Brood Cavern

Small one-chamber bear den southwest of Morthal with two waterfalls, iron and corundum ore, two chests and a dead hunter carrying The Black Arrow, Book II.

Brood Cavern is a compact, single-chamber cave southwest of Morthal. Its entrance sits in a little stream that tumbles down the mountainside toward the river below, just above the spot where you fast travel in. It is a quick in-and-out dungeon, but it packs ore, a skill book and a couple of chests into one room – and plenty of bears who would like you to leave.

What you’ll find

  • Bears guarding the entrance and more inside – depending on your level, the residents may instead be trolls or frostbite spiders.
  • One chamber with a small opening to the sky and two little waterfalls feeding the stream.
  • A dead hunter with a high-level bow and arrows, plus a dead deer. Outside, below the entrance, lies the body of a Khajiit.
  • One iron ore vein and one corundum ore vein.
  • Two chests with leveled loot: one novice-locked chest tucked behind the waterfall to the right of the dead deer, and one at the northeast end of the room.
  • Ingredients: three fly amanita and ten hanging moss, plus a stamina poison next to a chest.

Quests

The cave is one of the possible spots for the Fine-Cut Void Salts you need during Salty Sea-Dogs.

Notable items

  • The Black Arrow, Book II – Archery skill book on the dead hunter.
  • The hunter’s high-level bow and arrows, found in front of the northeast chest.

Tips

Several bears wait outside before you even reach the ones inside, so fight them one group at a time instead of dragging the whole family into a brawl. Once the den is quiet, check behind the waterfall – the hidden chest is easy to miss.

If you are collecting bear claws and pelts for Temba Wide-Arm, this is about as convenient as bear hunting gets. The bears might disagree.

Good to know

According to the Creation Kit, the unlucky hunter’s name is Urwa.

Nearby

Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Orotheim, Dead Men’s Respite, Eldersblood Peak, Rannveig’s Fast, Robber’s Gorge.

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.

Characters found here

Quests that lead here

Creatures you will meet

Frostbite Spiders lurk in Skyrim’s caves and ruins, spitting venom from the ceiling. Variants, tactics and the ingredients they drop.
Trolls and Frost Trolls regenerate health and hit hard. Where they live in Skyrim and why fire is your best friend against them.

Weapons found here

Daedric Bow in Skyrim: the strongest standard bow at 19 base damage, forged from Ebony and a Daedra Heart at Smithing 90, or found from level 46 onward.

Armor found here

Items found here

More places like this

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Nordic Ruin
Hjaalmarch
Vast ruined city of Bromjunaar southeast of Morthal, home to Morokei and the Staff of Magnus, Shalidor’s Maze, two Word Walls and the Konahrik shrine.
Sources checked: Skyrim game files (map markers, location records, read 2026-10-11); Elder Scrolls Fandom location articles (export 2026-10-11)