Purewater Run is a small cave southeast of Markarth, and it is less a dungeon than a flooded grotto with a few secrets at the bottom. There is no boss and nobody living here, just water, fish and some quietly valuable loot. If you are an alchemist, a smith or simply curious about the giant Dwarven head sitting in the pool, it is worth the detour.
What you’ll find
- Two nirnroot plants, one of them noticeably oversized.
- A quicksilver ore vein.
- A huge Dwarven head sculpture underwater, with two Dwemer chests beside it.
- Two slaughterfish guarding the sculpture.
- Fish to catch in the pools: Abecean longfin, silverside perch and salmon, plus several slaughterfish egg clusters.
Notable items
- Smithing skill book Cherim’s Heart of Anequina, in one of the underwater Dwemer chests.
- Quicksilver ore vein and two nirnroots.
Tips
Deal with the slaughterfish first – they are no fun when you are trying to loot a chest underwater with your breath running out. Be careful around the Dwarven head: there is a sharp drop in the pool, and since you cannot jump in deep water, it is possible to get stuck down there with no way out except reloading. Make a save before you go in. Followers have also been known to get wedged next to the head, so you may prefer to leave them at the entrance.
Good to know
The underwater area has a few quirks. Just before the two Dwarven chests, under a waterfall, there are pockets of air in the water: swim over them and you can sink to the bottom, gasping as if you had just surfaced. Some of the slaughterfish egg clusters to the left of the Dwarven head also cannot be harvested, so do not waste your breath on them. Players have also reported that, after leaving, water sometimes keeps dripping from the sky as if you were still under the cave roof. Not dangerous, just a very localised rain cloud that follows you around.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Dushnikh Yal, Hag Rock Redoubt, Reachwind Eyrie, Left Hand Mine, Dead Crone Rock.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.