Arcadia’s Cauldron is the alchemy shop in the Plains District of Whiterun, next door to Belethor’s General Goods. If a guard tells you to try it for potions, listen: besides a well-stocked counter, the shop has a free alchemy lab and an expert trainer, making it one of the best early stops for aspiring brewers.
What you’ll find
- Arcadia, an Imperial alchemist who sells potions and ingredients and offers expert-level Alchemy training.
- An alchemy lab you may use for free.
- A side room through the door left of the lab, holding a useful book on a table.
- A sign showing the three phases of the moon, as on every alchemy shop.
Quests
- Salt for Arcadia – ask Farengar Secret-Fire for work and he sends you here with frost salts. Arcadia reveals they’re for a powerful love potion – and wonders aloud whether to test it on Farengar first.
- A possible location for Thieves Guild radiant jobs: The Heist Job, The Numbers Job and The Shill Job.
Notable items
- Herbalist’s Guide to Skyrim – full of handy ingredient combinations and good for a free point of Alchemy.
- The Real Barenziah, Book II.
Tips
Gold you pay Arcadia for training goes straight into her shop’s purse, so you can sell her more potions afterwards. Out of potions to sell? Brew more at her lab on the spot. After delivering the frost salts, some ingredients on her shelves become free to take and refill daily – a neat little alchemy subscription. Don’t wander in after 8 pm, though: being spotted counts as trespassing and she will call the guards.
Good to know
If Arcadia is killed, Ahlam takes over the shop. Break in after closing and Arcadia may still greet you with her shopkeeper spiel as if nothing is odd.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.