Skyrim:Reachwater Rock

Cave: Reachwater Rock (view on map)
# of Zones	1
Clearable	Yes
Dungeon	Yes
Respawn Time	Never (storage is safe)
Level	Min: 6
Occupants
Draugr
Console Location Code(s)
ReachwaterRock01
Region
The Reach
Location
East-southeast of Markarth South of Sky Haven Temple
Special Features
# of Fishing SuppliesCC	1
Ore Veins
# of Orichalcum	1

Reachwater Rock

Reachwater Rock is a small cave east-southeast of Markarth containing draugr. It contains only one zone, Reachwater Rock.

The cave is home to the crypt of Archmage Gauldur, and can only be fully explored near the end of the quest Forbidden Legend.

Related Quests

• Forbidden Legend: Investigate the forgotten Gauldur Legend.

Walkthrough

Exterior

The path to Reachwater Rock is on your right along the road toward Falkreath heading southeast, just before crossing the last bridge before the turning for Karthspire camp. One silver ore vein is to the right of the path before reaching the stream. The path ends at a stream falling from the mountains above; the cave entrance is through the waterfall. One iron ore vein is on the opposite side of the stream where the path ends.

Reachwater Rock

The Ancient Edict

This place was sealed at great price...

Upon entering this natural cavern, you will find a waterfall on your right, with the stream heading north-south into the cavern. With the Fishing Creation installed, some Fishing Supplies can be found here; fish from Underground waters can be caught here. There are many mushroom ingredients growing in this first room and throughout the ruin; see the table below for the totals. The stream drops into a pool of water, with an adept-locked chest and a lootable skeleton with a random shield and a random greatsword at the bottom. The path winds around the pool to the left; on your left is a lit brazier with an orichalcum ore vein next to it. The path continues over a rock bridge to an island in the middle, with a dead adventurer next to a tree. To the left is a plinth holding the emerald dragon claw, which is needed for the door in this chamber across the next bridge. Underneath the claw is an Ancient Edict, which continues the lore for the related quest Forbidden Legend and warns you to not to continue. Looking east from the puzzle door, you will see above the ore vein on the far side of the cavern a ledge containing an unlocked chest. This can be reached by using the Whirlwind Sprint shout. With only one word, you will need to stand on top of the claw-like piece of broken statue near the tree and move forward or jump after shouting until you scramble onto the ledge. With two or three words, the ledge is more readily accessible.

Climb the second rock bridge up to a puzzle door. Examine the underside of the emerald dragon claw in your inventory menu for the correct combination, Bear—Whale—Snake. Upon opening the door, you will see that it in fact opens a series of four similar doors in a row. Follow the corridor through the now open four doors to a second puzzle door. This door is opened using the ivory dragon claw found in Folgunthur during the related quest; the correct combination is Eagle—Eagle—Dragon. This door is protected by a dart trap, which shoots from either side after incorrect combinations.

The door opens to the top of a flight of stairs, with a bench on your left and a burial urn on your right. At the bottom of the stairs are four lit braziers; behind the back right-hand brazier is a random potion of healing, and behind the back left-hand brazier is a burial urn. To the south is a large urn. The path continues down to the north, opening into a large room with a total of eight upright sarcophagi around the room on different levels. At the northern end of the room is a stone table where you place the three parts of the Gauldur Amulet during the related quest. Behind this is a ninth sarcophagus which contain the remains of Archmage Gauldur; once you have completed the quest, search his remains for a large number of coins. All of the inhabitants of the upright sarcophagi can be dealt with using a rune spell prior to placing the amulet parts.

Behind the seal

On your way back out of this room after the end of the related quest, you will see that next to the large urn to the south, a doorway has opened in the wall. Past the doorway is a boss chest, a random helmet, sword, shield, and battleaxe, a filled soul gem, and a large coin purse.

Ingredients found growing throughout the cave and ruins: 7 bleeding crown 4 blisterwort 12 fly amanita 6 imp stool 2 juniper berries 1 mora tapinella 7 Namira's rot 6 white cap

Notes

• The dead adventurer in the first chamber has a copy of Lost Legends in their inventory.
• In the river to the northwest, just below and west of Sky Haven Temple, there is a capsized rowboat containing a strongbox and various gems (including a flawless ruby and a flawless diamond). There is also a chest in the riverbed nearby.
• According to the Prima Game Guide, Reachwater Rock is named after the eponymous stone pedastal within. The guide names the cavern where the tomb is located "Reachwater Cavern".

Bugs

• In the pool of water in the main chamber, there are several "holes" in the water where you can breathe and walk normally. The most noticeable one is at the deepest part of the pool.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 2.0.7, fixes this bug.
• The emerald dragon claw may not spawn. ^?
  • Load an old save to fix this, or simply walk out of the cave and re-enter.
• The emerald dragon claw may not show up in your inventory after picking it up, but can still be used on doors. ^?
  • Use the console command player.additem ed417 1 to add it to your inventory.
• If the puzzle door does not work, check here for possible fixes.
• Sigdis Gauldurson may use Unrelenting Force and knock you past the barrier separating you from the ghosts, glitching you to the point where you must reload a save.
  • It may be possible to use ranged shouts or magic to kill the ghosts and lift the barrier, or you can conjure a creature on the other side of the barrier (if combat stops after conjuring, use hostile magic to start it again).
  • You can use the console command tcl to pass through the barrier.
  • It may be necessary to load a previous save to fix this.
• The ghost may not come down for you to fight him, and instead may just stand and stare at the wall.
• If Dawnbreaker is used to destroy one of the ghosts and its ability activates, the ghost may not return to the shelf, and the next one will not come down to fight.