THE AYLEID STEPS 2.6 content FAQ and walkthrough
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WARNING
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All information in this file is more or less spoilerish - which means it can also be gathered (or pieced together) by playing the mod quests, reading the book and diaries, and using and exploring all the Steps you can find. I strongly recommend you stick to that, and NOT read this file. Just install the mod, forget it completely, and play Oblivion ... sooner or later you bump into a Stepstone, you pick up and read a book, you find a certain message and get involved in the the intro quest. Once you have completed that, the real fun begins: exploring the Steps Network, searching new Steps everywhere in the landscape and interiors, and sometimes finding new dungeons to explore. That's what the mod really is for - a means to randomly drift through Cyrodill and explore the world, preferably after having completed the Oblivion default quests and after having leveled a to strong and sturdy character. You'll need that. 

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A. General knowledge FAQ
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-There seem to be different looking versions of the Step stones. What distinguishes them?
More than half of the Steps have deteriorated. These have a distinct look. The 'healthy' Steps always send you to the same destinations. The deteriorated Steps are very unpredictable. They can send you anywhere. To aid you in identifying Steps that beam you to Lost Dungeons, these have their own distinctive texture.

-Is this a useful alternative for fast-traveling?
No. Maybe it was for the Ayleids who knew the connections and locations by heart, but nowadays too many Steps are malfunctioning. Also, the Steps were meant to connect Ayleid ruins and Ayleid Wells. You won't find many in the cities or other places that are important for us nowadays. In the Ayleid era the world must have looked very different, given the weird locations where the Steps can be seen.

-Is there really a system or logic in the Network?
There was, long ago, when all Steps worked as they should. But now so many have become unreliable that too many links are broken.  However, you may notice certain 'tendencies': that there are huge concentric circles of Steps covering Cyrodiil in which you're transported in a mostly clockwise direction; that these (remains of) Rings are crossed by Rays - series of Steps that tend to beam you outwards, i.e. away from the IC. Also, the unreliable Steps may send you to random locations, but they're still consistent in a way. Maybe you'll find out, maybe you won't. It doesn't matter really, so taking notes of where you see Steps and where they take you is not very useful. And:

-Are there map markers for Steps that take you to Lost Ruins?
Yes. Their names have "(Step)" as a prefix. However, the 2 or 3 entrance Steps situated indoors, and the Steps in the Hub system do not spawn mapmarkers. 

-Why are there so many undead in the lost Ruins?
Most of the Ruins have been covered by lava floods or by landslides and earthquakes, so that they were effectively sealed and isolated from the outside world. A few however are opened and accessed by beasts and trolls and the like; in those cases you can see an entrance tunnel or hole somewhere, but you can't reach it.

-How do I know that a dungeon I've entered belongs to this mod?
1. You can usually only reach them via a Step. All other connections to the outside world are blocked.
2. Hit F4 and check the local map. All of this mod's dungeon names have "Lost" as a prefix. There are some Vanilla locations containing the word 'Lost' too, but these always have a regular exit to the outside world.

-How do I get out of a Lost Dungeon?
In most cases, go back to the Step on which you came in and activate it. It will send you back to Cyrodiil.

-Can I get trapped in an isolated room?
Yes, if you're unlucky. That is, if you try to activate the exit Step with your very last Welkynd and it fails, you're stuck forever. Although every isolated room has at least one welkynd lying around to help you out, it is a good idea to Quicksave your game before using it.

-Where can I find more Welkynd stones?
In most Lost Ayleid ruins. Respawning Ayleid coffers with Welkynds were added to many vanilla Ayleid ruins. Several magic-specialized merchants sell them: Alves Uvenim (MG Leyawiin), Angalmo (MG Chorrol), Ardaline (MG Bravil), Calindil (IC Mystic Emporium), Eilonwy (MG Cheydinhal), Felen Relas (MG Anvil), Rindir (IC Market), Selena Orania (MG Bruma), and the guy at Warlock's Luck in Bravil. 
Many general stores offer some as well: Gunder (Colovian Traders, Skingrad), Norbert Lelles (Anvil Docks), Nilawen (The Fair Deal, Bravil), Suurotan (Novaroma, Bruma), Borba Gra' Uzgash in Cheydinhal, SeedNeeus in Chorrol, Gundalas in Leyawiin and finally Jensine, Thoronir and Tertullian Verus in the IC Market district.  
The amount of Welkynds in the game is limited. That is why their market price may rise as you use more of them.

