Skyrim:Animal Extermination (B)

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Detail
Walkthrough: written by Beezer1029, not checked
Reward: written by mrrambles, checked by AlphaAbsol

For the alternate version, see Animal Extermination (A).

 
SR-qico-Companions.png
Fulfill a contract given to the Companions to clear out a beast den.
Quest Giver: Aela the Huntress
Location(s): Whiterun, Jorrvaskr
Prerequisite Quest: Take Up Arms
Reward: Leveled gold
ID: CR02
 
Frost Troll in Bleakcoast Cave

Quick Walkthrough[edit]

  1. Request work from Companion leader Aela the Huntress.
  2. Kill the boss beast in the random animal den.
  3. Return to Aela.

Detailed Walkthrough[edit]

Life as a Companion[edit]

Once you have completed the Take Up Arms quest, you can begin work as a Companion. The Companions tradition of service dates back to the mercenary aid given to Ysgramor by the Five Hundred Companions. Since then the Companions have served as a group of impartial and independent contractors, helping out commoner and jarl alike in matters of might, but taking no sides nor making any alliances themselves.

The Extermination Job[edit]

Locate Aela in Jorrvaskr. She has received a request from one of the Jarls that an animal den in their Hold be cleared of nuisance beasts.

When you speak to Aela to ask for work she will reply, "The Jarl of <Hold > has asked for our help. It seems that predators have taken up residence and have been attacking farmers and travelers. Someone's got to head out there and take care of the beasts."

When you reply that you can take care of it, Aela will respond with either words of encouragement or caution:

"I knew we could count on you. Get it taken care of right away. Nobody wants an animal left roaming around in their place." or "Be cautious. Beasts are not nearly as predictable as men. Give the thing a quick death."

As she sends you on your way your journal will reflect your new quest and your map will update with the beast den location. As this is a radiant quest, the boss-type beast will be in any of these 17 locations:

Eastmarch Falkreath Hold Haafingar Hjaalmarch The Pale The Rift Whiterun Hold Winterhold
Cragslane Cavern
Gallows Rock
Lost Knife Hideout
Stony Creek Cave
Uttering Hills Camp
Cronvangr Cave
Refugees' Rest
Bonechill Passage
Greywater Grotto
Steepfall Burrow Brood Cavern Bronze Water Cave Clearspring Tarn
Crystaldrift Cave
Fallowstone Cave
Honeystrand Grove
Pinepeak Cavern
Cold Rock Pass
Graywinter Watch
Greenspring Hollow
Darkshade
Bleakcoast Cave

Reward[edit]

Once you have killed the beast, return to Jorrvaskr and speak with Aela again. Let her know you have completed the task, to which she will reply: "Good work. The mindless cretins didn't stand a chance." Your reward of leveled gold will then be added.

Levels Reward USLEEP Reward
1–9 100 100
10–19 150 150
20–29 300 200
30–39 300 250
40+ 300 300
Level is based on when the player completed the previous quest (or level one for the first quest), not the player's level when receiving the quest or its reward.
The reward amounts for radiant Companions quests do not progress as intended.

Notes[edit]

  • Although there may be multiple beasts at the targeted destination, only the boss beast (the one highlighted by the quest marker) actually needs to be killed to complete the quest.

Bugs[edit]

  • If the cave that it randomly chooses for you has already been cleared, you may run into a situation where the beast you need to exterminate has already been killed, and the quest marker will point at the corpse, making it impossible to complete the quest. This removes the ability to complete further tasks for the Companions, as they will remark that you have not finished your current contract. Even reanimating the corpse of the beast and killing it again will not fix the issue.
    • PC Only The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.2.6, fixes this bug.
    • On PC This can be fixed with the console command setstage cr02 20.
    • After enough time has passed for the target location to respawn, the Animal Extermination quest may be moved to the completed section of your journal, even though you did not complete the job. Aela will still be standing by the door inside Jorrvaskr, but she should offer a new job.
    • You might be sent to clear out a Draugr tomb, with the boss being the highest level Draugr there (A Draugr Death Overlord or Dragon Priest). ?

Quest Stages[edit]

Animal Extermination (CR02)
Stage Finishes Quest Journal Entry
10 I've been asked to take care of a <Alias=BeastBoss> lair in <Alias=DenHold>.
Objective 10: Clear out <Alias=AnimalDen>
20 I cleared a <Alias=BeastBoss> lair in <Alias=DenHold>.
Objective 20: Return to Aela
100 Finishes quest☑
200 Finishes quest☑
250 Fails quest☒
  • The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 0, 1.
Notes
  • Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.
  • Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
  • Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.
  • If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
  • On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage CR02 stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest CR02.