Oblivion Remastered walkthrough: How to complete Lifting The Vale quest

Lifting The Vale in Oblivion Remastered kicks off once your character has at least 10 fame. Around this point, people in Bruma start talking about Countess Narina Carvain and her obsession with Akaviri artifacts. Eventually, her herald, Tolgan, shows up, hands you 25 gold, and says the Countess wants a word. That’s your cue to head to Castle Bruma.

Here’s a complete guide to the Lifting The Vale quest in Oblivion Remastered.

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Lifting The Vale quest walkthrough in Oblivion Remastered

Interacting with Narina in Oblivion Remastered (Image via Bethesda Softworks // YouTube/@Gamerack)

The Countess, the diary, and the task

Once inside, Narina doesn’t waste time. She tells you she’s after a specific artifact called the Draconian Madstone, rumored to be in Pale Pass, and she wants you to find it. She gives you a translated copy of a messenger’s diary and a sketched map.

She has already sent scouts, who have found the first landmark mentioned in the diary – Dragonclaw Rock. A map marker is added automatically.

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Follow the trail

Confront the creatures and eliminate them (Image via Bethesda Softworks // YouTube/@Gamerack)

Start by heading to Dragonclaw Rock. It looks like a massive dragon's foot. From there, walk west until you find The Sentinel — a large statue sticking out of the snow. After spotting that, go north again. Eventually, you’ll reach a cave entrance called The Serpent’s Trail.

The tunnel is mostly straight but crawling with enemies. Somewhere there, you’ll also find the messenger’s corpse — loot it to get a set of Akaviri Orders. Keep following the trail through the cave until you’re out the other end. Now, stick to the snow-covered path going north to reach the ruins of Pale Pass.

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Inside Fort Pale Pass — traps and ghosts

Once at the ruins, look for the entrance labelled Mouth of the Serpent. This is where things get rough. The place is packed with traps — pressure plates, darts, swinging blades — and Undead Akaviri Soldiers that won’t go down easily. The route you need to take goes from Mouth to Scales (or Eyes) to Fangs, and finally to Venom.

Akaviri Commander in Lifting The Vale quest (Image via Bethesda Softworks // YouTube/@Gamerack)

Eventually, you’ll run into Mishaxhi, the ghost of the Akaviri Commander. He’s still holding position and awaiting orders. If you’ve got the Akaviri Orders from earlier, hand them over. He’ll stand down peacefully, and all his ghost troops will vanish too.

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Grab the Madstone and return to complete the Lifting The Vale quest

After Mishaxhi is gone, check the room behind him. You’ll find the Draconian Madstone sitting on a pedestal in the back. Pick it up and return to Countess Narina Carvain in Bruma. As a reward, she’ll give you the Ring of the Vipereye. It’s a levelled magic ring that boosts agility and gives you some resistance to magic.

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This concludes our guide on the Lifting The Vale quest in Oblivion Remastered.