Uttering Hills Cave sits at the top of a snowy mountain pass southwest of Anga’s Mill, west-southwest of Windhelm, with a couple of bandit tents pitched out front. The cave itself quickly gives way to the stone halls of a ruined fort and prison. It’s a busy place quest-wise: many radiant jobs point here, and the Thieves Guild has its own business with the occupants.
What you’ll find
- A natural tunnel leading north into a large cavern open to the sky, with paths left and right that meet again in a second cavern with a cooking pot.
- A worked stone entrance into the fort: a round room with an alchemy lab and an adept-locked chest tucked behind the wall.
- A dining hall with bedrooms on either side (the eastern one has a chest with leveled loot).
- A prison block with three cells opened by pull chains.
- A corundum ore vein west of the campfire inside the cave.
- Bandits at first – after the Thieves Guild starts its Windhelm influence job, they’re permanently replaced by the Summerset Shadows, led by Linwe.
Quests
- Summerset Shadows (Thieves Guild)
- Kill the Bandit Leader – from Brunwulf Free-Winter or Kjar in Windhelm, or Annekke Crag-Jumper in Darkwater Crossing
- Find Shahvee’s Amulet
- Find Roggi Knot-Beard’s Ancestral Shield
- Shalidor’s Insights – from Urag gro-Shub
- The Forgemaster’s Fingers – from Orc strongholds
- Ancient Technology – from Sorine Jurard (Dawnguard)
- Rings of Blood Magic – from Feran Sadri (Dawnguard)
Notable items
- Mace Etiquette – One-Handed skill book in the leader’s room
- Linwe’s armor set (worn by Linwe)
- The Wolf Queen, Book V
- Corundum ore vein
Tips
Do any other quests here before Summerset Shadows – once the Shadows move in, they stay for good. Enemies and loot respawn over time, except Linwe. If you’re chasing the “Hard Worker” achievement, the chopping block, cooking pot and corundum vein near the entrance give you everything in one spot.
Good to know
The bandit-leader bounty calls the place “Uttering Hills Camp”, so don’t let the name mismatch throw you. The banner in the dining hall can be set alight and burns away completely.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Mara’s Eye Pond, Gallows Rock, Morvunskar, Riverside Shack, Mixwater Mill.
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.