Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Guide Quests Dungeon Quests and Other Activities

Dungeon Activities

Are you embarking on an exploration of a particularly strange or frightening cairn, barrow, fortification, or hole in the ground? Then consult the following chart, which lists every notable occurrence within a dungeon of Skyrim!

Location	Hold	Associated Quest (and Possible Prerequisite)	Description	Reward
Alftand	Winterhold	None (Daedric Quests: Discerning the Transmundane leads here but doesn’t have to be active.)	You are sent here on your way to obtain an Elder Scroll. This is one connection to Blackreach. At the end of the exploration, you can obtain a Targe (shield) from Umana, a bandit explorer, in Alftand Cathedral.	Targe of the Blooded
Anise’s Cabin	Falkreath	None	A kindly old woman lives at this cabin in the woods, close to Riverwood. But enter her cellar, and you learn she’s actually a witch. She attacks when you emerge.	Scavenged items
Bard’s Leap Summit	The Reach	None	Jumping off the overlook into the water below awakens a ghost named Azzadal. Beware of Forsworn and Hagravens, and converse with the spirit.	+2 Speech
Blackreach	Blackreach (Other Realms)	Main Quest: Elder Knowledge or Daedric Quests: Discerning the Transmundane must be active to enter Blackreach	Launch any Dragon Shout at the central hanging “Sun” above the Debate Hall in the center of Blackreach, to summon a Dragon to fight.	Dragon Soul
Bloated Man’s Grotto	Falkreath	Before Daedric Quests: Ill Met by Moonlight	The Shrine to Talos at the back of the grotto was once an old Blades hideout. Find the note from a fallen Blade and the sword he left behind.	Bolar’s Writ, Bolar’s Oathblade
Brinewater Grotto	Haafingar	None (Thieves Guild Quests: Scoundrel’s Folly occurs here but doesn’t have to be active)	This hidden bandit camp and Horker grotto can be reached through the Solitude East Empire Warehouse. Only the grotto section is available if you enter from the unmarked cave near Solitude Lighthouse.	Scavenged items
Bronze Water Cave	The Pale	Thieves Guild Quests: Blindsighted is active	Normally, this strange cave with dwarven pipe-work is a dead end. However, it is a secret exit from Irkngthand at the zenith of this quest.	None
Chillwind Depths	Hjaalmarch	None	Nearby Secondary Locations paint a grim picture. To the northeast is an attacked Caravan cart. At the base of the path leading to the cave lies an abandoned camp, once used by some adventurers who came to investigate. The adventurers themselves are found dead inside. Near the end of this Falmer and Frostbite Spider maze, a note on one of the prisoners tells what happened to those who were captured.	Merchant’s Journal, Adventurer’s Journal, Torn Note
Clearpine Pond	Haafingar	None	Tread lightly: If you disturb the island (attacking the animals, harvesting the plants, or examining the dead alchemist), Spriggans emerge to attack.	Scavenged items
Cronvangr Hall	Eastmarch	None	Before a fearful journey down into a chasm, fighting Frostbite Spiders, check the north wall of the entrance cavern to press a wall button, open a secret door, and venture into a vampire abode, the “Hall” itself, where few dare enter!	Scavenged items
Crystaldrift Cave	The Rift	None	You can obtain Gadnor’s Staff of Charming (which actually casts Fury) from his corpse, inside this animal den.	Gadnor’s Staff of Charming
Dead Men’s Respite	Hjaalmarch	None (Bard’s Quest: Tending the Flames occurs here but doesn’t have to be active)	This is the tomb of King Olaf One-Eye. The bard Yrsarald was also entombed here; his ghost leads you through the dungeon and takes vengeance on Olaf during the final battle.	King Olaf’s Verse (see quest for details)
Druadach Redoubt	The Reach	None	You can find a map here that reveals the locations of all Forsworn camps. Madanach heads here if he survives the prison break, during Side Quests: No One Escapes Cidhna Mine.	Scavenged items
Duskglow Crevice	The Pale	None	The Falmer that live here like to collect trinkets from the world of men. A group of bandits are down here to reclaim their stolen property; be quiet, and you can listen to their plotting.	Scavenged items
