Morrowind House Hlaalu quests

This address once hosted the House Hlaalu quest guide from the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, a project that is still running at uesp.net, where its wiki now covers every one of these quests. This page is the current m0use Mods version: every House Hlaalu quest in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, sorted by quest giver, with rank requirements, the Rethan Manor stronghold and what changes when you play on the Steam or GOG editions, OpenMW or Tamriel Rebuilt today.

What House Hlaalu is and who it suits

House Hlaalu is the trade-minded Great House of Vvardenfell. It sits closest to the Empire, runs Balmora, Caldera, Suran, Hla Oad and the Hlaalu Canton of Vivec, and settles most problems with money, persuasion or a quiet knife. Its quests reflect that: you collect debts, rig trade deals, swap land deeds, guard shops and bump off rivals more often than you clear dungeons.

The House suits stealthy, talkative characters. Its favored skills (Speechcraft, Mercantile, Marksman, Short Blade, Light Armor and Security) are exactly the ones its quests test. Over and over, a high disposition opens the cheapest solution, and a good Security skill gets you into locked manors and chests. A pure warrior can still finish every quest, but expect to solve with a blade problems that a smooth talker settles with one conversation.

The honest counter-argument: Hlaalu’s questline is shorter and less heroic than House Redoran’s, and its stronghold is the smallest of the three. If you want an epic arc, Redoran gives you more. If you want morally grey choices, alternative solutions and an easy route to the Hortator title through the main quest, Hlaalu is the stronger pick.

How to play the Hlaalu questline today

The easiest legitimate way in is The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition on Steam or GOG. It bundles both expansions, Tribunal and Bloodmoon. The Hlaalu quests are all base-game content, but the GOTY edition includes the official patches, and most modern mods assume you have both expansions anyway.

You then choose an engine: Bethesda’s original executable, patched by community fixes, or OpenMW, the open-source reimplementation.

For a first Hlaalu run, OpenMW 0.51.0 with Patch for Purists is the lowest-maintenance setup. Players who want MWSE-Lua mods should stay on the original engine with the Morrowind Code Patch. You can manage either setup by hand, with Mod Organizer 2, or with OpenMW’s own launcher.

Joining House Hlaalu and rank requirements

You join by asking Nileno Dorvayn about joining House Hlaalu. She stands on the ground floor of the Hlaalu Council Manor in Balmora, so she is often the first faction recruiter a new character meets. Every rank after Hireling needs Speed and Agility of at least 30, a target number in one favored skill and, from Lawman up, two more favored skills at a lower level. You also need faction reputation, which you earn by finishing House quests.

Favored skills and attributes

Hlaalu’s favored attributes are Speed and Agility. Its six favored skills are Speechcraft, Mercantile, Marksman, Short Blade, Light Armor and Security. Any one of them can be your “main” skill for rank purposes, so a character who already runs on Short Blade at 60 can climb to House Brother quickly once the reputation is there.

Getting a sponsor: Crassius Curio

Past the lower ranks, the House expects a councilor to vouch for you, a rule the in-game book on the Great Houses describes: a councilor must stand as sponsor for a candidate’s character and loyalty. House members point you to Crassius Curio, an eccentric councilor who lives in his manor on the Hlaalu Plaza in Vivec. His price for sponsorship is a joke at your expense: he asks you to take off your clothing and armor before he will agree. Do that, talk to him again, and he sponsors you and sends you on to Odral Helvi in Caldera. Curio later becomes a quest giver himself.

All House Hlaalu quests at a glance

The table lists every House Hlaalu quest by giver, in the rough order you will meet them. Higher-tier givers only offer work once you have the rank and reputation for it.

Nileno Dorvayn’s quests (Balmora)

Nileno Dorvayn hands out the entry-level work, and most of it teaches the Hlaalu way: disguise, theft, sabotage and persuasion. You pick up all seven quests from her and hand them in to her at the Hlaalu Council Manor in Balmora, but the work itself takes you to Ald’ruhn, Vivec, Suran and Ebonheart.

Disguise

Your first job is a con. A Redoran agent has died, and Nileno wants his orders before Redoran notices.