-Where do I find the Purple Welkynd, and what does it do?
Completing the 2nd quest can get you a special item, the Rechargable Purple Welkynd. A spell comes with it. Use the spell 5 times to fully charge the Welkynd. On activating a Step, the mod first checks for a regular Welkynd stone in your inventory. If there is none, the Rechargeable Purple Welkynd is used (i.e. discharged, it stays in your inventory). Fully charged, it has the same failure rate as regular Welkynds (5-15% with reliable and deteriorated Steps respectively). Partly charged it may work as well, but beware: failure chance for a 20% (one fifth) charge is no less than 75%. 
 
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B. Quest walkthroughs 
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Quest I: The Ayleid Steps

1a. Find and read the book The Ayleid Steps, by Annika Caiole. There is one in each of the Mages Guild halls, except Bruma. The Mystic Archives in the Arcane University have one, too. If you are not a Mages Guild member, you can enter the MG building in Cheydinhal and search its top floor. Or visit the Foaming Flask in the Talos Plaza district. Someone has left his or her book there. 
- and -
1b. Find a Step and try to activate it.

2. Travel to the entrance location of Wellspring Cave east of the Imperial City. Nearby lies a murdered Mages Guild Messenger. Take her Report and read it. It mentions an Ayleid Key found in the Vahtacen ruin and sent to the Arcane University some time ago. Travel to the Arcane University's Lobby, and open a small Ayleid Chest on the Counter. Take the key.

3. The Location with the name starting with Vi is Vilverin. Nearby is Sideways Cave, a large cavern containing an Ayleid ruin (Lost Abagarlas). Enter that ruin and find the Activator room door. Open it, find the Network switch and activate it. The Steps can now be used.
Collect the goodies in the room (Welkynds!) and be sure to pick up the diary and read it. It contains important clues to the Steps Network, and you need it to continue the quest.

4. Now to find the Step that provides access to the hideout in the Talos Bridge Tower. The diary mentions "going around the castle" and an "Easterner". So you want to search the surroundings of Cheydinhal castle. Leave the town through the West gate and follow the town wall to the north. The Step is hidden between the wall and a giant rock. Activate it, and enter the hideout.

5. Take and read the second diary; doing this concludes the intro quest. The hideout may be used as a player home. All containers are safe, except the barrel in the center of the room, named Waste Bin. It will reset every now and then (when you are not in this room) so you can use it to get rid of any junk you are carrying.

Quest II: Retracing the steps

1. The second quest is more of a lengthy side quest than a traditional story-driven quest. It is started after you have completed the intro quest, AND you have activated at least 20 Steps, AND when you have a sleep (Sleep for at least 5 hours to allow the quest to kick in). The hero of the intro quest appears in your dream and urges you to go find something he lost. Re-read the diaries!

2. Should you not find the lost item, then the quest gives you an extra clue after you have used 20 more Stepstones, again while you sleep: hidden in an inn in the Elven Gardens District is a long lost secret notebook.

3. Go to Luther's Boarding House in the Elven Gardens District. Examine the counter closely, especially the outer upper edge on the corner farthest from the inn entrance. There is a Loose Panel. Open it and take the book. Read it.

4. In the book are 12 clues to the locations of Steps, that can take you to 12 of the Lost Ruins, often via a series of intermediate Steps. The clues come encrypted in codes or riddles and are illustrated with local map sections. Check paragraph E in this file for the riddle solutions....

5. ...or find the entrance Step locations in the list below. The first 12 are the ones you need to complete this quest. The quest keeps track of the number of dungeons you have found, and is completed once you discovered all 12 lost Ayleid ruins, and (in the last dungeon) a special artifact, which could come in handy when you run out of welkynd stones. 
If you have found some of the Lost Dungeons already with a previous version of this mod, you will have to visit them again to complete the quest.

