Lost Prospect Mine is a small mine in a valley east of Riften, on the far eastern edge of the region. At first glance it’s empty – no bandits, no monsters, just a lot of mushrooms. But the journal on the table tells a sad little story, and the waterfall in the middle of the cavern is hiding the ending.
What you’ll find
- Outside: a cart of rocks with a pickaxe, a shovel by a crate and two lootable sacks.
- Inside: one large cavern with several short tunnels and a waterfall in the centre.
- A secret tunnel behind the waterfall with three gold ore veins, some tools and a skeleton.
- A mushroom bonanza: Blisterwort, Imp Stool, Namira’s Rot, White Cap, Bleeding Crown and Fly Amanita.
Notable items
- About nine gold ore from the three veins behind the waterfall.
- Hadrir’s journal on the central table.
- Bern’s pickaxe – his skeleton can’t be looted, but the tool is free to take.
Tips
To reach the gold, hop onto the table, then the sconce, and Whirlwind Sprint into the waterfall. No shout? Stand on the ledge to the left of the falls and jump straight in while hugging the wall. Followers sometimes get stuck back there; leaving the mine usually sorts them out. Bring an empty satchel for the mushrooms – there are dozens – and a pickaxe if you’d rather not borrow Bern’s.
Good to know
Hadrir’s journal explains that his old partner Bern bought the mine cheap and they spent three weeks digging without finding anything. Hadrir went to Riften for supplies and came back to find Bern gone without a trace – and left feeling betrayed. In truth, Bern had found gold behind the waterfall, and the tunnel collapsed on him. Poor Bern: right about the gold, wrong about the ceiling.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Fallowstone Cave, Black-Briar Lodge, Broken Helm Hollow, Riften Stables, Forelhost.
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.