Sebastian Swallow, one of your Companions in Hogwarts Legacy, is determined to find a cure for his twin sister Anne. You will eventually come across the “In the Shadow of the Mountain” main quest as you play through his Relationship Line quests.
You can unlock this quest after completing the “Niamh Fitzgerald’s Trial” quest. The main point of this quest is to help Sebastian find the final piece of the Triptych, which supposedly will bring him one step closer to saving his sister.
This will likely be the 36th quest of your playthrough. You can expect to fight with a lot of enemies and solve a few puzzles in this quest.
In the Shadow of the Mountain walkthrough
Despite your disagreement with Sebastian about the Triptych pieces, he still sends you an owl. He states that he may have an idea about its location, and asks for your assistance.
Meet Sebastian at the Marunweam Lake Coast
The first step in the “In the Shadow of the Mountain” quest is to meet with Sebastian. You will find him near the northwestern coast of the Marunweam Lake. This location is to the south of the Coastal Mine Floo Flame and to the west of the Tower Tunnel Floo Flame.
You will have to go towards the southeastern region, which will be inaccessible through the ground and air. The only way you can reach this location is through the mines at the bottom of the South Sea Bog – i.e. the Medium Bandit Camp.
You will encounter a few enemies in this area, but it’s not necessary to find them – you can just sprint past to avoid them. After you exit the mine, you will be able to fly to the marker indicating Sebastian’s location.
Note that if you arrive during the day, you won’t be able to find him. He will only be there at night. You will see a glowing circle nearby, where you can set foot to pass the time by. Once the night arrives, talk to Sebastian to start the quest.
Hike up the Mountain to the Switchbacks
After meeting up with Sebastian, he will tell you that he found out about a cavern nearby occupied by Ranrok’s Loyalists. He suspects that this is where the third piece of the Triptych is located.
After the conversation, you will follow Sebastian up the winding path to reach a Goblin Camp. Sebastian barges in starting an all-out battle. You have to defeat all the enemies in the camp as part of the objective.
After defeating the goblins and having another small chat with Sebastian, you will continue climbing up the mountain ahead. You will encounter a few more goblins till you reach another goblin camp by the cavern next to the ruins.
Here you have the option to proceed stealthily. Defeat all the goblins guarding the Tower Tunnel, then head over to the entrance and hold X to enter it.
The Tower Tunnel
Not long after you enter the Tower Tunnel, you will be met with a few Thornback Spiders/Scurriours and a Matriarch. You have to defeat all of the to continue. Up ahead, you will come across a fork in your path.
Take the path on your right leading downwards. You will encounter a few Thornback Ambushers, Thornback Shooters, and Scurriours here, so tread carefully. After you’ve dealt with all of the spiders, make your way forward along the passage till you reach an area with a staircase.
Up the stairs, your path will be blocked by a cobweb, which you can destroy with the Incendio or the Confringo spell. Continue forward, and you will see a hold with light coming through it.
To the right of it is some debris, which you can destroy with the Depulso spell. Make your way across the small tunnel that is revealed, and you will come to a large room.
At the center of this room will be a few pillars. As soon as you enter this area, lots of spiders and two Matriarchs will crawl down these pillars. Quickly switch back to the Incendio spell and start slicing up all of the spiders.
After dealing with all of the spiders, you will be free to roam around the area. You will see a small stairwell leading up to a large Rune door with the quest marker on it. This door is locked with a mechanism, and you need to solve a puzzle to unlock it.
How to unlock the Rune Door
There are three circular symbols that are connected to the door. You will need to cast a Basic Cast over these symbols to activate them and unlock the door. You can see two of the symbols on each side of the door.
The one on the right is blocked by some cobwebs. You will first need to get rid of the cobwebs with the Confringo or the Incendio spell. The third symbol will be located on a wall right behind you.
Cast a Basic Cast quickly on all three symbols in any order. The puzzle will be solved, and the Rune door will open. Move on into the area unlocked and loot a crate to collect another Isadora’s journal entry. Then, head left and then right into a large area below.
Right as you drop down into this area. A huge mountain troll will appear. He will break the passageway above in a cutscene, and you will have no choice but to fight it.
Defeat the Mountain Troll
After the cutscene ends, your fight with the Mountain Troll will begin. Additionally, spiders will also start crawling down the pillars. To deal effective damage to the troll, try to use a lot of Ancient Magic Throws.
As for the spiders, you hit them with multiple combos to build up your Ancient Magic attacks. Moreover, there will also be a few barrels in the area, which you can throw at the troll to deal more damage.
After the troll is defeated, use the Reparo spell on the debris, hence fixing the passage the troll destroyed before. Head up the now-fixed stairwell and make your way to another room on the right.
There’s a crate in this room that you can move with the Leviosa spell. Move the crate next to the short wall on the left to make your way over to it.
Head up the stairwell and make your way to another large area. Loop around the path to enter a passageway at the center to reach another large room.
There will be a huge hole in the wall here through which sunlight is able to pass. Below it, you will find a few Moonstones. it, you will find a few Moonstones. To the right, you can find a path blocked by some debris.
You can use the Revelio spell to locate it, then cast the Depulso spell to destroy the debris and clear the path. Head inside the cleared passage, and jump over the gap after taking a right to come across a new area with a locked Rune door.
Second Rune Door puzzle solution
You will on symbol right in front of you and the other one on your right. Use the Revelio spell to locate them if you’re having trouble. Cast a Basic Cast over them, then head left across the wooden platform.
To your left, you can find some debris, right behind which is the third symbol. Destroy the debris as usual with the Depulso spell, then use a Basic Cast over the symbol after you see it.
Striking all three symbols in succession will solve the puzzle and cause the Rune Door to open.
Make your way across the door into a new area now. To your left, you can find the 7th piece of Isadora’s Journal entries on a table. Now, head up the stairs behind you, then take a left to climb the wall.
Move along the path not far along you will find the third and Final Triptych Canvas Piece on a table to the right. After you collect the canvas piece, drop down to where you came from and walk over to the portal leading to Undercroft.
Hold X while standing next to the portal and you will be transported to the Undercroft. Once there, you can place the final canvas piece on the wall right in front of you.
This will complete the Triptych, and a memory of Isadora’s will be revealed, showing you how she removed the pain and magic from her father.
Sebastian makes his mind up on how this is the only way he can save his sister and now asks you to talk to the Keepers to teach you the abilities for the job. This concludes the “In the Shadow of the Mountain” quest.
