq

Curious, I didn't suggest disabling the gate, as when I tried that once on that particular gate it didn't work. Glad you've got through it though.

Interesting.

For the record, I reached the Sigil Stone, touched it, and landed with both knights alive where the Oblivion Gate had been. Got all my rewards. Now if I could only remember what I had in mind before I got distracted by this Quest in the first place.

--arsesq