Skyrim:Karthspire

Camp: Karthspire (view on map) (lore page)
# of Zones	1
Clearable	No
Dungeon	Yes
Respawn Time	Camp: 10 days (see notes) Cave: Never (storage is safe)
Level	Min: 14
Occupants
Forsworn, Hagraven
Important Treasure
A Dance in Fire, v2
Console Location Code(s)
KarthspireRedoubtExterior, KarthspireRedoubtExterior02, KarthspireRedoubtExterior03, KarthspireRedoubtExterior04, KarthspireCamp, KarthspireRedoubtStart, KarthspirePlateStart, SkyHavenTempleEntrance
Region
The Reach
Location
East of Markarth Northwest of Old Hroldan Inn
Special Features
# of Alchemy Labs	1
# of Tanning Racks	1
# of Forges/Anvils	1
# of Grindstones	1
# of Workbenches	1
Ore Veins
# of Iron	2
# of Quicksilver	1

Karthspire

Karthspire is a large Forsworn camp and cave east of Markarth. It contains only one zone, The Karthspire.

The area includes two map markers, "Karthspire Camp" and "Karthspire". The Karthspire, the cave near the latter marker, leads to the entrance to Sky Haven Temple, which can only be accessed after starting the quest Alduin's Wall.

Related Quests

• Alduin's Wall: Locate the prophecy within Sky Haven Temple.
• Crypt of the Heart^CC: Investigate rumors of a ghost that haunts the Karth River.^CC

Walkthrough

Exterior: Karthspire Camp

Forsworn camp

To reach the camp, head east on the main road from Markarth over the first bridge and past the path leading south to Dushnikh Yal. At the crossroads, continue east. After passing Reachwater Rock to the south, cross the next bridge heading east-southeast. Continue past an overturned cart until you come to another bridge on your left heading north-northwest. This leads directly to the camp.

The camp is sprawling and built on several levels, with the main level built on a series of wooden platforms over the Karth River linked via wooden bridges. It is extremely difficult to approach the camp or take out the individual Forsworn guards without alerting the whole camp. If you are at a low character level, consider avoiding the area entirely.

From the above direction, you will come to steps leading up onto the first platform. This is where you will appear if fast-traveling to this location. There is a tent on your left with a Forsworn inside sitting on a bench. In front of you is a pile of crates, barrels, and sacks. On one of the crates is an apothecary's satchel and a sample of jazbay grapes, and on a barrel is a medium coin purse. Be careful, as right by the tent opening is a hole in the wooden platform. In front of the tent the platform continues to the northwest, with a wooden bridge leading to the northeast. Under this bridge is a Nirnroot plant. Following the bridge you will come to a turning to the east. At this corner is another Forsworn. The path passes a set of stone stairs leading up to the higher levels of the camp. The first level has another Forsworn and two bastions overlooking the river in both the westerly and southerly directions. There are a tent and a lit brazier between them. The tent only contains a hay pile.

There is another wooden ramp by the top of the stone stairs leading to the highest level of the camp. To the right of the ramp is a barrel. At the top of the ramp you will find two more Forsworn, one of which is a magic user who specializes in frost magic. You also find a forge, a grindstone, and a workbench with an iron sword on top. To the right of the forge are three barrels, a hay bale, a sack, and an unlocked chest.

Hagraven camp

From the bottom of the stone steps the path continues to the east, passing between two lit braziers and leading to the hagraven and her camp. This consists of a tent containing an alchemy lab built in to a wooden table with two apothecary's satchels attached to the front edge and a boss level unlocked chest. On the alchemy lab are a blue mountain flower, an eye of sabre cat, and a sample of wheat. A campfire is lit in front of the tent. Farther to the east is a dead giant laid out on a rock with a bowl in front containing a bowl of void salts, an eye of sabre cat, and a giant's toe.

Back by the initial tent, just past the tent is a path heading southwest up a wooden ramp to a campfire guarded by a Forsworn. Beside the fire is a bench, and behind this is a hay pile. There is a flight of stone steps heading up to the south from this level; at the top of the steps are a Forsworn guard, campfire, and bench. The Karthspire is accessed from this level through the nearby cave entrance.