Dwemer Museum (Understone Keep, in Markarth)	The Reach	None (Thieves Guild Quests: Hard Answers occurs here but doesn’t have to be active)	See the quest for notes on how to gain legitimate access to the Museum, or for tips on sneaking through this space to the laboratory beyond.	See Quest
Fallowstone Cave	The Rift	Daedric Quests: The Cursed Tribe is active	When the quest is active, another exit is available in this cave that connects to the otherwise-inaccessible Giant’s Grove. You accompany Chief Yamarz here to kill an orc-eating giant and to retrieve Volendrung.	Volendrung (see quest for details)
Fellglow Keep	Whiterun	College of Winterhold Quests: Hitting the Books is active	There are a number of interactions if this quest is active, compared to normal adventuring: You can release prisoners, try out the firing range, and battle a teleporting foe known as The Caller.	A number of important books (see quest for details)
Folgunthur	Hjaalmarch	None (Side Quests: Forbidden Legend occurs here but doesn’t have to be active)	Daynas Valen, a wizard investigating the Gauldur Legend (Side Quests: The Forbidden Legend) perished here along with his adventuring party. His journal and notes explain the truth behind this ancient mystery.	Gauldur Amulet Fragment, Gauldur Blackblade, Writ of Sealing (see quest for details)
Forelhost	The Rift	Dungeon Quest: Siege on the Dragon Cult	One of eight lairs where a named Dragon Priest lies. You can obtain Rahgot’s Mask here. The quest is automatically active.	Rahgot’s Mask
Geirmund’s Hall	The Rift	Side Quests: Forbidden Legend is active	Named for Arch-Mage Geirmund, from the Gauldur Legend (Side Quests: The Forbidden Legend), who is entombed here along with one of the three brothers. Puzzle Solution (Pillars): Clockwise from the base of the steps: Hawk, Whale, Snake, Whale. Sigdis Gauldurson creates illusionary duplicates.	Gauldur Amulet Fragment, Gauldur Blackbow, Writ of Sealing (see quest for details)
Gloombound Mine	Eastmarch	None	The Ebony mine is adjacent and connected to the Orc stronghold of Narzulbur.	Ebony Ore
Hag’s End	The Reach	Dark Brotherhood Quests: The Feeble Fortune*	The Hagraven here teleports after taking damage, until you eventually defeat her at the top of the ruins.	Scavenged items (see Dark Brotherhood Quest for most powerful items)
Hall of the Vigilant	The Pale	None	The base of operations for the Vigil of Stendarr. The Vigilants attack if you are in werewolf form or if they sense you are a vampire. Otherwise, the Vigilants will gladly heal you of any nonpermanent diseases upon request.	Healing
Halldir’s Cairn	Falkreath	None	Halldir lures adventurers in here and compels them to sacrifice themselves on his cairn (Vidgrod, Raen, and Agrius have succumbed to him). Agrius’s Journal (on the entrance room pedestal) tells the story. Puzzle Solution: Match the symbols on the stone heads in each room. Clockwise from the lever: Hawk, Snake, Whale. Halldir splits into three elemental forms in midbattle.	Halldir’s Staff
Halted Stream Camp	Whiterun	None	An old iron mine, now overrun by poachers. Beware the large pit located slightly to the east, and a trap filled interior where bandits are carving up a dead mammoth.	Poacher’s Axe (with bandit at grindstone)
Harmugstahl	The Reach	None	You encounter an adventurer fighting an enchanted Frostbite Spider at the entrance. Puzzle Solution (Levers): The four levers (A, B, C, D from left to right) trigger four bars (1, 2, 3, 4). Pulling a switch toggles its associated bar and the ones immediately next to them (pulling A toggles 1, 2. Pulling B toggles 2, 1, 3. Pulling C toggles 3, 2, 4. Pulling D toggles 4, 3). Simply pull levers A and D. Kornalus Frey is experimenting with these spiders. Find his key on his corpse that unlocks his bedroom (and Shrine of Julianos) and the door to the exit.	Scavenged items
Irkngthand	The Pale	Thieves Guild Quests: Blindsighted is active	You accompany Karliah and Brynjolf through this expansive dwarven structure.	Eyes of the Falmer
Kagrenzel	Eastmarch	None	If you find yourself falling, stay in the middle of the chasm you’re falling through; you’re more likely to survive. This connects to Stony Creek Cave (but only from this location).	None