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C. 'Lost' Dungeons and their locations
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The following list is an overview of all 'Lost Dungeons' with the location of their entrance Steps. The first 12 are the Dungeons related to the 2nd quest. Note that in most cases their entrance Steps are NOT the ones that are described in the notebook riddles! Although the wilderness cell locations are specified, you often have to search hard for the Stepstones. They can be hidden in long grass, between rocks, in the water and so on.
(The cell coordinates can be used this way: open the console with the tilde key, type "sdt 31" (enter) and "tdt" (enter). This forces the game to display your world location in the upper right corner of your screen as you move through Cyrodiil.)

1. Ontobel. Ayleid, 1 level, containing undead. In Anvil Bay on the seabed, below the eastern ship, cell coordinates -47,-10.
2. Nahavindel. Ayleid, 2 levels, containing undead. On a small island west of fort Redman in the Niben, cell 21,-25.
3. Heorcinde. Ayleid, 2 levels, undead. Wilderness cell 41,1, next to a big rock.
4. Eutivyle, 2 levels, one is Ayleid containing undead, the other a cavern with vampires. Wilderness, -16,40.
5. Iornath. Ayleid, 2 levels, Undead. Wilderness cell 26,31, the northernmost Step on the Ayleid Well.
6. Laife. Ayleid, 1 level with undead. Again, the northernmost Step on an Ayleid Well, east of Leyawiin. 30,-33.
7. Morra. 1 level with undead. On the slope south of the Isolated House, deep in the West Weald. -1,-4.
8. Qualum. Ayleid, 1 level with Undead. In Motierres basement, Chorrol. (No Map marker added.)
9. Rillim. Ayleid, 1 level inhabited by beasts, mostly trolls. North of Hame, high on a mountain slope next to a big rock, 40,9.
10. Berevacht. Ayleid, 1 level with vampires. Wilderness -40,9, on a mountain.
11. Olisode. The 30 degrees tilted Ayleid ruin, 1 level with Undead. Wilderness 32,-38.
12. Sutch Arena. Cavern, 1 level containing vampires. West of Chorrol, south of the road, cell -23,21.

13. Siquise. An Ayleid level and a Cavern, inhabited by undead. In the private quarters in castle Cheydinhal. (No Map marker added.)
14. Ganaz. An Ayleid level and a Cavern, containing beasts. Wilderness -6,39, high on a mountain.
15. Aldaras. Ayleid, 1 level with undead. Wilderness cell 26,-6 under water in the Niben, beneath the jetty of Nenalata chapel.
16. Dedero. Ayleid, 1 level with undead. Cell 6,7. East-southeast of Fort Homestead, south of the IC, just north of the road.
17. Pequnze. Ayleid, 1 level with Daedra. Wilderness 47,-11.
18. Chama. Ayleid, 2 levels, undead. Wilderness cell 11,1, to the southwest of the wayshrine.
19. Tocrec. Ayleid, 1 level containing Daedra. Wilderness cell 22,10, southwest of Arkveds Tower.
20. Thul. Ayleid. 9 small levels, forming a maze, aka 'The Welkynd Burner'. Undead. Has a secret one way exit to the mountains. North of Cheydinhal, cell 34,30, on a mountain slope.
21. Doriun. 2 levels, Ayleid, inhabited by Goblins. Wilderness cell -20,10.
22. Nemice. 2 levels, Ayleid, contains Undead. Cell -22,20, southwest of Chorrol, just south of the lake.
23. Lost Harbor. Docks in shambles, inside a huge cavern, with shipwrecks. Vampires. West of the Estate of Lord Drad in -49,-1.
24. Belhaz. 2 levels: a cavern and a fort, inhabited by mean-tempered goblins. On the narrow beach just north of the Talos bridge, 1,16.
25. Lost Imperial catacombs. Caves, maze-like, 18 levels full of undead and a one-way exit to the IC sewer system. Imperial city graveyard (Palace district), next to the (northern) city wall.
26. Toqualeque. Small 1-level 45 degrees tilted Ayleid ruin. I went motion-sick in this one :-). South-southwest of Bruma, north of the road, near the Akatosh wayshrine, cell 5,33.
27. Xoxo. Ayleid ruin inhabited by Undead. 1 level. Wilderness -13,29 on the slope, west of a big dark grey rock.
28. Kalanque. Ayleid, 2 levels, Undead. Wilderness 29,-26, north of the Wayshrine.
29. Nonac Twyll. Ayleid, 2 levels. Undead. Cell 16,27. High on the slope, near a pine tree.
30. Nerasten. 2 levels. Cavern containing an Ayleid ruin. In the cavern are goblins, in the ruin lurk trolls. 33,-4, near the hilltop north of Fort Flecia.
31. Fafette. Very small 1-level Ayleid ruin, contains undead and fish. Next to the Bravil Stables on the shore, cell 15,-8.
32. Blackfern. Cave, 2 levels. In the lower level is a ruined village. Inhabited by undead. Wilderness 18,-29, SE of Border Watch, SW of Water's Edge, roughly halfway between them.
33. Megund Rael. Ayleid, 2 levels containing undead. Cell -1,9, Southwest of the wayshrine, across the road behind a large rock.
34. Gutmess Cavern. Dusty cave with a ruined castle, 3 levels: two caves and a castle dungeon colonized by vampires. Cell -18,-2, in a little valley southeast of Skingrad stables.
35. Arembe. Ayleid, 2 levels with Undead. Wilderness -12,8, amidst three giant rocks.
36. Dasqa Cit. Ayleid, 2 levels, undead. Cell 24,18, north of the lake.
37. Rantul Vale. Ayleid, 2 levels, vampires. Cell -33,-2, behind the Shetcombe farmhouse.
38. Stinkhorn Cave. 2-level cavern with mushrooms in abundance, recently found and colonized by bandits. Wilderness -11,13, east of the Molag Bal shrine.
39. Varchama. Ayleid, 2 levels with undead. Wilderness 5,30, amidst a group of large boulders. 
40. Varthul. Ayleid, 2 levels occupied by mythic beasts. The lower level is rather, uh, deep... what strange rituals were performed here? Wilderness 39,-19, up on a slope.
41. Carnivore Cave. 3 levels with Mythic beasts. Deepest level has the remains of a submerged castle dungeon. Cell 12,23, SSE of the inn, halfway down the slope.
42. Merglynn. Ayleid, 2 levels, undead and fish. 4,23, Fort Caracterus exterior, near the entrance.

