Ingun Black-Briar studies alchemy under Elgrim at Elgrim’s Elixirs in Riften, the Rift. Her failed experiments have burned through a small fortune of his rare stock, and she wants it replaced. It is a pure gathering quest, but a big one: sixty ingredients across three kinds.
How to start
- Visit Elgrim’s Elixirs, near Riften’s north entrance down by the water.
- Ask Ingun whether she is an alchemist; she explains how her mistakes cost Elgrim his supply.
- Ask what she needs: 20 deathbell, 20 nightshade and 20 nirnroot. Agree to help. The quest is available at any time.
- Ask her for clues where to find them if you want hints.
Walkthrough
1. Deathbell
Deathbell is the easiest of the three: alchemy shops stock it widely and dungeons with alchemy stations often have some. Good spots for already-picked samples include Forelhost’s Refectory (21 in one place), Angeline’s Aromatics in Solitude and Arcadia’s Cauldron in Whiterun (after their own quests), the Forsaken Crypt and Stony Creek Cave. For live plants, head to the marshes of Hjaalmarch: around the Apprentice Stone, Folgunthur and Morthal alone you will find dozens.
2. Nightshade
Solitude is the best starting point, with sixteen plants inside the city. One grows near the main gate: turn left after entering and look in front of the big rock near the execution spot. Another is by the market stalls before Castle Dour. Riften itself has eight, and there are clusters around the Hall of the Dead in Falkreath, inside Labyrinthian, and around Hamvir’s Rest. With Dawnguard, the upgraded Volkihar Courtyard has seventeen.
3. Nirnroot
Nirnroot grows near water and is the slowest to collect. Sarethi Farm in the Rift has nine plants plus two picked samples, and Northwatch Keep and Steepfall Burrow in Haafingar are also good. A day walking the coast north of Solitude can produce 15–20 roots. Crimson nirnroot counts too, and one nirnroot respawns in Angeline’s Aromatics, which you may take freely once her quest is done.
4. Hand in
You can deliver each batch of twenty as soon as you have it, or bring everything at once. Then speak to Ingun one final time to complete the quest.
Rewards
- Leveled gold for each ingredient type delivered.
- The key to Ingun’s Alchemy Chest in the shop’s back room, which she restocks with random potions and ingredients.
Tips and notes
- Start collecting early: if you pick every deathbell, nightshade and nirnroot you see while travelling, the quest more or less finishes itself.
- Ingredients you buy or steal count as well, but plants and loose samples are free.
- The source gives the chest’s restock as roughly every two days, every third day after you take items, or daily if you put something in; treat these timings as approximate.
