Hob’s Fall Cave is an icy cave on the coast between Winterhold and Dawnstar, just north of Frostflow Lighthouse. A coven of necromancers has turned it into a workshop, complete with skeletons, soul gem traps and a prisoner they are about to sacrifice. It is also a busy little quest hub, so you will probably end up here at least once.
What you’ll find
- Necromancers, necromages and skeletons all the way down, ending with a Master Necromancer and two helpers in the final hall.
- Larina, locked in a cage with two corpses and destined to be sacrificed. You can reach her early by climbing the ledge and opening the cage, effectively doing the cave backwards.
- A room with a sacrificial table and an arcane enchanter, and a gate that opens with a rusty, easy-to-miss pull chain to its right.
- Three frost soul gem traps – take the gems out of the pedestals to switch them off.
- An alchemy lab down a side path, plus several locked chests and a boss chest behind the Master’s table.
- A shortcut back to the entrance: drop down through the wooden spikes west of the Master’s table.
Quests
- Pantea’s Flute – the Bards College wants its flute back, and it is in here.
- Drowned Sorrows – Isabelle’s Letter lies near the entrance.
- No Stone Unturned – a Stone of Barenziah sits on a cupboard in the alchemy room.
- Onmund’s Request – a possible location for Enthir‘s staff, which Onmund wants back.
- The book Boethiah’s Proving here starts Boethiah’s Calling.
- Possible location for the Helm of Winterhold and for several Dawnguard radiant quests (Dawnguard).
Notable items
- Enchanter’s Primer (Enchanting) on the arcane enchanter.
- The Exodus (Restoration) in the sleeping quarters.
- Soul gems and potions on the first necromancer’s table.
Tips
Sneaking pays off: the necromancers on and around the wooden bridge can be picked off one by one before the rest notice. After the bridge, take the path to the left to find the alchemy room and the Stone of Barenziah, then look for the adept-locked chest on a ledge just above it. Clairvoyance is unreliable here and may point you straight into solid rock.
Good to know
Sneak close to the altar and you can overhear the necromancers praying to the Revenant to darken a soul gem – with one of them chiming in with a wonderfully half-hearted “fie”. Funnily enough, the gem on the altar is already a black soul gem.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Frostflow Lighthouse, The Tower Stone, Winterhold Imperial Camp, Driftshade Refuge, Alftand.
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.