Other places of interest:
* The Hideout in the Talos Bridge south tower.  
* The Depot in the Talos Bridge north tower. A location mentioned in one of the intro quest diaries. The entrance Step is far in the northeast, wilderness cell 19,38.
* Several (16) unknown locations wherein the broken Steps may drop you. They're usually very small (1 room), uninhabited, and have modest loot at best. These are mere decorations of the mod and its 'lore'.  

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D. The Hubs system
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This is a network of 33 small circular Ayleid rooms containing 8 Steps each. The rooms are located in Ayleid ruins, though not always connected to their dungeons. (If they are, you need the intro-quest key to acces them from the dungeon.) They provide alternate connections to the Ayleid Wells and the Ayleid dungeons -including the Lost Dungeons. The center Hub is situated up in the White Gold Tower in the Imperial City. It can only be accessed by Stepping, and has 4 switches. These can be set in 16 different combinations. The switches setting determines where you will be teleported to, as follows (settings as seen while standing on the Step): 

----	(00-ssw)	Vindasel hub, connected to Nenyond Twyll hub(isolated)*
---1 	(01-sw)		Ceyatatar hub, connected to Garlas Agea hub
--1-	(02-wsw)	Talwinque hub, connected to Trumbe hub
--11 	(03-w)	Fanacasecul hub, connected to Nonungalo hub
-1-- 	(04-wnw)	Narfinsel hub, connected to Wendir hub
-1-1 	(05-nw)	Lindai hub, connected to Lipsand Tarn hub(isolated)
-11- 	(06-nnw)	Piukanda hub, connected to Ninendava hub
-111 	(07-n)	Sercen hub, connected to Rielle hub
1--- 	(08-nne)	Anga hub, connected to Sedor hub (isolated)
1--1 	(09-ne)	Vilverin hub, connected to Fanacas hub (isolated)
1-1- 	(10-ene)	Belda hub, connected to Kemen hub
1-11 	(11-e)	Nagastani hub, connected to Hame hub
11-- 	(12-ese)	Mackamentain hub, connected to Heorcinde hub (isolated)
11-1 	(13-se)	Culotte hub, connected to Wendelbek hub (isolated)
111- 	(14-sse)	Anutwyll hub, connected to Olisode hub
1111 	(15-s)	Wenyandavik hub, connected to Bawn hub.

