Lost Valley Redoubt is a sprawling Forsworn ruin roughly halfway between Markarth and Falkreath, built where the Karth River begins. Unlike most dungeons it has no interior at all – the whole thing is an open-air climb up through tiers of ruins and tents to a waterfall at the top. Up there, near Bard’s Leap Summit, a Word Wall waits behind hide screens, watched over by two hagravens.
What you’ll find
- Leveled Forsworn spread throughout the camp, plus a Forsworn Briarheart.
- Two hagravens guarding the Word Wall at the top.
- A Mammoth-skull trap at the entrance to the enclosure.
- Crafting gear: a forge, grindstone, tanning rack, cooking spot and bedrolls.
- Two silver ore veins.
- Grim decorations: a bloody chopping block and bucket near a large tent, and a table with a saw and what is left of someone’s legs. The Forsworn are not subtle.
Quests
The redoubt is one of the possible locations of Hrolfdir’s Shield, which Jarl Igmund of Markarth may ask you to recover.
Notable items
- Word Wall: Become Ethereal. To find it, stand in the stream that runs toward Bard’s Leap Summit and follow it upstream (due south) to the foot of the cliff.
- A chest with random loot, potions in the tents, soul gems, an Elixir of the Defender and a human heart.
Tips
Sneak up on the hagravens and you may catch them mid-ritual, turning a Forsworn into a Briarheart. Kill one of the hags while they are still chanting and the Briarheart dies on the spot; interrupt the ritual any other way and he will get up and attack. Careful with Unrelenting Force near the clifftop – enemies you blast off the edge can land in the deep pool below, survive, and be waiting for you on the way back down. If you only want the shout, you can skip the camp: start at Bilegulch Mine and climb west over the mountains until you are across the stream from the Word Wall’s little island.
Good to know
Jump off Bard’s Leap Summit and survive, and a bard’s ghost appears with a story and a free point of Speech. Sneaky players can also overhear the Forsworn – one near the entrance chats to a dead Nord about the best use for Nord skulls, and two others gossip about a comrade volunteering to become a Briarheart.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Bard’s Leap Summit, Cradle Stone Tower, Gloomreach, Fort Sungard, Valthume.
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.