Skyrim:White River Watch

Cave: White River Watch (view on map)
# of Zones	1
Clearable	Yes
Dungeon	Yes
Respawn Time	10 days or 30 days
Level	Range: 6-10
Occupants
Bandits, Wolf
Console Location Code(s)
WhiteRiverWatchExterior01, WhiteRiverWatchExterior02, WhiteRiverWatchExterior03, WhiteRiverWatch01
Region
Whiterun Hold
Location
East-northeast of Honningbrew Meadery Southwest of the Ritual Stone
Special Features
# of Alchemy Labs	1
# of Cooking Pots/Spits	1
# of Wood Chopping Blocks	1
Ore Veins
# of Iron	1

Entrance to White River Watch

White River Watch is a small cavern located east-northeast of Honningbrew Meadery and southwest of the Ritual Stone. The cave is home to the White River bandits. It has an exterior camp and two interior zones: White River Watch and White River Overlook.

Related Quests

• Amulet of the Moon: Find the Moon Amulet for Kharjo. (radiant)
• Dungeon Delving: Do a favor by retrieving an item from a bandit hideout. (radiant)

NOTE: Some radiant quests have a sizeable list of possible locations. These quests are not placed on individual place pages, and are instead listed at radiant quest locations.

Notes

• Eisa Blackthorn and Ra'jirr are former members of the White River gang. Eisa's journal tells how they choose to leave, and their adventures afterward.
• Whiterun guards will alert you to this location with the comment, "Careful if you cross the river to the east. Old Hajvarr Iron-Hand and his brigands are holed up in that cave, White River Watch."
• Carriage drivers will also alert you to it's location with the comment, "Got keen eyes? Might see nasty old Hajvarr up on White River Watch. Piece of work. Jarl should just run him out and have done with it."
• If you kill the two bandits that come to Ulfr's aid, and then sheathe your weapon, he'll stop fighting and return to the table where he was sitting.

Walkthrough

Exterior

Outside the cave there are two bandits. The two bandits positions make it very hard to approach the caves stealthily. The first bandit stands guard near a campfire and overlooks the dirt path, and the second bandit stands higher up, near the entrance to the cave. In the bushes to the left just before the campfire is a bear trap. The first bandit carries a note which warns Rodulf to stop making a fool of his uncle. On the other side of the bushes is a purple mountain flower, and on the opposite side of the path is a blue mountain flower.

There is a cooking pot hanging over the campfire. On the table by the campfire is a leaf of frost mirriam, a cabbage, a sliced goat cheese wheel, a garlic bud, and two leek stalks. There is a novice-locked chest just north of the fire. By the cliff face to the south is a wood chopping block and another purple flower.

Zone 1: White River Watch

When you enter Ulfr the Blind asks you to identify yourself after first thinking you are Rodulf, "Eh? Who's there? Rodulf, that you?" If you try to pass yourself off as Rodulf he will advise you to go and talk to the boss, "Boss was looking for you - said he'd be up at the summit. Better not keep him waiting." He will return to "reading" his book, which is actually blank, if you talk to him he will offer some encouragement, "Good luck out there." If you threaten him, he will call out for help, "Hey! Somebody get down here! Help!" This will make two bandits spawn in the next room: they will not appear otherwise.

To the right of the entrance is a pile of sacks, barrels, and boxes. Mixed in with them are two bleeding crown plants, two dried elves ears, and one plant of each of the following: fly amanita, imp stool, namira's rot, and white cap. In the next room the shelves immediately to the left contain some fur armor, and there are ten iron arrows on a barrel beside that. Throughout the room there are nine imp stool, and eight white cap plants. Also, on the table beside the large candle-holder, there is a fur helmet.

As you pass through the tunnel to the next section you can overhear the end of a conversation between two rebellious bandits:

Bandit #1: "So, you in?"

Bandit #2: "...Yeah. We can't have that rheumy-eyed fool as our watchman, even if he is Hajvarr's uncle. Time we dealt with both of them."

Bandit #1: "We strike tonight, at dusk. Be ready."

Despite their bravado they never do act on their plans. These two bandits are near the campfire up the slope from the next section, while a third bandit, from even further along the caves, will be alerted if hostilities break out. There are five bed rolls in this next room, along with another fur helmet on a table by the entrance, an imp stool plant, and a namira's rot plant. Atop the slope is a bench and table, and on the table is a potion of minor stamina. On the shelves after the campfire is the book, An Explorer's Guide to Skyrim, and there is a pickaxe on top of the shelves. Under the rock slope further on is a chest.

On the higher ground is an alchemy lab: the third bandit previously mentioned was working here, and may still be, if you have been stealthy enough in your approach. On the crate beside the lab is a random leveled potion. At the other end of the tunnel is a stash of goods piled on a cupboard. There is a random quality helmet and shield, a pair of iron boots, and a lute. There is also a single plant of each of the following: bleeding crown, blisterwort, imp stool, namira's rot, and white cap. As you approach the white cap plant you will be able to overhear another conversation:

Bandit #3: "You think it'll work?"

Bandit #4: "'Course not. Dogs I could train. But a half-starved wolf? Not a chance."

Bandit #3: "Right. Lucky if it doesn't rip our throats out."

The conversation is between two bandits on the same level of the cave: there are another two bandits in the next room too. One is above the first two, and another is higher up and to the left, but is still within range to be alerted to your presence by the others. You can choose to attack them by yourself, or you can pull a chain on the right-hand wall that releases the aforementioned wolf. This provokes a response by the bandit closest the cage, "Look out! The wolf is loose!" This particular wolf is unique: it will attack the bandits first due to a particular faction, but it is still hostile to you.

Under a bush to the left by the entrance to this section is a white cap. Further along are two namira's rot, and inside the novice-locked cage is a Potion of Minor Healing and an imp stool, plus the wolf if you haven't released it. By the barrels under the rock slope is a blisterwort plant. Around the platform where the third bandit was standing, there are two imp stools, and three white caps. Climbing higher, you come to the area where the fourth bandit was. To the right there is an imp stool, a white cap, and on the shelves, a poison.

If you look southwest, over the area you have just come through, you should see a bandit in a cage hanging over the same area. Carefully climbing down the ledge in front of the cage should allow you to just reach the body which carries the same items as a normal bandit. On left-hand side of the path there is a bleeding crown, and on the right, a white cap, followed by a fly amanita. There is another fly amanita by the wardrobe across the way, and a bleeding crown by the brazier to the left. Beyond the three barrels there is a fly amanitia plant, and bleeding crown plant. There is also another pickaxe, which is handy for the iron ore vein located here. On a ledge beyond the vein there is a namira's rot and a fly amanita plant.

Along the path upwards there are three bleeding crowns on the left, and two fly amanitas, followed by a bleeding crown on the right.

Zone 2: White River Overlook

The overlook is aptly named, for it overlooks a great portion of the White River. From this area you can see a distance along the road to Whiterun, giving plenty of time to lay an ambush along the road. Hajvarr Iron-Hand sits here and keeps watch: he has also kept a journal on some of his thoughts, which he carries with him. He is always hostile and when he detects you he will attack. He also carries the unique ironhand gauntlets, which are a pair of steel Nordic gauntlets with a two-handed damage enchantment.

On the table where Hajvarr sits there is an leveled greatsword, an iron shield, a leveled potion of health, and a leveled potion of stamina. If you turn back towards the cave, there is a chest on one side of the wooden steps, and a snowberry plant on the other.

You can now either make your way back through the cave, or take the slightly more treacherous path over the rocks. It isn't too difficult to pick a path down if you head north along the rocks.