The Sleeping Giant Inn is the tavern in the heart of Riverwood, easy to spot by the sign showing a giant’s head peacefully at rest. For many players it is the first inn they ever walk into, and it turns out to be far more important than a place to sleep off a mead binge: the owner is hiding a big secret in the basement. Come for a warm bed, stay for the main quest.
What you’ll find
- Delphine – the proprietor, and secretly one of the last surviving members of the Blades.
- Orgnar – handles the actual trading behind the counter.
- Sven – Riverwood’s bard, who performs here every night and takes song requests.
- Embry – the town drunk, a permanent part of the furniture.
- Depending on how the Civil War goes, Hadvar (Legion) or Ralof (Stormcloaks) may show up here.
- Rentable beds, an Alchemy Lab on the main floor and a second one in Delphine’s Secret Room – the ingredients around their rims respawn every few days.
- An Arcane Enchanter for Enchanting, also tucked away in the secret room.
Quests
- A Blade in the Dark – Delphine asks to meet you here and reveals her true identity in her hidden room.
- The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller – after Arngeir sends you to Ustengrav and the horn turns out to be stolen, the trail leads back to this inn.
Notable items
A copy of the book The Great War sits somewhere in the building.
Tips
Once the main quest is done, the basement room effectively becomes yours. Its chests don’t reset, so it works as free storage, and you can take things down there without picking up a bounty. If Embry asks for a drink, buy him a mead or ale: the whole inn warms up to you, you can sleep in a bed for free (still getting the Well Rested bonus) and most loose items stop counting as theft. Cheapest friendship in Skyrim.
Good to know
If you load a save made inside a DLC area after switching that DLC off, the game drops you here instead – the Sleeping Giant is literally Skyrim’s emergency exit.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.