Skyrim:Blind Cliff Cave

Cave: Blind Cliff Cave (view on map)
# of Zones	2
Clearable	Yes
Dungeon	Yes
Respawn Time	Never (storage is safe)
Level	Min: 14
Occupants
Forsworn, Petra, Melka
Console Location Code(s)
BlindCliffCaveCOC, BlindCliffCave01
Region
The Reach
Location
Southwest of Karthwasten
Special Features
# of Alchemy Labs	1
# of Cooking Pots/Spits	1
Ore Veins
# of Quicksilver	3
# of Iron	6

Blind Cliff Cave

Blind Cliff Cave is a cave southwest of Karthwasten along the banks of the Karth River containing Forsworn. It contains two zones: Blind Cliff Cave and Blind Cliff Bastion.

Related Quests

• The Affairs of Hagravens
• Dungeon Delving: Do a favor for the Jarl of Markarth by retrieving a shield. (radiant)

NOTE: Some radiant quests have a sizeable list of possible locations. These quests are not placed on individual place pages, and are instead listed at radiant quest locations.

Walkthrough

Zone 1: Blind Cliff Cave

You will most likely enter the cave via the ground-level entrance. You will start in a small corridor leading to a clearance with the ruined fort in the background. Work your way up into the fort, disposing any of the Forsworn that roam the area. In the fort you will find a door leading outside to Blind Cliff Towers. The small corridor at the start has an iron ore vein, and so does the right wall of the clearance.

Following the stairs all the way to the top will reveal a copy of the Light Armor skill book The Refugees and a chest with random leveled treasure.

Blind Cliff Towers

The upper exterior part is called Blind Cliff Towers. It consists of two towers connected by a bridge. You start in the lower portion of the southern tower. Activate the lever on your immediate right to open up a gate which blocks your progress to the top of the tower. Several Forsworn inhabit the tower so take care when rushing on the stairs. A Forsworn staff is located on the upper part of the tower.

Cross the bridge to the second tower. More Forsworn can be found, as well as some chests with minor loot. The entrance to Blind Cliff Bastion can be found to the north of the tower. The upper part of the tower is off-limits as the gate can only be opened from the other side, accessible only through the second zone.

Zone 2: Blind Cliff Bastion

Open the iron door and you will soon hear Melka, a hagraven who is trapped inside a cage. Speak with her to learn that this is her tower and that she was caged by her sister, another hagraven named Petra. Free her by pulling the chain next to the cage and she will ask for your help in killing Petra. You can also leave her to her fate (but this risks breaking the quest; see notes below).

After a few turns there is a locked gate which requires the pull of a handle to open. Three handles can be found. The one in the middle opens the gate, the other two activate a dart trap. If Melka is with you, she will sense that the handle in the middle is the correct one.

Exploring the cave further leads to a room with some Forsworn apparel. To your left will be a caged hallway with several swinging blade traps. To the right will be a hidden door with the toggle switch to the pendulums, which Melka will inform you of if she's with you. Down the caged hall is a room containing an alchemy lab and a cooking pot. There is a handle which opens up a secret door leading to some low-level chests. Open the iron door and dispose of the Forsworn behind it. There are two quicksilver ore veins in the hallway.

A wooden door leads to the area where Petra and two Forsworn archers are holding up. Kill them, loot Petra's body for a book to advance Conjuration level and talk to joyous Melka for the reward of her fireball staff 'Eye of Melka'. The room also contains another quicksilver ore vein, a boss-level chest, and a book called Mystery of Talara, Part 4. Take the door outside and jump down into the previously inaccessible area for more chests. Activate the lever to open the gate.

Notes

• This dungeon is marked as a cave on the map, but contains a hidden fort within and an extensive fort on the outside, higher up the mountain.
• If you kill Petra before releasing Melka, the quest The Affairs of Hagravens, will be unfinishable (leaving no way to remove it from your journal). You can still obtain Melkas staff however (by attacking and killing her).

Bugs

• If you are coming down the mountain and enter the top zone (Blind Cliff Bastion) first, you will be able to open the barred door and will be attacked by Petra if she detects you. You will not, however, be able to remove the bar, or go through the open door from this side. ^?
• If you come out of the door to Blind Cliff Cave and enter the base of Blind Cliff Tower, your follower may disappear. ^?
  • Have your follower wait inside the cave until you have cleared the tower of enemies, then bring them through the door.

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