A Daedra's Best Friend


 * A Talking Dog!

Walkthrough
When talking to the blacksmith Lod in Falkreath the topic of his missing dog will come up. The Dragonborn may choose to take on this seemingly straightforward request.

Find Barbas the Missing Dog
In the immediate environs of Falkreath it should be easy to find Barbas. As it turns out the dog can talk and has fallen from favour with his master Clavicus Vile, and Barbas needs help to get back on his masters good side.

Travel with Barbas to the Shrine of Clavicus Vile
Accompany Barbas to Haemar's Shame where a shrine dedicated to the daedric prince of power Clavicus Vile lets the Dragonborn talk to the dog's master. After some convincing Vile promises to take in Barbas again under the condition that his The Rueful Axe is returned.

As it happens Sebastian Lort, a mage was very unhappy about his daughter turning into a werewolf, and asked the daedric prince for help. The mischievous Vile gave the unlucky mage the axe (to end her "state" by killing her), this drove the mage insane. So Lort might not want to part with the axe.

Retrieve The Rueful Axe
Note: At this point the Dragonborn may choose to visit the Rimerock Burrow on foot together with Barbas, but this could turn out to become very tedious since the location will quite likely not have been explored yet. It is possible to tell the dog to stay e.g. in Haemar's Shame ("stop following"). The Dragonborn can then continue the quest very much later.

Sebastian Lort and the axe are located in the Rimerock Burrow, far in the north-west of Skyrim. A short battle will yield the The Rueful Axe.

Return to the Shrine of Clavicus Vile
Barbas may be fighting off vampires at his masters shrine in Haemar's Shame when the Dragonborn returns with the axe. Now there is a choice to make:

Option: 1 – Kill Barbas
If the Dragonborn kills Barbas, at the behest of the malicious Clavicus Vile. This will yield The Rueful Axe. (Cruel, and not much of a reward since it was already available to the Dragonborn.)

Option: 2 – Let Barbas Live
If the Dragonborn refuses to kill Barbas, master and dog are reunited and Clavicus Vile gives the Masque of Clavicus Vile as a reward.

Note

 * The Rueful Axe does not count for the achievement Oblivion Walker, for which you have to collect 15 Daedric Artifact.
 * Go back to Lod and tell him "The dog was more trouble than he was worth." to receive a minor reward of 25.
 * Apparently Barbas is an essential NPC (who cannot die). He can additionally accompany the Dragonborn through Skyrim, together with an already existing follower (like Lydia). This could not only be interesting, Barbas might comment on things, but also makes the group of three a force to be reckoned with.

Der beste Freund eines Daedra