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Location: Fort Frostmoth, Carius' Chambers, 3rd floor of General Quarters

1. Carius will tell you about the smuggling ring he believes is happening within the fort and again enlists your aid.

2. He'll offer a bit of help to solve the quest -- your choice of one guard from his recommendations. You can choose Gaea Artoria, a fighter that resides just downstairs of Carius in the Upper Level General Quarters, or the thoughtful approach of Saenus Lusius who's roaming the bottom floor in the General Quarters. Either one should be fine.

3. Enlist the help of the person of your choice, and if it's Gaea, then speak with any guard. Raise their disposition by your favorite method of persuasion and then talk again about the smuggling operation with them, and they'll lead you to Zeno Faustus, the smith at the Armory. If you chose Saenus, he'll tell you about Zeno right away.

4. Head over to the Armory and there to the left of the entrance will be Zeno. Raise his disposition if you have to and he'll tell you to check out Gandrung Caverns which are located Northeast of the fort.

5. Leave the fort area, and prepare (if you haven't already) for your first Solstheim battles. Head roughly east and a bit northeast until you get to a nearby river inlet. It's actually a small dead-end bay. Follow the shoreline northward until it ends, and there facing the water will be the entrance to the Gandrung Caverns... the smuggler's hideout. If by chance you need assistance finding it, or any other location throughout this walkthrough, take a look at the Solstheim Map.

Tip:

While having a companion in this game, it is crucial to the main quest that you do not accidentally attack them in any way. For this quest, it is believed that they cannot even die at all, or else the person you need to report to later will go hostile on you.

Update: This has been fixed in patch 1.6.1820 so only be overly protective for the companion's safety if you have not yet patched Bloodmoon. Go to this page for the patch.

If you have anything further to add, please let us know. Don't worry though, because if you are powerful enough to defeat the smugglers, your companion can take a lot of punishment before falling. Be careful, but not paranoid of their safety.

6. Enter the caverns. It's possible you can avoid fighting by finding a smuggler called Gualtierus Spurius and sparing his life, which in return he'll give you a weapon and his promise of exile, or you can just roam around until you take down all the smugglers. Once your business is finished, your journal will automatically update. Now take your badness back to Carius for the debriefing.