Katariah	Haafingar	Dark Brotherhood Quests: Hail Sithis! is active	The Emperor’s ship only appears when the quest begins. Listen to conversations among the crew if you’re sneaking. If you wish to avoid the top deck, pick the middeck door or take the key from the captain.	See Quest
Knifepoint Ridge Interior	Falkreath	Daedric Quests: Boethiah’s Calling is active	When this quest is active, you can enter a previously inaccessible inner chamber of the mine, where you can face and defeat the previous Champion of Boethiah.	Ebony Mail and Ebony Equipment
Liar’s Retreat	The Reach	None	This bandit hall and hideout has been recently attacked by Falmer, and both are waging a violent battle. There are dwarven ruin elements farther into this dungeon.	Rahd’s Longhammer (next to Rahd’s body on the altar.)
Logrolf’s House (Markarth)	The Reach	Daedric Quests: The House of Horrors is active	A strange house within the walls of Markarth, where odd occurrences are being investigated.	Mace of Molag Bal
Lost Prospect Mine	The Rift	None	This mine was abandoned when one of the partners went missing. A Miner’s Journal explains the story. The miner is, in fact, still here; his skeleton is in a secret chamber behind the waterfall, next to several gold veins. Use Whirlwind Sprint (or a lucky jump) to climb to this otherwise hard-to-reach ledge.	Gold Ore
Lost Valley Redoubt	The Reach	None	This is a Forsworn encampment surrounding (both above and below) Bard’s Leap Summit. If you’re quiet, you can see Hagravens completing a ritual and creating a Briarheart. There is a Word Wall here, too.	Word of Power: Become Ethereal
Mara’s Eye Pond	Eastmarch	None	A trapdoor on the island leads to a smugglers’ den claimed by a couple of vampires.	Scavenged items
Meeko’s Shack	Hjaalmarch	None	You find a dog, Meeko, by the side of the road, south of the shack. He leads you to the shack where his dead master lies. There is a Journal expressing the master’s wishes.	Follower: Meeko
Mzinchaleft	Hjaalmarch	None (Dark Brotherhood Side Contract: Maluril occurs here but doesn’t have to be active)	An enterprising Dark Elf, Maluril, has hired a group of mercenary bandits to help excavate the ruins for valuable artifacts. Mzinchaleft Depths has an entrance into Blackreach (provided you have the Attunement Sphere from Daedric Quests: Discerning the Transmundane).	Scavenged Items
Nightcaller Temple	The Pale	Daedric Quests: Waking Nightmare is active	This ruin is actually a former temple of Vaermina (only accessible during the quest). Together with Erandur, you fight your way through here to find the Skull of Corruption. Follower: Erandur, or Skull of Corruption	See Quest
Orotheim	Hjaalmarch	None	If you kill the bandits here, they stop their raids on the giants of Talking Stone Camp to the south.	Scavenged items
Orphan Rock	Falkreath	Temple Quests: The Blessings of Nature is active	You are sent here to retrieve Nettlebane from a Hagraven.	Nettlebane
Pinewatch	Falkreath	None (Thieves Guild City Influence Quests: Silver Lining occurs here, but doesn’t have to be active)	Press a button on the wall next to the table in the cellar, and access a hidden passage behind the bookshelf to find a bandit hideout. The bandits here have stolen Endon’s Silver Mold, the quest item.	Endon’s Silver Mold (and Scavenged items)
Raldbthar	The Pale	None (Dark Brotherhood Quests: Mourning Never Comes occurs here but doesn’t have to be active)	You are sent here to murder Alain Dufont. You can also obtain Aegisbane from him. This is one of the connections to Blackreach (provided you have the Attunement Sphere from Daedric Quests: Discerning the Transmundane).	Aegisbane, scavenged items
Reachwater Rock	The Reach	Side Quests: Forbidden Legend is active	Puzzle Solution (Nordic Doors): If you have the necessary claws (one is found in Folgunthur), the first Puzzle Door’s unlocking symbols are Bear, Whale, Snake. The second is Hawk, Hawk, Dragon. You fight Jyrik (Saarthal), Sigdis (Geirmund), and Mikrul (Folgunthur) again in sequence.	Gauldur Amulet
Riften Jail (Mistveil Keep)	The Rift	None	Secret Exit: Note the Thieves Guild Shadowmark on the wall. Once only you can pull the broken shackle in your cell to open a secret door into the sewers and out into Lake Honrich.	None (you must retrieve your equipment, too!)
