Reachwater Rock is a sealed tomb hidden behind a waterfall, just west of the Old Hroldan inn and near Karthspire. From the road you can see a bridge; walk around behind it and a path leads up to the entrance. Inside lies Arch-Mage Gauldur himself, and this is where the Forbidden Legend quest reaches its finale. Without all three Gauldur fragments and the Ivory Dragon Claw from Folgunthur, you will not get very far.
What you’ll find
- A dead adventurer beside a pedestal holding the Emerald Dragon Claw and a grim warning note. He also carries a copy of Lost Legends, which starts the quest if you have not already.
- A pool with an adept-locked chest and a skeleton carrying a random sword, shield, helmet and some gold.
- An orichalcum ore vein beside a juniper tree, and an unlocked chest on a ledge across a gap.
- Two claw doors: the Emerald Claw (Bear, Whale, Snake) opens a long hallway of doors with no enemies or traps; the Ivory Claw (Hawk, Hawk, Dragon) opens the last one.
- An altar for the three amulet fragments, and the ghosts of Gauldur’s three sons waiting to fight you one after another.
- Plenty of alchemy ingredients, especially Namira’s rot, fly amanita, bleeding crown and imp stool, plus some white cap, blisterwort and juniper berries.
Quests
Forbidden Legend – Place the fragments on the altar in any order and the brothers appear. Mikrul summons draugr that die along with him. Sigdis teleports and creates three copies of himself – the real one has horns pointing out to the sides, while the fakes’ horns point straight up. Jyrik switches elemental affinity each time he teleports. Beat all three and Gauldur’s ghost reforges the amulet for you.
Notable items
- The Gauldur Amulet, reforged at the end of the quest.
- The Emerald Dragon Claw.
- Gauldur’s casket on the upper platform, holding his remains and a pile of gold.
- A boss chest behind a door that opens as you leave.
Tips
The ledge chest is out of jumping range, but one word of Whirlwind Sprint gets you there – try standing on the broken decoration next to the dead adventurer, or on the branches of his tree, and aim just right of and above the chest. During the boss fights you can stay hidden the whole time, and the ghosts’ souls can be trapped. Sigdis is a famous Sneak trainer: his clones have less health, killing them with one sneaky melee hit keeps you hidden, and you can farm the big sneak-attack bonus again and again.
Good to know
Follow the river north-west from the exit, toward Kolskeggr Mine, and you will find an abandoned rowboat with a locked strongbox, an apothecary’s satchel, a soul gem, an emerald and a flawless diamond. A chest with gold sits in the water beside it.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Reachwind Eyrie, Reachcliff Cave, Karthspire, Karthspire Camp, Kolskeggr Mine.
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.
