Bloated Man's Grotto

Description
Bloated Man's Grotto is an open-sky cave that consists of a Shrine of Talos and a circular pathway that wraps around back to the entrance. It can easily be reached from Riverwood by walking across the river to the northwest, past Anise's Cabin and through Brittleshin Pass, then heading due west.

This is a possible location for the quest by Runil to find his journal. Runil tends to the graveyard in Falkreath. The journal can be found in the chest at the Shrine of Talos.

The cave acts as the main setting for the Daedric Quest Ill Met By Moonlight. One of the chests inside the grotto is a possible location for the quest ''Shalidor's Insights. ''

A special variant to the common Blades Sword may be found inside the grotto, called Bolar's Oathblade. However, it seems that under certain circumstances, the player may not be able to find it inside. After approximately one month of in-game time, the cave will have reset, thus solving this issue. If the cave happens to be the player's next location for one of Shalidor's Insights, the cave should reset in a similar fashion.

Enemies

 * Cave Bear
 * Spriggan
 * Spriggan Matron
 * Sabre Cat
 * Wolf
 * If doing Ill Met By Moonlight, a Werewolf named Sinding will be hiding there.
 * Silver Hand, possible during Ill Met By Moonlight.

Facilities

 * Shrine of Talos

Notable Loot

 * 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.
 * A Gold Ore Vein is hidden next to a large waterfall, on top of the rocks.
 * Four chests can be found in this area, even after it is changed during the Ill Met By Moonlight quest.
 * After entering into the main part of the cavern, there are waterfalls to the immediate right. A chest is hidden behind a dead, hollowed out trunk on ledge before the first waterfall.
 * A locked 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 Talos Shrine 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.
 * Skooma, found on a dead nord's body,(hidden behind Bolar`s Oathblade).

Bugs

 * After the quest is complete, the cave may not be marked as cleared
 * Sinding may respawn
 * Sometimes if one re-enters the cave after completing the quest Ill Met By Moonlight, there may be a point where one is unable to progress further into the cave as though as there is an invisible wall.  Also,  the cave can&apos;t be exited as well. Only fix so far is to reload a save outside the cave.

Appearances

 * The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim