Elder Scrolls Online‘s High Isle expansion took players to the Systres Archipelago for the first time in Tamriel’s history, giving the Vestige more enemies to face—and more allies to recruit.
The expansion brought in two new companions, Isobel Veloise and Ember the Khajiit. Isobel, the knightly aspirant, is a heavy-armored, Templar-like character who is better suited to serve as your tank, drawing the attention of enemies and soaking up hits for you. After unlocking her, she will come with a set of Companion Heavy Armor and two skills at level one: one is essentially the One-Handed and Shield’s Puncture ability, down to the taunting effect, and the other is a revamp of the Templar’s Puncturing Strikes.
And if her voice feels familiar while you’re adventuring with her, it’s because she is voiced by Laura Bailey, who is known for Critical Role, being the voice of Abby in The Last of Us: Part II, and lending her voice for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim‘s Serana in the Dawnguard DLC.
Like other companions, Isobel Veloise will gladly join your service after you finish a quest. In Isobel’s case, you must become her second and help her win the Sapphire Tourney to save her friend, Aurelia, from an arranged marriage. Here’s how you can unlock Isobel Veloise as a companion in ESO.
How to recruit Isobel Veloise as a companion in Elder Scrolls Online High Isle
To unlock Isobel as a companion, you’ll need to finish the Tournament of the Heart quest, which is obtainable outside Castle Navire. Head to the southwest part of High Isle until you find the Castle Navire Wayshrine, then look for a quest marker nearby. It will point you to Lord Remard DeFulley and Lady Henrietta Aranthe, who will talk about the Sapphire Tourney. The Knight Commander, Dame Jourvel, has offered the hand of her daughter, Aurelia Jourvel, as a prize in the competition. Isobel wants to save her friend Aurelia from her suitors and from her mother’s will.
After talking to the two nobles, the game will point you to Isobel Veloise, who will tell you about the three trials that are needed to win the Sapphire Tourney. She has to gain the favor of three Sapphire Orders and needs to complete a task for each of them. You’ll have to finish all three missions, although you can choose the order in which they take place.
The Order of the Iron Knot, the most traditional of the three, will have you find the hilt of the long-lost sword Redheart, the blade of the first Duke Dufort. The Order of the Albatross—”brave swashbuckling warriors that make you recite poetry,” as Isobel puts it—will ask you to retrieve the gilded lute of Captain Brenvale, hidden deep within the castle’s crypts. The last Sapphire Order will ask Isobel to convince an elder to give her a staff or a symbol of the Oaken Order. Here’s what you need to know about each of them. You’ll have to complete all three, so start with the one that feels more appealing to you.
Finding the hilt of Redheart for the Order of the Iron Knot
Before finding the hilt of Redheart, the game will point you to Castle Navire’s library, where you’ll need to find information about the sword’s whereabouts. You’ll learn it was located on a field southeast of the Coral Road Wayshrine, which will be marked on your map. Isobel used to play around the area as a child but didn’t know the Duforts owned it and stopped going there after a band of Fauns took residence in the area.
Once you get to the field, you’ll find another Aspirant is also after the sword, with Isobel’s former second alongside him. The path to the grove is blocked by large, fallen-down trees, but Isobel knows a way around the obstruction. Follow your map to a grove, then look for a marker pointing you to the hilt of Redheart. Talk to Isobel and figure out your next steps.
Finding the gilded lute of Captain Brenvale for the Order of the Albatross
To find the gilded lute of Captain Brenvale, you’ll first need to find a key to Castle Navire’s crypt. Follow your map until you find Aurelia, who will point you to Dame Hendra. Throw her a quick bribe for a key to the crypts, then head inside. There will be a few enemies around, but the path is mostly straightforward. You’ll stumble upon Aspirant Mortens hiding from the spiders, and he will give you the key to unlock another passage deeper into the crypt if you find him his sword. Follow your map to find it, then talk to him again to get the key. The map will lead you to a large spider, which Mortens mentioned. You can face it head-on or try to sneak past it to get his sword, though the spider doesn’t pose much of a challenge anyway.
Deliver the sword to Mortens, then use the key to unlock another passage, which will lead you to another part of the crypt. Kill the ghost that’s haunting the area, then look behind it to find the lute.
Obtaining the symbol of the Oaken Order
To find the symbol of the Oaken Order, head to the Coral Road Wayshrine and follow your map to the mage’s cabin. The mage is an old family friend of House Veloise and even used to read Isobel stories when she was a child.
Once you get to the cabin, you’ll spot a barrier with three pillars. Inspect them and Isobel will deduce exactly how to bring down the barrier. It’s an allegory to a story the mage told Isobel as a child. She will task you with finding Cat’s Paw plants, a Spriggan Veil, and a heron’s feather. They will all be nearby, so follow your map to collect them all. Place them on the corresponding pillar and the barrier will crumble. Head into the mage’s hut and he’ll tell you to take his staff as a token of the Oaken Order—and heavily imply he lifted the challenge from the story knowing Isobel would figure it out.
Unlocking Dame Isobel Veloise after the Tournament of Hearts quest
After you impress all three of the Sapphire Orders, all that’s left is for Isobel Veloise to present the three tokens of the challenges to the court. She’ll do so in a ceremony, even reciting a poem as per the demands of the Order of the Albatross (which she begrudgingly does).
According to tradition, the second places the tokens down, and after you set down the three items you took, the Knight Commander will offer Isobel a boon. The newly-anointed Knight asks for Aurelia not to be beholden to the marriage offer, which the Knight Commander accepts. After talking to Dame Isobel Veloise, she will thank you for your help and offer to join you in your adventures through Tamriel.
