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Your last quest with The Companions ended when you returned to find your leader, and harbinger, Kodlak Whitemane slain by the Silver Hand, a bandit faction which you had cond✱ucted a campaign of revenge against not long before.
Worse, the Silver Hand made off with the Fragments of Wuuthrad, artifacts that have immense cultural importance to the warriors of Jorrvaskr. At Vilkas' suggestion, you need to go to a stronghold in the north of Skyrim called Driftshade Refug🐠e, and end the cycle of revenge by ending the Silver Hand and reclaiming the fragments.
Unlocking Purity Of Revenge
The quest automatically begins when you enter Jorrvaskr at the end of Blood's Honor, the previous quest. Vilkas will demand an explanation for your absence before announcing that you will be coming with him to reclaim the Fragments of Wuuthrad and exact your revenge for Kodlak's death.
Vilkas will replace your active follower but will not offer the usual follower services such as carrying your items. There will be no way to avoid this.
Try to complete Purity of Revenge as quickly as possible to minimize the time you have to spend without your companions and their all-important load-bearing abilities.
You will be fighting the Silver Hand who have returned to Driftshade Refuge. Their stronghold is in a remote, inaccessible location that is far from any major roads. If you have not unlocked any nearby fast travel points, you can take a carriage to Dawnstar and follow the southern road to Fort Fellhammer. The quest marker will be able to guide you the rest of the way. You will encounter a pair of Silver Hand at the entrance, an archer, and a melee fighter.
Clearing Driftshade Refuge
Unsurprisingly, you'll be fighting Silver Hand throughout the dungeon. They will be appearing in pairs or trios throughout, making it easy for you to pace yourself and avoid being overwhelmed.
The Silver Hand's silver weapons are worth collecting to sell to merchants and their Potions of Cure Disease are usually hard to find.
At the entrance, the quest marker would direct you forward and into a blocked door. You will need to take an indirect route that starts on the left and through a series of linear rooms and encounters. There will be chests and other assorted items to loot along the way. These 🎀chests mostly contain gold and leveled loot.
You can skip most of the dungeon by making sufficient noise at the barred door, causing a Silver Hand to investigate and open the way to the final chamber.
While it is a timesaver, completing the optional objective of wiping out the Silver Hand is much easier if you avoid this shortcut.
Your progress will eventually be stalled in a room that has its exit blocked by a wall of spikes. Here, you will fight a trio of Silver Hand in a battle that is more difficult than the previous ones thanks to a heavily armored member.
Having the perks Bone Breaker and Skull Crusher will allow attacks with Maces and War Hammers to ignore a portion of enemy armor, making fights against such foes easier.
After clearing the room, you will be able to lower the spikes by pulling the lever on the right of the spikes, allowing🅺 you to reach the next area, Driftshade Cellar.
Navigating Driftshade Cellar
The first thing you'll encounter is a room full of barrels. It may look like a maze, but it's actually a single, if winding path throughout. Be mindful of a pressure plate directly in your path. It will trigger a spike wall that will slam into unfortunate victims. There will also be a single Silver Hand in the room that will attack you.
There is a hidden treasure chest behind the spike wall. You will have to activate the trap and run behind the wall to access it.
Immediately after is a boiler room leading into an icy cave with locked-up animals. The Silver Hand in these rooms are quite unremarkable. From here, you will be able to quickly find your way to the end of the dungeon, returning to Driftshade Refuge and reaching the Fragments of Wuuthrad.
There will be three Silver Hand defending the fragments. One of them will be exceptionally difficult, acting as a boss. Between you and Vilkas, the Silver Hand shouldn't be too hard to kill. Simply grab the fragments to begin your return to Jorrvaskr.
Don't forget to search the large chest containing leveled loot opposite the table containing the fragments.
Completing Purity Of Revenge
Vilkas will tell you to hurry back to Whiterun before Kodlak's funeral begins. As soon as you set foot in the city, the quest will end. The next and final quest in The Companions' questline, Glory of the Dead will begin right after.