Skyrim:Bloated Man's Grotto

Cave: Bloated Man's Grotto (view on map)
# of Zones	1
Clearable	Yes
Dungeon	Yes
Respawn Time	10 days or 30 days
Occupants
Sinding, Spriggans, Cave Bears
Important Treasure
Bolar's Oathblade, Bolar's Writ, Savior's Hide
Console Location Code(s)
BloatedMansGrottoExterior01 BloatedMansGrottoExterior02
Region
Falkreath Hold
Location
West of Riverwood North of Falkreath
Ore Veins
# of Gold	1

Bloated Man's Grotto

Bloated Man's Grotto is a small cave west of Riverwood and north of Falkreath.

The Grotto during the quest

The grotto is normally inhabited by bears and spriggans. It consists of a single path that winds around the perimeter of a large, open vale. At the north end of the grotto, a shrine of Talos can be found next to a leveled soul gem, with an unlocked chest nearby. Behind the shrine, Bolar's Oathblade rests in front of a staute of Talos, with Bolar's writ in front of it.

Bloated Man's Grotto is also the sanctuary of Sinding during the quest Ill Met By Moonlight. During this quest, the grotto's appearance changes drastically. It becomes much darker, with a huge, red full moon dominating the sky. The shrine, Oathblade, and writ are removed, and the bears and spriggans are replaced by a variety of hunters.

Bloated Man's Grotto People

Hunters *
Ahjisi Batum gra-Bar Eriana Heratar Hoddreid J'Kier Ma'tasarr Ra'kheran Rissing Torkild the Fearsome Tsrasuna Yar gro-Gatuk

* These hunters only appear during the related quest to hunt the werewolf Sinding.

Related Quests

• Dungeon Delving: Do a favor by retrieving an item from a cave. (radiant)
• Ill Met By Moonlight: Hunt in Hircine's name; choose between killing a werewolf or saving his life.

Notes

• The grotto can be reverted to its non-quest form during Ill Met By Moonlight by opening the console and entering the codes prid 95586 and disable.
• Entering the grotto when directed by the quest Ill Met By Moonlight will always result in the time in the grotto set to 11pm upon entering, regardless of the time in Skyrim when you entered the grotto.
• If you wish to acquire the Oathblade and/or mark this location as "cleared", and let Sinding live here in peace, you must visit the location before the related quest, because it won't return to its non-quest version without killing Sinding.
• A leveled chest can be found on a ledge near the location where you kill Sinding or end his protection quest.
• A gold ore vein is located on the back right hill area almost directly under the large waterfall.
• There is a Master-locked chest in the southern part of the grotto. It is located at the tip of the inverted number "3" seen in the map, right past the river and the lantern. There, you will see a grassy ledge for the dovahkiin to climb the short cliff. Once standing on the grassy ledge, the chest is located on the left, partially screened by well-placed bushes.

Bugs

• Killing everything in the grotto during Ill Met By Moonlight will not cause the grotto to be marked as cleared. ^?
  • Returning to the grotto after it reverts back to its non-quest form and killing the bears and spriggans that inhabit it will result in it being labeled as cleared.

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