The Chill is an unmarked cave due north of the College of Winterhold, out on the frozen coast below Winterhold. It serves as the hold’s prison: commit a crime in Winterhold, go quietly, and this is where you wake up. Even if you never get arrested, it’s worth visiting for the ore veins dotted around it.
What you’ll find
- Three adept-locked cages watched over by a frost atronach.
- Skeletal remains in the two other cages with some minor loot.
- Three more frost atronachs waiting outside the exit, and possibly a couple of horkers lounging nearby.
Notable items
- About four Frost Salts from the slain atronachs.
- Two gold ore veins right above the cave entrance.
- Three iron ore veins on the land to the north-east, plus another iron vein to the south, east of Septimus Signus‘ outpost.
- A silver ore vein on the shore of an island to the east, at the foot of an ice cliff; swim further east to find an orichalcum vein by an iceberg.
- A corundum ore vein a short walk north-west of the entrance.
Tips
Unlike most jails, you arrive here with all your gear. Bring a few lockpicks and escaping is a formality – the cages are only adept locks. The real obstacle is the welcoming committee of frost atronachs outside, so at low level consider sneaking past rather than slugging it out, then fast travel away before anyone notices you’re gone. Note that the atronachs are hostile even if you just walk up to the entrance with no bounty, so don’t mistake this for a sightseeing trip. A pickaxe makes the detour worthwhile: few places this small have such a varied spread of ore.
Good to know
The German version of the game calls the place “The Cold Warehouse”, which is honestly a more accurate description of how it feels to serve time here.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.
