Skyrim:Lost Echo Cave

Cave: Lost Echo Cave (view on map)
# of Zones	1
Clearable	Yes
Dungeon	Yes
Respawn Time	10 days or 30 days
Level	Min: 8
Occupants
Falmer, Chaurus
Important Treasure
2920, Morning Star, v1
Console Location Code(s)
LostEchoCave01
Region
Falkreath Hold (see bugs)
Location
West of Solitude South of Steepfall Burrow
Ore Veins
# of Quicksilver	1

Lost Echo Cave

Lost Echo Cave is a small cave west of Solitude containing Falmer and chaurus. It contains only one zone, Lost Echo Cave.

Related Quests

• Double-Edged^CC: Determine the fate of a Thalmor agent.

• This location is one of many potential targets for one or more of the Radiant quests.

Walkthrough

Exterior

The cave is on the road west of Fort Hraggstad near where it turns to the south. Piles of stones mark stone steps from the road up to the entrance, which unusually for a cave, is a wooden door with lit candles on either side and a statue to the right.

Lost Echo Cave

The ceremonial brazier

At first sight, the cave seems to consist of only two chambers. When entering, you pass through a narrow tunnel dimly lit by numerous glowing mushrooms which leads to a misty chamber with a haunting aura. A large urn can be found within amidst scattered remains of clay containers. There a tunnel on the north side of the room that leads to the second chamber. Upon entering there is an altar on the eastern wall between two torches with numerous items including a random suit of armor, gauntlets, a helmet, a war axe, a dagger, as well as three burial urns, a silver necklace, the book Old Tome, and a copy of the One-handed skill book 2920, Morning Star, v1. In the rubble to the southwest behind the large pillar is a partially buried burial urn. Near the altar is also a ceremonial brazier, which can be activated by burning a glowing mushroom in it. This opens a nearby hidden door. There are many mushrooms found growing on the cave walls throughout the cave system, as well as several hanging moss and a patch of fly amanita fungus growing in one of the tunnels.

Once you have opened the hidden door to the east, the tunnel leads to another chamber containing two leveled Falmer, at least one of which is a magic-user. The chamber contains two Falmer tents, and a fenced area with chaurus egg sacs and three loose chaurus eggs. One of the tents is on a ledge above you; to reach it, head towards the next passage, then turn left behind the large pillar on the left to find a ramp up. Inside the tent is a Falmer weapon, and to the right is a Falmer chest. The other tent is to the right of the passage and has a gate. It contains four loose glowing mushrooms. To the right of this tent is a quicksilver ore vein; among the rocks to the right of the vein is an unlootable skeleton with a coin purse and a random potion. Along the next passage is a Falmer nest on the left-hand wall, which houses a Falmer that will jump out as you approach. Just after the nest is a side tunnel heading south.

Take care as you pass through the side tunnel, as there is a tripwire around a corner at the bottom of a slope that triggers a claw trap from the left. There is also a leveled magic-using Falmer. At the end, past an open gate, are the bodies of a dead bandit and a dead Imperial, with an unlocked Falmer chest beside them. Back in the main passage, there is another Falmer nest with a leveled Falmer inside. Around the next corner are two more nests, both containing Falmer. On the left is a brightly lit spot with rocks that can be climbed and a hole in the ceiling with some hanging moss growing; under this hole, on the rocks, is a large coin purse, a satchel, and a random fortify skill potion.

The passage opens into the final area, where two chaurus, a leveled chaurus hunter^DG, and a leveled Falmer are all near each other, leading to another challenging fight. Once these enemies are dealt with, there are many chaurus egg sacs, a Falmer nest, and a tent with a gate containing an unlocked Falmer chest. There are plenty of human bones scattered around, and a satchel containing some minor loot lying next to the remains of a human rib cage along the western wall. To the left of the tent is a short tunnel with a handle on the left that opens another concealed door at the end, providing a shortcut back to the first chamber.

Bugs

• Although Lost Echo Cave is geographically located within the borders of Haafingar, in the game data it is identified as being within Falkreath Hold. This means you may be sent here for Falkreath quests, but not for Haafingar quests.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.2.1, fixes this bug.
• It is possible to enter the cave with the sliding rock doorways already open rather than closed, so when you offer the glowing mushroom in the ceremonial brazier, it results in the doors closing rather than opening. Subsequent reactivation of the ceremonial brazier will not cause the rock doors to open. If this happens, you will need to leave the cave and reenter. ^?