The Drunken Huntsman is a combination tavern and hunting supply shop in the Plains District of Whiterun. Its owner sells weapons and armor with a strong lean towards bows and arrows, alongside the usual food and drink. If you are building an archer, this is one of the first stops worth making in the city.
What you’ll find
- Elrindir – the Wood Elf owner and merchant. The shop’s name comes from a hunting trip where he and his brother Anoriath had far too much mead, and his brother mistook him for a deer. The arrow landed in his backside. Hence the sign.
- Jenassa – a Dunmer mercenary who lodges here in a side alcove and can be hired as a follower for 500 gold.
- A central hearth with two cooking pots. During the day Olfrid Battle-Born can often be seen tending the spit, and Vignar Gray-Mane sometimes wanders in too – a rare spot where both feuding clans share the same fire.
- A back bedroom with a chest, a strongbox, a business ledger and a shelf of books including A Dream of Sovngarde.
- An upstairs master bedroom where Nazeem and his wife Ahlam sleep. Yes, that Nazeem.
Notable items
- The Black Arrow, Book II – an Archery skill book on a shelf under the counter.
Tips
Despite people calling it an inn, you cannot rent a room here, so plan to sleep elsewhere in town. The skill book under the counter is easy to miss – look low. Jenassa is a solid early follower if you have the gold, and she is conveniently parked right next to the bar. As for Nazeem living upstairs: no, you cannot ask him whether he gets to the Cloud District very often while he sleeps.
Good to know
If you kill Anoriath during a Dark Brotherhood contract, Delvin Mallory will remark that someone living there was killed if the shop later comes up as one of his Thieves Guild jobs.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.