1. Take the helm Nileno gives you and wear it, so your face stays hidden.
2. Travel to Ald’ruhn and find Neminda in the Redoran council hall.
3. Identify yourself with the code phrase Nileno gives you (“Orphan of Arnesia”) and collect the parcel.
4. Bring the parcel back to Nileno.

The disguise depends on a full-face helm, which Argonians and Khajiit cannot wear. Characters of those races are not offered this quest and move straight on to the next one.

Alchemical Formulas

An alchemist in Vivec has been taking business from a loyal Hlaalu alchemist, and Nileno wants her formula. Go to Aurane Frernis in the Lower Waistworks of Vivec’s Foreign Quarter and steal one of her recipe scrolls. Copies sit on a table and in a chest at the foot of the bed, and Aurane carries one herself. Bring any copy back to Nileno. A Security skill for the chest or a decent Sneak score for the table makes this clean; getting caught means a bounty.

Inanius Egg Mine

Nileno wants a rival, Serjo Avon Oran of Suran, taken down a notch. Travel to the Inanius Egg Mine in the hills east of Suran and kill the Kwama Queen. Before you report back, you can visit Oran in his Suran manor and use what you did to extort some gold from him. Then collect your reward from Nileno.

Guar Hide Squeeze

Rolasa Oran, a trader in Vivec’s Foreign Quarter, buys her guar hides from House Redoran. Persuade her to buy from Hlaalu instead. She refuses at first; raise her disposition with Admire, Flatter or a bribe until she agrees (older guides put the threshold near 80), then report to Nileno.

Delivery for Bivale Teneran

A plain courier job. Carry Nileno’s orders to Bivale Teneran, a clothier in Ald’ruhn’s Manor District who spies for House Hlaalu. She gives you a set of clothes as thanks. Return to Nileno to finish.

The Death of Ralen Hlaalo

Ralen Hlaalo, a Hlaalu noble, has been murdered in his Balmora manor. Nileno wants the killer dead, and you can take this one even if you are not a House member.

1. Ask around Balmora; people point you to Nine-Toes, an Argonian who lives in town.
2. Nine-Toes denies everything and points you to the Hlaalo household servant.
3. Get into Hlaalo Manor (its doors are locked) and talk to the servant, who describes the killer: a young red-haired Dunmer in bonemold armor carrying a Dwemer war axe.
4. Ask around again with that description and you are directed to Thanelen Velas of the Camonna Tong, in the Council Club.
5. Kill Velas and report to Nileno.

Nine-Toes is innocent and has a role in the main quest, so leave him alive. Velas is the man you want.

Ebony Trade

The last Dorvayn quest gives you two routes. Either convince Canctunian Ponius at the East Empire Company in Ebonheart to buy ebony from Hlaalu (raise his disposition to roughly 75), or shut down the Redoran-run Sudanit Mine southeast of Fort Buckmoth by killing its owner, Darns Tedalen. Persuasion is faster and keeps your hands clean. Older guides report that doing both earns a larger reward from Nileno.

Edryno Arethi’s quests (Vivec)

Edryno Arethi works in the Hlaalu Canton of Vivec. His quests mix errands with real fights, and two of them (Odirniran and the Prelude wreck) are the most combat-heavy in the House.

Bank Courier

Deliver a sealed report to Baren Alen at the Hlaalu Treasury in the same canton. It pays 50 gold, and you can take it without being a Hlaalu member. The orders are coded, so opening them tells you nothing; Alen notices a broken seal, and you lose the reward.

Murudius Flaeus’ Debt

Murudius Flaeus of Hla Oad owes a Hlaalu noble 800 gold. You have three options:

1. Persuade Flaeus at his house in Hla Oad; with a high enough disposition he pays up or hands over a key.
2. Ask around town, where hints point to a chest hidden under Fadila’s house near the docks.
3. Pick the chest’s lock and take the money yourself.

Return the money to Arethi, who lets you keep part of it as a reward.

Escort Tarvyn Faren

Meet the merchant Tarvyn Faren on the road just north of Vivec and escort him and his pack guar to the Halfway Tavern in Pelagiad. Walk rather than run so the guar keeps up, and clear any cliff racers before they reach him.

