Kynesgrove is a tiny mining village directly south of Windhelm, about halfway along the road from Windhelm Stables to Witchmist Grove and roughly a third of the way to the Atronach Stone. It’s little more than an inn, a mine and a few fields, named after the Nordic sky goddess Kyne, whose sacred grove surrounds it. Most players arrive for one reason: the main quest sends you here to watch a dragon climb out of its grave.
What you’ll find
- The Braidwood Inn, the heart of the village, run by the innkeeper Iddra.
- Steamscorch Mine, worked for malachite ore, with a smelter next to the inn so you can turn ore into glass-making material on the spot.
- A dragon burial mound on the slope above the village, where Sahloknir lies buried.
- A few fields and the lumber dreams of the Uriels, who discovered too late that the grove is holy to Kyne and can mostly not be cut down.
Residents
- Kjeld – runs the mine and, in practice, the whole settlement.
- Kjeld the Younger – another regular at the Braidwood Inn.
- Iddra – the innkeeper, who has a problem with an unpaid bar tab.
- Dravynea the Stoneweaver – a Dunmer mage from Morrowind who oversees the mine.
- Roggi Knot-Beard – a miner with a thirst and a lost family heirloom.
- Ganna and Gemma Uriel – Imperial newcomers who argue constantly about the comfortable life they left behind in Cyrodiil.
Quests
- A Blade in the Dark – Delphine brings you here believing the next dragon will rise near Kynesgrove. Alduin resurrects Sahloknir and you have to put him back down.
- Roggi’s Debts – Iddra wants you to talk Roggi Knot-Beard into dealing with his unpaid drinking debts.
- Find Roggi’s Ancestral Shield – Roggi wants his family shield back.
- Bring some Frost Salts to Dravynea for her research.
Tips
Before the dragon fight, rest and stock up at the Braidwood Inn: Sahloknir is a proper fight, and Kynesgrove’s residents tend to get in the way. Afterwards, the mine and smelter make the village a quiet stop for malachite if you’re working toward glass gear. Miscellaneous quests here are short and pay off quickly, so it’s worth chatting to everyone while you’re in town. City guards will be talking about the attack for a while – apparently nobody expected a dragon in a village this small.
Good to know
The inn is one of the places where the rare book Songs of Skyrim can turn up. Concept maps show the village was once called Fjolgen, and the Creation Kit hints at a lumber mill near the river that never made it into the game – which would explain why the Uriels keep complaining.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Riverside Shack, Witchmist Grove, Windhelm Stables, Brandy-Mug Farm, Morvunskar.
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.