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To complete The Only Cure in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, meet Kesh the Clean at the Shrine to Peryite, bring him four ritual ingredients, defeat Orchendor in Bthardamz, then return to the shrine. The quest’s reward is Spellbreaker, a shield. You can begin by encountering an Afflicted Refugee at level 10 or by going directly to Kesh at level 12, according to the Skyrim Wiki walkthrough and The Elder Scrolls Wiki.
How to start The Only Cure
The quest has two commonly reported starting routes, and their level requirements differ:
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- At level 10: Encounter an Afflicted Refugee. This can add the Shrine to Peryite to your map.
- At level 12: Travel directly to the Shrine to Peryite in the Reach and speak to Kesh the Clean.
Both routes are described by the Skyrim Wiki; the level thresholds are also reported by The Elder Scrolls Wiki.
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What to bring to Kesh
Kesh needs these four items to prepare the ritual:
- Flawless Ruby
- Silver Ingot
- Deathbell Flower
- Vampire Dust
Hand over all four ingredients. Kesh will prepare fuming incense; wait until he has finished before speaking to him again. Then inhale the fumes to commune with Peryite. The quest page records the Dragonborn’s narration: “There is a fuming incense at the wilderness shrine to Peryite. Inhaling this is supposed to help me commune with the Daedric Prince.”
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The Skyrim Wiki walkthrough suggests getting Vampire Dust from vampires and harvesting Deathbell in several places. It specifically points to the Forelhost Refectory, the marshes north of Morthal, and locations in Solitude. These are route suggestions, not guarantees that an item will be in a particular state in every game setup.
How to clear Bthardamz and defeat Orchendor
- After communing with Peryite, travel to Bthardamz.
- Work your way through the ruin to find Orchendor.
- Defeat Orchendor.
- Return to the Shrine to Peryite and inhale the fumes again to report Orchendor’s death.
The quest walkthrough identifies Spellbreaker as the reward for completing this return step. It also notes that the HUD may not show the shield as an objective reward even when the game grants it.
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What to do if Kesh appears stuck
Bethesda Support documents a progression issue that can occur if you talk to Kesh while he is making the fumes. Its stated workaround is to reload a save from before the conversation, give Kesh the ingredients, and let him finish preparing the fumes before speaking to him again. See Bethesda’s troubleshooting guidance.
Spellbreaker reward details
Spellbreaker is a shield and the quest reward for The Only Cure. The available quest references establish its identity as the reward but do not provide dependable, version-specific armor or ward statistics, so this walkthrough does not quote numeric stats.
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