Kill Telvanni at Odirniran

A Telvanni sorcerer has attacked Hlaalu settlers at Odirniran, east of Molag Mar.

1. Find the survivors, led by Remasa Othril, holding out near the tower.
2. Learn that his sister, Vedelea Othril, is locked in a cell inside.
3. Climb the tower and kill the sorcerer, Milyn Faram; Vedelea will not follow you until he is dead.
4. Escort Vedelea to her brother, then report to Arethi.

Arethi pays for the sorcerer’s death and adds a bonus if Vedelea survives. House Telvanni has a mirrored version of this quest with the sides reversed.

Diseased Rats

Someone has slipped diseased rats in among Yngling Half-Troll’s prized game rats, kept in the basement of Yngling Manor in Vivec’s St. Olms canton. Kill only the diseased ones. The rats crowd together, so use a targeted melee weapon rather than area spells. Killing one healthy rat is forgiven; killing more cuts your reward from Arethi drastically.

Zainab Ebony

Arethi wants the Zainab Ashlanders to sell their ebony to Hlaalu alone. Their camp is on the mainland, northwest of Tel Aruhn. Find Gulakhan Ashibaal in his yurt and pick the arguments that the Zainab are now strong enough to sell ebony and that the price drops if both sides sell. Arethi rewards you with a share of the profits.

The Shipwreck “Prelude”

The sunken wreck of the Prelude lies off the coast east of Bal Fell. Swim down (Water Breathing helps), search the lower deck and take the enchanted Daedric wakizashi Arethi asked for. Only that unique blade completes the quest; an ordinary Daedric wakizashi will not count. You keep everything else you find aboard.

Guard Ralen Tilvur

Ralen Tilvur’s smithy in the southeast corner of Vivec’s Foreign Quarter Plaza has been broken into three nights running. Go there, talk to Ralen, and the thief, Drarel Andus, turns up. Kill him and report to Arethi.

Odral Helvi’s quests (Caldera)

Odral Helvi runs the Governor’s Hall in Caldera and is openly corrupt. Each of his five quests can be done his way or reported to Crassius Curio (or another honest official), which is where Hlaalu politics gets interesting. Siding against Helvi lowers his disposition but keeps Curio on your side.

Sealed Orders

Deliver Helvi’s orders to Tenisi Lladri, the assistant clerk in the Hlaalu Vaults in Vivec. You can instead show them to Baren Alen, Rovone Arvel or Crassius Curio. The quest still completes, but Helvi will like you less.

Stolen Mine Documents

Documents have been stolen from the Caldera mine, and Helvi wants them back and the thief dead.

1. Ask around Caldera; you are pointed to the two newest arrivals, Irgola and Elmussa Damori.
2. Irgola denies it. Raise Elmussa Damori’s disposition high (around 80) and she confesses and hands over the documents.
3. She begs you to spare her and to keep her name out of it. You can kill her as ordered, or let her go and lie to Helvi, which works if his disposition toward you is high enough.
4. Return the documents to Helvi.

Erroneous Documents

Helvi says the Hlaalu Records in Vivec hold “erroneous” land deeds for the Ascadian Isles and hands you a replacement. The replacement is an obvious forgery.

1. Either sneak into the records and swap the real deed for the fake, or
2. Take the fake to Crassius Curio, who handles it, and then ask Baren Alen about erroneous documents to get the real deed without stealing it.
3. Bring the real deed back to Helvi.

Rent and Taxes

Helvi wants 50 gold each from two Ascadian Isles farmers, Manat Varnan-Adda and Llovyn Andus, and tells you to kill them if they refuse. Neither can pay. Your options:

• Pay the 100 gold out of your own pocket, as Curio suggests when you mention the job (he suspects Helvi simply wants the farmers dead).
• Take Llovyn’s guar, Corky, and lead it to Drulene Falen’s herd, where it is worth 200 gold.
• Ask Rovone Arvel about the matter; he covers the 100 gold.
• Kill both farmers and report them dead.

