Clearspring Tarn is a small, clear mountain pool tucked below Mistwatch – southwest of it, but cut off from the fort by a cliff face, so you’ll need to approach from below. Two hunters usually wander the area chasing deer. It looks like a picnic spot; the cave just beneath it disagrees.
What you’ll find
- Two friendly hunters hunting deer around the tarn.
- An apprentice-locked chest at the bottom of the spring.
- A small path below the clearing leading to Clearspring Cave.
- Inside the cave: a leveled troll, a skeleton floating in the water of the first room with a leveled shield and mace beneath it, and an altar at the back.
- A second small pond above the cave with another submerged chest.
Quests
The tarn and its cave are possible targets for several quests and quest items, including A New Order, Animal Extermination, Kahvozein’s Fang, Keening, Meridia’s Beacon and Totems of Hircine.
Notable items
- Bow of the Hunt – on the altar at the rear of the cave.
- Vernaccus and Bourlor (Archery) – on the same altar. A bow and an archery book together: someone here had a theme going.
- A chest beside the altar, plus the two underwater chests.
Tips
Bring fire for the troll; it greets you in the very first room, so be ready the moment you step in. Water Breathing isn’t required, but a quick dive is needed for both sunken chests, and the one in the spring needs a lockpick. Leave the hunters alone – they’re only after deer.
Good to know
The cliff between the tarn and Mistwatch means this is not a shortcut into the fort, no matter how close the two look on the map. Plan your route from the lower ground instead, and treat the tarn as its own little detour – a calm pool, a nasty troll and a very decent bow for an afternoon’s work.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Rift Watchtower, Northwind Summit, Boulderfall Cave, Rift Stormcloak Camp, Northwind Mine.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.