North Shriekwind Bastion is the main door into Shriekwind Bastion, an old Nordic tomb low on a mountain northeast of Falkreath and west of Pinewatch. A little path branches off the main road and leads up to it. The bastion has a second door at South Shriekwind Bastion, which drops you in roughly halfway through – this north entrance is the start of the full run.
What you’ll find
- Inside: skeletons, vampires and their thralls, plus draugr, with a Master Vampire waiting near the top.
- A room with a three-handled stone puzzle and chains that open the way forward, and a flamethrower trap guarding a gate.
- A Word Wall for the Elemental Fury shout at the end, followed by an exit onto an overlook above Falkreath.
- Outside: stairs to the left of the entrance lead to a bird’s nest, a stone bowl with an ancient Nord weapon, a soul gem and a healing potion, and a pair of Ancient Nord Boots.
- A chest hidden under an arch on top of the structure, and a corundum ore vein on the slope beside it.
Notable items
- Word Wall: Elemental Fury (see Skyrim shouts).
- A small room packed with about a dozen pairs of shoes, including the rare fur-lined boots and pleated shoes.
- 2920, Second Seed, v5 (Speech skill book) on a stone pulpit beside a lantern.
- Rubies on the floor beside a lone throne in a blood-spattered room halfway through.
Quests
Shriekwind is a possible location for Totems of Hircine and for Onmund’s request, and it shows up in the Dawnguard quests Cleansing Light, Culling the Beast and Ancient Power, plus Trouble in Skyrim.
Tips
Climb the outside stairs before going in – the bowl, boots, chest and ore are free loot. Inside, at the flamethrower gate, skip the handle on the pillar and look for a chain on the right in the tunnel instead; it opens the gate without lighting you up. Bring something against vampire drain. After the Word Wall, the exit drops you on the overlook; hop down to the stream and look for a gold ore vein near the top of the small waterfall.
Good to know
The name likely nods to the tale of Lamae Beolfag, the first vampire, whose screams were said to become the Shrieking Winds – fitting for a tomb that vampires call home. Riekling followers (Dragonborn) refuse to go inside and wait outside the doors instead.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: South Shriekwind Bastion, Falkreath Watchtower, Falkreath, The Lady Stone, Lakeview Manor.
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.