Smuggled Ebony

Helvi gives you five pieces of raw ebony for Drinar Varyon, a smuggler in Ald’ruhn. Smuggling raw ebony is illegal. You can simply deliver it and report back, or visit Curio first; he tells you to hand the ebony to Segunivus Mantedius at Fort Buckmoth instead, which brings down both Varyon and Helvi. In that case you report to Curio rather than Helvi.

Crassius Curio’s quests (Vivec)

Once Curio has sponsored you and you have done some of Helvi’s work, he starts handing out jobs from his manor on the Hlaalu Plaza in Vivec. These are the House’s assassination and politics quests, and two of them depend on the rival Great House strongholds existing in the world.

Velfred the Outlaw

Velfred runs a smuggling ship and owes House Hlaalu fees. Curio only says to ask around Hla Oad. Locals point you to a secret dock southwest of town. Persuade Velfred to pay (a disposition around 75) or kill him. Curio pays twice as much for a persuaded outlaw as for a dead one.

Kill Reynel Uvirith

Reynel Uvirith is the Telvanni lord of Tel Uvirith, in the Ashlands west of Tel Fyr. Kill him and report to Curio. He exists only for characters who are not Telvanni, because Telvanni players build Tel Uvirith for themselves.

Dram Bero’s Support

Curio needs the backing of an elusive fellow councilor, Dram Bero, and suggests starting your search in Vivec.

1. Ask around until you are pointed to the St. Olms canton.
2. Look for a heavily locked door in the Haunted Manor; Bero is inside.
3. Before he backs you, you must beat his champion, Garding the Bold, without killing him. Use hand-to-hand, a sleep effect, or fight until Garding yields at low health.
4. Talk to Bero again to secure his support, then report to Curio.

Bero’s support also matters later in the main quest, when you seek the Hlaalu councilors’ backing as Hortator.

Kill Banden Indarys

Lord Banden Indarys holds Indarys Manor, the Redoran stronghold between Ald’ruhn and Maar Gan. Kill him and return to Curio for a reward and a promotion. As with Reynel Uvirith, he only appears for players who are not Redoran.

Ilmeni Dren’s quests (Vivec)

Ilmeni Dren is the Duke’s anti-slavery relative and offers the House’s most sympathetic quests. She becomes available around the rank of Kinsman and lives in an apartment off the St. Delyn canals in Vivec.

Books for Ald’ruhn

Ask her about people who cannot read. She says the Mages Guild teachers lack books and asks you to deliver two titles, ABCs for Barbarians and The Annotated Anuad, to Vala Catraso at the Ald’ruhn Mages Guild. Both are common in bookshops. Deliver them and return to Ilmeni.

Rescue J’Saddha

Ilmeni’s other two quests are locked behind the Twin Lamps, an underground group that helps slaves escape. You learn about them by freeing slaves and asking about the Twin Lamps until someone gives you the phrase “They light the way to freedom.” Say it to Ilmeni to open her next quests.

1. Travel to Ald Velothi and meet Galyn Arvel by the docks.
2. Learn that the Khajiit slave J’Saddha missed his escape boat and is hiding in the Daedric ruins east of town, with slave hunters after him.
3. Deal with the hunters: persuade them (disposition 60 or more) to leave on a false trail, sneak past them, or fight them. Attacking them without provocation counts as murder, so let them start the fight.
4. Find J’Saddha and escort him back to Galyn Arvel, then report to Ilmeni.

Free Hides-His-Foot

Ilmeni’s last quest sends you to the Dren Plantation north of Vivec, which belongs to her relative Orvas Dren.

1. Find the Argonian slave Hides-His-Foot working outside.
2. Free him; plantation guards attack if they see it, so clear them first or work unseen.
3. Escort him to Sterdecan’s Farm, northeast of the plantation, and hand him to the farmer.
4. Talk to him before you leave: he mentions a locked room in Dren’s cellar, which matters for the Grandmaster quest.
5. Report to Ilmeni.

Duke Vedam Dren’s quests (Ebonheart)

Duke Vedam Dren, the Imperial-backed ruler of Vvardenfell, gives the two final House quests from the Grand Council Chambers in Ebonheart. They need a high rank (House Father or above).

