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How to Complete No Stone Unturned
All Unusual Gem Locations
You can complete the "No Stone Unturned" quest in Skyrim by finding every Unusual Gem artifact. Unusual Gems are the magenta stones inside an opened gold box, and there are 24 of them scattered throughout the province of Skyrim. This mission is easier to start if your character is part of the Thieves Guild, which can identify the Gems and give you more direction to pursue these rare items.
Unless you are part of the Thieves Guild, the Gems will remain named Unusual Gems once discovered until the Thieves Guild is found. Picking the first one up will trigger a "Bring the Unusual Gem to an appraiser" message, who can be found in the Thieves Guild at the Ragged Flagon. No quest markers are given for the stones, making them difficult to find unless you know where to look.
Related
Skyrim: How to Join The Thieves Guild
Skyrim features several factions for players to join, including the Thieves Guild. Joining the guild requires players to complete a thief questline.
How to Complete No Stone Unturned
Speak To The Right People When You Have Every Gem
You can begin "No Stone Unturned" by picking up any Unusual Gem from any location. If the Dragonborn is already part of the Thieves Guild, the quest starts with the objective "Bring the Unusual Gem to Vex in the Thieves Guild." The Unusual Gems will then be renamed to Stones of Barenziah in Skyrim, which are worthless on their own but can be used to create a special artifact called the Crown of Queen Barenziah.
Next, head to Riften and speak with Brynjolf in the Riften marketplace or at the Bee and Bard building if it's nighttime. After completing his task, he will ask the Dragonborn to meet him at the Thieves Guild, giving you access to the hidden Ragged Flagon area. Speak with Vex in the Ragged Flagon to officially start the "No Stone Unturned" quest with new knowledge about the artifacts.
After returning with all 24 gems, the next step given by Vex is to travel to an area called Torvald's Cave. This cave can be accessed before all the Unusual Gems are found, or even before Vex issues the final step of the quest after all the artifacts are found, but fallen debris will block the cave at a certain point. Enemies like Falmer and Dunmer Ghosts are everywhere here, so be sure to come prepared with enough Health Potions and high-damaging weapons.
Follow the quest marker through the dungeon to find the Crown of Barenziah as shown in the video from the above video by YouTube creator ClaytonKills.
Finding the Crow will activate the "Prowler's Profit" effect, which significantly increases the chances of finding valuable gems in random containers. As your character grows and you gain new skills, your Lockpicking prowess might improve too to access locked chests you come across. If you stick with the Thieves Guild long enough, you may even gain the rare Skeleton Key item in Skyrim to have an unbreakable lockpick.
All Unusual Gem Locations
Let No Artifact Be Left Behind
There are 24 general Unusual Gems you can track down freely around the open world, but some can only be acquired based on your Dragonborn's status. If you become a city Thane the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, you can grab Unusual Gems from mages in populated areas without them being considered stolen. These are all the locations of Unusual Gems in Skyrim:
Looking for a video walkthrough of all Skyrim's Unusual Gem locations? Check out the video from Nate Gaming on YouTube below to see every Unusual Gem location in the game!
General Area | Specific Location | Unusual Gem Location |
|---|---|---|
Hall of the Dead | Catacombs of Whiterun | Go down the stairs to the left and the Unusual Gem will be next to a skeleton. |
Dragonsreach | Whiterun Jarl's bedroom | Grab the Unusual Gem from the right side table. |
Jorrvaskr's home | Kodlak's room in Whiterun | Grab the Unusual Gem from the bookshelf. |
Blue Palace | Jarl's Bedroom in Solitude | Grab the Unusual Gem from on top of the wardrobe |
Mistveil Keep | Jarl's Bedroom in Riften | Go through the locked door and grab the Unusual Gem from on top of the left end table. |
Proudspire Manor | Purchase in Solitude for 25,000 gold | Find the Unusual Gem in the master bedroom on top of the wardrobe. |
Palace of the Kings | Upstairs | Take a left once inside the Windhelm palace, then head to Wuunferth's room at the end of the hall. Grab the Unusual Gem from the table on the right. |
House of Clan Shatter-Shield | Upstairs | Grab the Unusual Gem from the bookshelf in the room on the left. |
Markarth | Treasury House | Head to Thonar's bedroom down the hall on the left. Grab the Unusual Gem from the bedside table. |
Understone Keep | Dwemer Museum in Markarth | Grab the Unusual Gem from the table in the first room to the left. |
Winterhold | Arch-Mage's Quarters | Complete the "Under Saarthal" quest to gain access to the Arch-Mage's Quarters and get the Unusual Gem inside. |
Dead Crone Rock | Near the Dragon Word Wall | On the altar that is opposite the Dragon Word Wall. |
Related
There are a lot of valuables Skyrim players can collect across the nation without stealing them, fighting major enemies, or killing random citizens.
General Area | Specific Location | Unusual Gem Location |
|---|---|---|
Black-Briar Lodge | Upstairs | Grab the Unusual Gem from the bedroom on the top floor next to the bed. |
Ansilvund Burial Chambers | Near the back | Head through the Ansilvund Burial Chambers and grab the Unusual Gem from the table at the end. |
Stony Creek Cave | Left-most room | Grab the Unusual Gem from the table next to the alchemy lab in the room on the left. |
Rannveig's Fast | After falling through the trapdoor | Grab the Unusual Gem next to the alchemy lab and chest on the right side of the room. |
Sunderstone Gorge | Near the Dragon Word Wall | Grab the Unusual Gem from the table with two bodies on it. |
Fellglow Keep | Upstairs | Head up the stairs and grab the Unusual Gem from the stairs on the right. |
Dainty Sload | Down the waterlogged bowels, then up the stairs on the opposite side. | Grab the Unusual Gem from the last room on the table. |
Yngvild | Behind the Yngvild Throne Room | The Unusual Gem is in plain sight in the bedroom. |
Hob's Fall Cave | Northwestern part of the cave system | Grab the Unusual Gem on the shelf under the bridge. |
Reeking Cave | Near the corpse in the back of the cave. | This is the cave used to escape during the Diplomatic Immunity quest. |
Pinewatch Bandit's Sanctuary | Basem*nt | Press the hidden button near the bookcase to gain access to the bandit's hideout. |
Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary | Astrid's Room | The Unusual Gem is sitting on the dresser. |
Excluding Proudspire Manor and the Black-Briar Lodge, the Unusual Gems located in Whiterun, Solitude, Riften, Windhelm, Markarth, and College of Winterhold will be considered stolen items in Skyrim unless the Dragonborn has been made the Thane or Arch-Mage in those locations. Speak with each of the Jarls to start the process of becoming Thane, and visit the College of Winterhold to begin the Arch-Mage quests.
If caught stealing one of the Unusual Gems, a bounty will be put out for the Dragonborn's arrest. Additionally, the Unusual Gem in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary is not accessible until access to the sanctuary is given, so you'll need to complete the introductory missions for the Dark Brotherhood if they hope to complete "No Stone Unturned."
Return to Vex after every artifact has been found to start the final part of this long quest. Although tracking down the locations of every Unusual Gem in Skyrim may take a long time and tons of breaks, the eventual reward from the "No Stone Unturned" quest makes the effort worth it.
Source: Nate Gaming/YouTube, ClaytonKills/YouTube
5 Images
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
RPG
Action
Adventure
- Franchise
- The Elder Scrolls
- Platform(s)
- PC , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Nintendo Switch , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- November 11, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda Softworks
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