Robbers’ Gorge	Hjaalmarch	None	The bandits here demand a 100 gold toll each time you want to pass. If you refuse, they use their rockfall traps and attack from the high cliffs.	Scavenged items
Serpent’s Bluff Redoubt	Whiterun	None	This is a Forsworn hideout. Puzzle Solution: Put an item on the pressure plate on the altar to open the exit portcullis.	Scavenged items
Shroud Hearth Barrow	The Rift	None (Miscellaneous Objective: Wilhelm’s Specter occurs here but doesn’t have to be active)	The “ghost” of the barrows turns out to be a treasure hunter named Wyndelius Gatharian, who is using a Philter of the Phantom. Show Wyndelius’s Journal to Wilhelm at the Vilemyr Inn to receive the Sapphire Dragon Claw you need. Puzzle Solution (Nordic Door): Moth, Owl, Wolf. In the locked catacombs, the last Draugr has the Shroud Hearth Barrows Key. Puzzle Solution (Pillars): From left to right: Whale, Hawk, Snake, Whale. There is a Word Wall here, too.	Wyndelius’s Journal, Sapphire Dragon Claw. Word of Power: Kyne’s Peace
Solitude Jail (Castle Dour)	Haafingar	None	Secret Exit: Break through the crumbling mortar in the back of your cell and exit behind Angeline’s Aromatics.	None (you must retrieve your equipment, too!)
Talking Stone Camp	Hjaalmarch	None	Bandits from Orotheim raid the camp periodically. Once you’ve cleared out that dungeon, the raids stop, and the giants lead their mammoths to a nearby stream, which gives you an opportunity to loot the camp more easily.	Scavenged items
Tolvald’s Cave	The Rift	Thieves Guild Side Quests: No Stone Unturned is active	A refuse pile just after the waterfall in Tolvald’s Crossing is the final resting place of the Crown of Barenziah, a quest item for the Thieves Guild. You can only enter this cavern when the quest is active.	Crown of Barenziah (and scavenged items)
Volskygge	Haafingar	Side Quests: Masks of the Dragon Priests*	Puzzle Solution: Activate Snake, Bear, Fox, Wolf in that order to raise the portcullis. One of eight lairs where a named Dragon Priest lies. You can obtain Volsung’s Mask here. The quest is automatically active.	Volsung’s Mask
White River Watch	Whiterun	None	This bandit hideout has several notes to collect. You can talk your way past Ulfr the Blind instead of killing him. You can listen to the bandits’ mutiny plans, and free a wolf to fight the bandits for you (pull the chain on the right wall before you reach the cage). Hajvarr Iron-Hand is on the exterior overlook.	Note to Rodulf, Ulif’s Book, Hajvarr’s Journal, Ironhand Gauntlets
Whitewatch Tower	Whiterun	None	Some bandits attack this tower when you first approach. Help the guards fight them off, if you like.	Scavenged items