This quest starts immediately after finishing The Others.
The player will be prompted to speak to the Geode Guardian.
The Guardian will elaborate on her predicament the founders revealed during the encounters on the various "Hero Paths" in the previous quests - how she came to be trapped as she is, and moreover what she wishes to do about it. She reveals to the player that she plans to absorb the spirits in the geode into herself, that she may use this power to guide other lost souls and prevent her own fate from befalling others.
The player can agree to help her or refuse.
If the player agrees, the Guardian proceeds to summon the thief spirit that acts as our follower. He reveals the location of the founder’s resting place, which contains artifacts that can be used to somehow absorb the geode’s power.
If the player refuses, they are directed to leave the Soul Sanctum. Upon trying to do so however, they are blocked by the Founder Mage, who appears and asks to speak to the player. The player can refuse, but the Founder Mage will remain in the Soul Sanctum until the player agrees to do so. Like the Guardian path, the Founder Mage will direct the player to collect the artifacts at their graves that can absorb the geode’s power. Unlike the Guardian, his pitch is that the founders become one with the geode spirits, losing themselves but creating paragons of the virtues they represent to act as protectors of the living.
Whichever path the player chooses, they are directed to the founders’ graves in a new dungeon, Summershade Refuge.
Summershade Refuge is a short linear dungeon, designed primarily as a resting place, and has no hidden paths -- so walk-through videos weren't made for this. If you are reading this, wishing we had a walk-through video, please reach out to us!
Once the player reaches the graves, they can activate them to dig up the founders. Note the player needs a shovel to do this, however there is one nearby.
Once having dug up the founders and obtained their artifacts, their spirits will appear and ask to speak to the player. This is optional, but if the player engages they will either:
The skeletons of the founders will become animated and begin walking out of the dungeon, with the goal of reaching the Soul Sanctum. The player is given the objective to speak to whoever directed them to the gravesite to begin with.
Upon reentering the Soul Sanctum's main chamber, the player will see the skeletons and Founder spirits around the Sigil Geode, and as the player approaches - a scene between the Founder Mage and the Guardian will start.
Once that completes the player is directed to interact with either the founders' skeletons or the Guardian to choose who to empower. They can also equip the items themself as an optional hidden path.
Once the player chooses who to give each artifact to, the guide will ask the player to confirm their choice. Upon confirming the player is now locked into both the ending they chose and the Soul Sanctum for the time being. A cutscene-esque sequence will play involving the spirits, geode, and Guardian no matter the choice made, though the visual will change per ending. Once this scene is complete, the player will be knocked down in a large blast.
When the player comes to, the player will be positioned such to view a daedra entering the area, who will then forcegreet the player. After a short conversation where the daedra explains they manipulated the founders into creating this whole debacle, the player, their chosen ally if any (Founders or Guardian), and the daedra are moved into a plane of Oblivion. The daedra proceeds to monologue some more until eventually combat begins.
If the player had completed any of the side quests triggered by heavily investing in the skill trees of the hero spirits (Connective Tissue, Stolen Lament, Unyielding Resolve), the corresponding Hero Spirit(s) will also appear to help in the final battle.
During this boss fight, the Daedra will pick a class and inherit the best abilities that can become available to the player’s spirit follower of the same class. It will also be invulnerable to damage by default. To make it vulnerable, the player must swap the Guide’s class to match the daedra’s. Given that dialogue would be rather inconvenient mid-fight, the player can instead active any of the class stones around the plane of Oblivion to swap the Guide to the stone’s associated class. The Daedra cycles through the three basic classes: warrior, mage, and thief.
Once all are defeated, another cutscene-esque sequence starts. The Daedra says some last words while in bleedout and fades away as the player is moved back to the Soul Sanctum.
The Founders, Guide Spirit, and the Guardian will also be returned to the Soul Sanctum and will have some final words to say before the quest completes.
If the player empowered the Geode Guardian or the Founders, they can occasionally find them in random encounters throughout the world.