Bloated Man's Grotto is a cave located in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It is a small area surrounded by short cliffs that consists of a Shrine of Talos and a circular pathway that wraps around the back of the cave to the entrance. It can easily be reached from Riverwood by walking across the White River to the northwest, past Anise's Cabin and through Brittleshin Pass, then heading due west.
Background
After the Thalmor attacked Cloud Ruler Temple, Acilius Bolar was the only known survivor of the attack. From there, he traveled north to Skyrim, eventually ending up in the Grotto.
However, he was pursued by the Thalmor and as such, to prevent the Thalmor from "desecrating" the shrine, went to "face his death with honour".[1] This suggests he left the grotto and hoped that if the Thalmor killed him, then they would not enter the grotto and be unable to destroy the shrine to Talos.
Quests
Find Runil's Journal
Runil asks to find his journal, which may be here as a possible location for Runil's Journal.
Ill Met by Moonlight
The grotto acts as the main setting for the Daedric Quest. Sinding will escape here from the prison in Falkreath, and can either be spared or killed by the Dragonborn.
Shalidor's Insights
One of the chests inside is a possible location for a scroll.
Notable items
- Bolar's Oathblade - A unique Blades sword.
- Bolar's Writ - The final note left by Bolar, the last Blade who survived the attack on Cloud Ruler Temple.
- Four chests:
- After entering into the main part of the cove, there are waterfalls to the Dragonborn's immediate right. A locked chest is hidden behind a dead, hollowed out trunk on a ledge before the first waterfall.
- An unlocked chest is hidden at the bottom of the small water pool, under the initial waterfall.
- An unlocked chest can be found in the built-up area, in front of the Shrine of Talos and statue.
- A master-locked chest is hidden on a ledge down the path to the left of the entrance inside the grotto. The area is marked by a dead Deer. There are sometimes two wolves standing near the dead deer and the chest will be due east of them.
- Four hawk's nests:
- Near the top of the central rocky peak, due south of the Shrine of Talos.
- Due west of [1], near the end of a rocky outcropping.
- Further south from [1], is another nest resting on the inaccessible mountains.
- Northwest from [3], is another nest on the surrounding mountains.
- One gold ore vein:
- Hidden next to a large waterfall, on top of the rocks.
Enemies
- Cave Bears
- Spriggan Matron (Possible)
- Spriggans
- Sabre Cat
- Wolves
- Silver Hand (Possible during Ill Met By Moonlight)
Alchemy ingredients
Gallery
.jpg "Bloated Man's Grotto (Chest 2).jpg (67 KB)")
.jpg "Bloated Man's Grotto (Chest 3).jpg (172 KB)")
Trivia
- A bottle of Skooma can be found on a dead Nord's body, hidden behind Bolar's Oathblade.
- In the quest Ill Met By Moonlight, the moon is actually red, as it is Hircine's Bloodmoon.
- Using the Detect Life spell inside the cove shows all hostile characters as friendly until they are approached.
Bugs
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This section contains bugs related to Bloated Man's Grotto. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:
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- After the quest is complete, the area may not be marked as cleared.
- PC 360 PS3 Sinding may respawn.
- PC Sometimes if the cave is re-entered after completing the quest "Ill Met by Moonlight", the cave will still be part of Hircine's realm and there may be a point where further progress into the grotto is blocked as though there is an invisible wall. To exit the cave, simply walk back towards the entrance.