Shimmermist Cave is a short, linear cave northeast of Whiterun, and it is only the front porch of a bigger Falmer network that continues into Shimmermist Grotto. Parts of the ceiling are crusted with blue and white glowing deposits, which makes it one of the prettier places in the hold to get stabbed by a Falmer. People mostly come here because a radiant quest sent them, or because their alchemy pouch is running low.
What you’ll find
- Three main rooms. The first has a natural rock bridge over a pool with a small waterfall, plus a leveled critter on patrol – often a skeever or a frostbite spider.
- The lookout chamber. A larger cave with a single Falmer watching from the upper level, and a trip wire hooked to a claw trap at the entrance.
- Dead bandits in a small alcove below, with a chest and a tent on the way up, and a rock on the north edge of the upper level piled with Falmer weapons, helmets and chaurus eggs.
- A Dwarven room at the end, guarded by another Falmer and, depending on your level, a Dwarven Centurion standing in stasis.
- A chest just left of the tunnel into Shimmermist Grotto.
- Plenty of ingredients, mostly glowing mushrooms and more chaurus eggs in the connecting grotto.
Quests
- Possible location for “Family Heirloom”.
- Possible target for the Companions radiant quests “Rescue Mission” and “Trouble in Skyrim”.
- A handy source of Falmer blood for Discerning the Transmundane.
- Possible location for “Shalidor’s Insights”.
Tips
Watch your feet in the second chamber – that trip wire is the cave’s idea of a welcome mat. If you only care about what is at the very end, Whirlwind Sprint from the waterfall room reportedly lets you skip most of the system and land in the last room of Shimmermist Grotto. Bring a sneak build or a bow for the lone Falmer on the upper ledge, and leave room in your bag for mushrooms and eggs. Note that the Falmer, chaurus, the Centurion and the loot in the grotto respawn over time, so the cave is a reusable pantry; the mushrooms, according to players, may not grow back.
Good to know
Whiterun guards sometimes mention spotting a nasty little creature heading northeast toward Shimmermist Cave. Given who lives here, it is a safe bet they saw a Falmer on a day trip.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Graywinter Watch, The Ritual Stone, Fellglow Keep, Whitewatch Tower, Battle-Born Farm.
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.