Control the Ordinators

The Duke wants the Temple’s Ordinators reined in and sends you to Archcanon Tholer Saryoni in the High Fane in Vivec. The Archcanon admits the Ordinators have failed and offers a deal: recover the Robe of St. Roris.

1. Travel to Assemanu, the Sixth House shrine on an island southeast of Seyda Neen.
2. Fight through to the far end, where the chest holding the robe sits on a ledge you reach with Levitate (Telekinesis also works for the chest).
3. Give the robe to Saryoni, who agrees to control the Ordinators.
4. Report back to Duke Vedam Dren.

Assemanu is a dangerous Sixth House base, full of Ash creatures and corprus-infected enemies. Bring Cure Common Disease and Cure Blight potions, plus a Recall or Intervention scroll for the trip out.

Grandmaster

To become Grandmaster, you must take control of the Camonna Tong from the Duke’s brother, Orvas Dren, at the Dren Plantation. There are three routes:

Report to Duke Vedam Dren and you are named Grandmaster of House Hlaalu. Because this quest promotes you directly, players who reach it before Councilman can skip that rank.

The Hlaalu stronghold: Rethan Manor

Rethan Manor is the Hlaalu stronghold on the Odai Plateau, southwest of Balmora near Hla Oad. Dondos Driler at the Hlaalu Council Manor in Balmora gives the quest once you are a Kinsman. The manor goes up in three phases, each with its own task.

Phase 1: contract and deed

Driler explains that you need a construction contract and a land deed. Duke Vedam Dren grants the contract in exchange for a vow to look after his people. Baren Alen sells the deed at the Hlaalu Treasury; it is priced like any other item, so Mercantile and good disposition bring the cost down. Hand both to Driler and wait a few days for a journal update. He then sends you to the Odai Plateau, where the foreman, Durbul gro-Rush, promises the first phase within the week. Tell Driler, wait again, and the first phase is done. Durbul appears only during this first phase.

Phase 2: the egg mine

Driler now wants business near your land and suggests restoring the Shurdan-Raplay egg mine across the river. Two tasks:

1. Cure the blighted Kwama Queen by casting Cure Blight on her (a spell or a scroll both work).
2. Hire at least one miner. Driler names an unemployed miner in Gnisis and a slave you can buy through the slave trader in Tel Aruhn.

Report to Driler and wait for the journal entry announcing phase 2.

Phase 3: the bandits

The final phase needs a higher House rank (older guides put it at House Brother). Driler says bandits threaten the manor and tells you to hire a guard. The Imperial Legion at Fort Moonmoth has nobody to spare, but Flaenia Amiulusus at the Balmora Fighters Guild hires out a Nord named Fjorgeir. Meet him at the manor and he tells you the bandits are holed up in Zainsipilu, a cave southeast of the stronghold. Clear it, with or without him, then report to Driler. A few days later the manor is complete.

Hlaalu and the other Great Houses

The game intends you to join one Great House. Once you are Hlaalu, the Redoran and Telvanni recruiters refuse you, and Curio’s quests send you to kill the lords of the other two strongholds. The rival strongholds exist in the world only for houses you have not joined: Hlaalu players meet Reynel Uvirith and Banden Indarys, while Redoran and Telvanni players meet Raynasa Rethan at Rethan Manor.

Early fan guides, including the page that used to live at this address, recorded players holding ranks in two houses at once, usually because Duke Vedam Dren’s Camonna Tong dialogue could still promote a character who was not in Hlaalu after Orvas Dren’s fate had been settled elsewhere. That is a dialogue oversight, not a feature. It leaves quests such as Odirniran with contradictory goals and can confuse stronghold scripts. The intended path is one House per character; if you want to see all three questlines, play three characters.

Hlaalu in the main quest

House Hlaalu also matters if you never join it. To be named Hortator, the Nerevarine needs the backing of each Great House council, and the Hlaalu councilors (Crassius Curio, Dram Bero and the rest) are bought with persuasion, favors and, in Orvas Dren’s case, removal. The UESP wiki covers this under the Hlaalu Hortator quest.

Two overlaps matter for House members:

• Dram Bero’s support can be won through Curio’s House quest or the Hortator quest; finishing one makes the other easier.
• What happens to Orvas Dren in the main quest decides how the Grandmaster quest plays out. If he is already dead, the Duke’s Camonna Tong dialogue changes, so finish the House line before you deal with Orvas in the main quest if you want the full Grandmaster scene.