If you now activate the Step closest to the switches, it will send you to another Hub room.
The entrance Step for the Central Hub is in the IC Arena district, near the southern statue. The outer Step in the Central Hub room will teleport you back to this spot.

* isolated: hub rooms not connected to the vanilla Ayleid dungeons with the same name  and not destinated by either regular or random Steps. These have most entrances for Lost Dungeons.

I recommend using this network only if you suspect that certain 3rd party mods may have messed up the Steps needed to access the Lost Dungeons, especially the ones that are quest-related. Thus, if you are teleported into the hubs you can easily get out by activating one of the 'random' Steps in the room. There's always at least one. A 'normal' Stepstone may send you to a Lost Dungeon. If that dungeon is for example related to the 'Retracing the Steps' quest, the quest will update stating falsely that you have 'solved' another riddle, but you will not get a Mapmarker for the entrance Step in Tamriel.

(This system is based on an idea provided by SkyRanger-1 in the BethSoft mods Forum, and ensures accessibility of all Lost Dungeons, in case their entrance Steps are disabled by other landscape-altering mods.)

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E. Solutions for the 2nd Quest riddles
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1. "In line with colored drink and wolfsound caves between them and east of the towers..."
Word play: Green-mead cave and Howling cave. The towers are Fort Vlastarus's. Cell -8,2, The first of 4 Steps to Ontobel.
2. "iadnilfohtronagnafotsew"
Written backwards, omitting spaces: West of Anga, North of Lindai. The platform is on a  slope at -8,29, hard to find amidst grass and rocks. First of a series of 3 Steps to Eutivyle.
3. "It is well north of Arrius, the midday step". 
Read 'well' as Ayleid Well; there is one north of Arrius lake, in cell 26,31. Iornath is accessed from the northern ("midday") Step.
4. "Reed this: from the tower to the east, below the left slingshot arm, 3 steps."
'Reed' looks like a spelling mistake but refers to Reed River. On the map its shape resembles a slingshot. The tower is Arkved's. Cell 27,12 , the first of 3 Steps to Heorcinde.
5. "is tan dat awel land be hin data tarism or a ham eisvaht ace nand then or thayle ids te pism yen trance."
This text is perfectly normal but the spaces are displaced. 'I stand at a well and behind atatar is morahame is vahtacen and the north ayleid step is my entrance.' So if you stand at an Ayleid Well, the three Ayleid locations are "seen" in one line, Atatar being the closest. Only the Well at 30,-33 east of Leyawiin makes this possible. The northern Step brings you to Laife.
6. "jo uif csbwjm gjhiufst hvjme cbtfnfou".
Simple shifting code: b=a, c=b, d=c and so on. 'In the bravil fighters guild basement.' The first of 3 steps to Nahavindel.
7. "thron fo wryesel bredor, hebdin ailodest lingibud, no poles." 
All words are anagrams: 'north of elsweyr border, behind isolated building, on slope'. Wilderness 1,-5, the entrance to Morra. The abandoned house may be replaced by an Oblivion gate if your main quest is running.
8. "The house above this basement faces two guild halls behind a tree." Chorrol, Motierre's house. The Step to Qualum is in its basement.
9. "This is easy: remember this cavern?"
Memorial cave. The map picture in the cluebook is upside down, by the way. The first of 3 Steps to Lost Rillim.
10. "A door, not blessed, not yours; somewhere behind it is a stone."
Word play: 'not blessed' is Cursed; 'not yours' is Mine. Look for the Step behind the Cursed Mine entrance, cell -21,1, not IN the dungeon. Refer to the cluebook map, the arrow points at the exact location. The 1st in a series of 4 to Berevacht.
11. "The golden tree, the dead tree, the tower burnt..."
There is a small island in the Niben with exactly these objects in cell 23,-18. 3 Steps to Olisode.
12. "Flanked by waterfalls, where unlit areas remain."
Word play again. 'Unlit areas': Shadows. 'Remain': Rest. So this is about Shadows Rest (cave) in -11,29. There is a stream with 2 waterfalls, and between those, in the water, is the first of 3 Steps to Sutch Arena.		

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Now you know everything there is to know.
I warned you.

Ervvin