Thanks to you, %Name's new book is one step closer to completion.

A Nordic battle axe from the First Era? With this piece of evidence, no scholar can deny that %Name's theory is correct. He thanks you, %PCName. Because of your bravery, %Name's new book will contain a groundbreaking chapter on Fort Ancylis and the Nordic occupation of the Inner Sea coast. Please accept this special text as a reward. It teaches one a few subtleties concerning hidden things.

What is this? An old axe? Sadly, the study of weapons is not the expertise of %Name. Perhaps someone else here can help you identify it.

Diving? Agh. The cold waters of the sea are not for %Name. If you find anything of historical value, be sure to show it to him, %PCName.

Return when you have learned something. %Name imagines a Nord would know the most of ancient Nordic history. Are there any Nords in the fort? %Name is quite sure there is at least one stationed here.

The history of this place does not interest you? What a shame for us both.

%Name is grateful! Hopefully someone within these walls has something valuable to share.

Such a claim is ludicrous, of course. There is absolutely no archaeological evidence that a Nordic fort once stood here. That being said, %Name must interview someone within the fort, preferably a Nord, to find a starting point for the excavation. %Name is unfamiliar with the guards and staff, but if you wish to assist, perhaps you could ask if anyone knows anything unusual about the history of this place.

%Name does not claim there is a hidden history, only that there might be. Do you see the two-headed golden eagle crests? That is originally a Nordic symbol, over four thousand years old. Why would the Empire place so many of them in this room without reason? Combined with the coastal location of the fort, these eagles make him wonder. If %Name were a simple treasure hunter, he would say an ancient Nordic ruin lies buried beneath us.

You say you found this old battle axe in the sea nearby? It has endured the elements well. Frostbite enchantment. Nordic make. Let me think... Shorveig would certainly be interested in it.

You have done well, %PCName.

By Kyne's wings! This battle axe appears to be from the First Era. And what a beauty she is. See how well the ancient steel has withstood corrosion? I believe we can now indeed establish that a Nordic outpost once stood upon these shores.

Your best chance of finding surviving evidence lies on the seafloor near the shore. Keep an eye out for sunken weapons, armor, or jewelry, and see if anything got stuck between the rocks. I suggest talking to our alchemist, Apphia Calanius, before diving headlong into the sea. She's in the next room and might have some useful potions to spare. Water breathing, swift swim, and the like.

My ancestors were seafarers, after all. If this was once their outpost, there should be evidence of it at the bottom of the sea, not far from the shore. Sunken weapons, armor, or jewelry. The Inner Sea water is only mildly brackish, so they shouldn't be in too poor a condition. Up for a little diving, %PCName? Talk to Apphia Calanius, our alchemist in the next room, before diving headlong into the sea. She could supply you with a few useful potions. And be careful on your climb down.

That theory is not as far-fetched as it sounds. My ancestors never conquered all of Morrowind, but sailed deep south on longboats to build outposts at landing sites, possibly including this peninsula. But it's not that simple. In the early fourth century, Fort Ancylis was rebuilt from a crumbling Uriel V-era keep. Below it lies a much older Reman ruin, and further down maybe a Dark Elven watchtower. Any artifacts of my ancestors would be utterly buried. Your best chance of finding anything lies in the sea.

I hope you know what you are doing diving alone like that.

You're going to search the seafloor for archaeological evidence? While I commend your dedication to scholarship, I have no desire to see you drown, %PCName. Please, take these potions with you. They'll grant you the ability to breathe underwater and greatly increase your swimming speed. You might also consider utilizing magic to detect enchantments.

History? Nordic ruins? I don't know anything about that. You should ask Shorveig, our priest. She's a Nord, so she might know. She's in the Imperial Cult chapel in the Main Keep.