North Skybound Watch is a large, mostly intact Nordic watchpost on the western edge of the mountains above the river valley, with Riverwood due west and Orphan Rock to the southeast. It’s the northern door to Skybound Watch Pass, a tunnel that runs under the mountain to South Skybound Watch near Helgen.
What you’ll find
- One big stone room with doorways at the front and back. A few skeletons may lie outside the main entrance.
- Out the back: a stone walkway ending at a pedestal, and steps down to the door into Skybound Watch Pass.
- Inside the pass from this end: two bandits, a bookshelf, a locked chest and a battering ram trap; then a giant frostbite spider lair; then a flooded tunnel with three more bandits and a trapped chest before the southern exit.
- Ingredients in the pass: hanging moss, jazbay grapes near the south door and spider eggs in the spider room.
Quests
Destruction Ritual Spell – once your Destruction skill is high enough (level 90), Faralda at the College of Winterhold hands you Power of the Elements. The pedestal here is the third stop: place the book and hit it with a frost Destruction spell. Finishing all four stops unlocks Fire Storm.
Notable items
- The Battle of Red Mountain (Block skill book) on the bookshelf in the northern part of the pass.
- A full set of fur armor inside the pass.
Tips
Watch the floor in the first hallway – that battering ram isn’t decoration. Fun fact: if you come from the south end instead, one of the bandits here may trip the plate himself while rushing you. At the far end, South Skybound Watch is a broken tower where a wispmother may be lurking, with a chest at the top and a helmet on a table. Some players report Faralda only offers the ritual once Destruction actually reaches 100.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Orphan Rock, South Skybound Watch, Falkreath Stormcloak Camp, Riverwood, Helgen.
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.