Mods that expand House Hlaalu

The vanilla Hlaalu line ends at Grandmaster and a small manor. Several projects extend it, and the biggest by far is Tamriel Rebuilt.

Tamriel Rebuilt runs its Hlaalu faction separately from the vanilla House: its mainland Hlaalu questline lives in Narsis and the surrounding lands and does not replace Nileno Dorvayn or Crassius Curio. Your Vvardenfell rank and your mainland standing are tracked separately, so you can work through both.

Load order notes for Hlaalu players

• Load Tamriel_Data before Tamriel Rebuilt’s main plugin, and both after the official masters (Morrowind.esm, Tribunal.esm, Bloodmoon.esm).
• Patch for Purists goes right after the official masters, so later mods can build on its fixes.
• On OpenMW, set load order in the launcher’s Data Files tab; on the original engine, use Mod Organizer 2 or a sorting tool before you start a new Hlaalu character.
• Starting a new character is the safe choice when you add Tamriel Rebuilt to a run already in progress.

Common problems and fixes

Most Hlaalu quest problems come from persuasion thresholds, missing prerequisites or quest targets who died early. The table covers the frequent ones.

FAQ

Where do I join House Hlaalu?

Talk to Nileno Dorvayn on the ground floor of the Hlaalu Council Manor in Balmora. There is no race or class restriction, but every rank after Hireling needs Speed and Agility of at least 30.

What rank do I need for the Hlaalu stronghold?

Kinsman. Dondos Driler in the Hlaalu Council Manor in Balmora starts the quest, and the manor goes up on the Odai Plateau, southwest of Balmora.

Can I join House Hlaalu and another Great House?

Not by design. Joining Hlaalu closes Redoran and Telvanni membership, and Hlaalu quests target the other houses’ lords. Old fan reports of dual membership came from a dialogue oversight that leaves several quests contradictory.

Which Hlaalu quests can I do without joining the House?

Bank Courier and The Death of Ralen Hlaalo are open to non-members. Everything else needs membership.

Do I have to kill Reynel Uvirith and Banden Indarys?

They are Crassius Curio’s quests and count toward your standing. They only exist if you are not Telvanni or Redoran respectively, and both rival strongholds must have been built first.

How do I become Grandmaster of House Hlaalu?

Finish Duke Vedam Dren’s Grandmaster quest by taking control of the Camonna Tong from Orvas Dren, through persuasion, blackmail with the note from his basement, or by killing him. The Duke then names you Grandmaster.

Do the Hlaalu quests work in OpenMW?

Yes. OpenMW runs the full vanilla questline, including the stronghold scripts. The current stable release is 0.51.0, from June 2026; 0.52.0 is in release-candidate testing.

Can I use the Morrowind Code Patch with OpenMW?

No. The Morrowind Code Patch modifies the original Morrowind.exe, while OpenMW is a separate engine and does not use the patch. OpenMW fixes most of the same engine bugs in its own code.

Does Tamriel Rebuilt change the vanilla Hlaalu quests?

No. Tamriel Rebuilt adds a separate mainland Hlaalu questline centered on Narsis (from the 25.05 “Grasping Fortune” release), with its own ranks and a Grandmaster sequence. The Vvardenfell quests on this page stay as they are.

What’s the best order to do the quests in?

Nileno Dorvayn first, then Edryno Arethi and Odral Helvi, then Crassius Curio once he has sponsored you. Start the stronghold as soon as you reach Kinsman, pick up Ilmeni Dren’s quests along the way and finish with Duke Vedam Dren. If you plan the main quest’s Hortator path, settle the House line before you deal with Orvas Dren there.

What changed

• Nov 13, 2026 First published.

About the article

NA

Written by Nico Albrecht

Nico covers RPG and action game mods, Bethesda games and the weekly trending mod roundups. He pays close attention to requirements and load order, so a mod list is something you can install without breaking your save.

• Fact-checked by Hollis Tremaine before publication.
• Published November 13, 2026

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