Elgrim is an old Nord alchemist and the owner of Elgrim’s Elixirs, a potion shop tucked away down by the canals of Riften. The game files technically list his race as ‘Elder’, but with a name like his he’s a Nord in all but paperwork. He’s grumpy, easily muddled and always convinced that something on his workbench is about to burn.
Where to find them
The shop sits at canal level instead of up in the market. He runs it with his wife Hafjorg and his apprentice Ingun Black-Briar. He sometimes takes a turn at the counter, but he tends to sleep in long after most of the town is up, so Hafjorg is often the one serving you.
Services
Elgrim sells potions and alchemy ingredients. For all his talk of training Ingun, he won’t give you alchemy lessons. Hafjorg can also trade with you, and she hands out a small job that ends with an ore sample landing on Elgrim’s desk for appraisal.
Personality & relationships
Ask why he works in a damp tunnel and he’ll tell you the moist air keeps delicate stock like nirnroot in good shape, the water is right outside the door, and the peace and quiet keeps browsers away. He has customers to get rid of, after all. Hafjorg hates the damp.
He describes his wife as a necessary evil with no talent for alchemy who at least keeps him fed, and Ingun as a bright and worthy apprentice when she isn’t wasting his rare ingredients. You can hear that tension in the shop: Ingun complains that his beginner formulas are beneath her, and he tells her she won’t touch the hard ones until she can do the easy ones blindfolded. In another exchange he scolds her for spoiling his whole supply of painted troll fat and has her send a letter to someone called Rythe in Cheydinhal to make up for it.
Good to know
- Painted troll fat and Rythe are nods to the Oblivion quest ‘A Brush With Death’. The ingredient doesn’t exist in Skyrim, so don’t bother looking for it in his stock.
Quick facts
- Gender: Male
- Level: 10
- Class: Apothecary
- Status: Killable
- Found in: Riften
- Services: Sells potions and alchemy ingredients
- Base ID: 00013357
Also in Riften
Francois Beaufort, From-Deepest-Fathoms, Grelka, Grelod the Kind, Haelga, Hafjorg, Harrald, Hefid the Deaf, Hemming Black-Briar, Herluin Lothaire, Hewnon Black-Skeever, Hofgrir Horse-Crusher.
Race, level, class and factions read from the Skyrim game files; story details checked against community wiki articles and written in our own words.