The main platform below continues over another wooden bridge to the northwest and branches off to the northeast. This part of the camp has two Forsworn guards and contains a tent, a large table and benches, a rack with three hanging salmon. To the right of the rack are two crates with a leveled warhammer and a draught of enhanced stamina. On top of the table is an apothecary's satchel. Inside the tent are a hay pile, four sacks, and a crate with a copy of the Block skill book A Dance in Fire, v2. Leaning against the crate is a hide shield. To the right of the tent are a crate and sack with two bottles of Nord mead on the crate, two benches, and a tanning rack. To the right of the tanning rack are two leather strips.

Continuing to the northwest from the junction over another wooden bridge is another Forsworn guard and a tent containing a hay pile, a barrel, three sacks, and a crate with a bottle of leveled poison on top. To the left of the tent are three more barrels and two crates with a woodcutter's axe leaning against them. On top of one barrel is a sample of lavender, on top of one crate is a leveled greatsword, and on top of another barrel are a canis root and a bulb of garlic. In front of these items to the west is a ramp leading down to the water.

The Karthspire

The campfire

Upon entering, you are in a natural cave with a campfire in front of you and a wooden ramp to the left of the fire which leads up to the main living area. Beside the campfire is a sleeping Forsworn guard and three bedrolls, and behind these is an iron ore vein. Following the ramp up, you will pass on your left a dresser with a potion of ultimate stamina and two random fear poisons. There are many food barrels around the cave, including two in the southeast corner, one of which has three gold coins on top. To the right of these barrels is a table with a chair and a small mead barrel and a fillet of salmon meat on top. There are two narrow wooden bridges across a small gap, and between these are a small table and chair; a Forsworn guard is sitting here.

Crossing one of the bridges, you will encounter the Forsworn Briarheart. There is a table next to a stone pillar holding a random potion, a thistle branch, a bowl of void salts, a bowl of frost salts, and a wooden plate containing a rock warbler egg and a canis root. There is a barrel next to the table with a lit lantern on top. There are three more bedrolls next to the north wall. In the southwestern corner is an unowned double bed, an unlocked chest, and a small table.

The wooden planking continues to the west and then turns to the north, then continues until you reach a table holding a leather strip. It then turns back to the west. The tunnel opens into a large open-roofed cavern. There are stairs on your right against the northeastern wall. On the wall, just before the stairs start, is a second iron ore vein. On the other side of the stairs is a juniper tree. Passing between two parts of a stone bridge structure, farther back into the cavern on the ground level, is a tree stump with a mora tapinella growing on it.

The puzzle pillars

At the top of the stairs are three rotatable pillars with unusual symbols. Unless you are here as part of the quest Alduin's Wall, or have already completed it, this is as far as you can go.

During this quest, you unlock the stone bridge and cause it to drop into place, allowing further progress to be made. There is a second juniper tree on the far side of the bridge, with stairs leading south into a tunnel. The tunnel turns to the west again and opens into a room full of pressure plate tiles on the floor. Follow the correct symbols to the pull chain that deactivates the traps and drops a second bridge heading north over the previous large open-roofed cavern. As you cross this second stone bridge, there is another juniper tree on your right on a lower ledge only accessible by dropping down onto it. There is nothing else of interest there. Continue to follow the path into another tunnel that turns to the west and up some more steps. It then turns south again, and you are now at the highest level within the large open-roofed cavern. The path forward heads west and opens into a large stone chamber with an unlocked chest in the middle and a quicksilver ore vein, which doesn't respawn. This is the entrance to Sky Haven Temple. You need to activate the blood seal to gain entrance.

Notes

• If the quest Alduin's Wall has been started, a dragon will spawn here.
• As the exterior camp does not have a Forsworn Briarheart, and the cave and its Briarheart don't respawn, Karthspire is the only Forsworn location that cannot be revisited to examine a Briarheart for Neloth as part of his quest Briarheart Necropsy.
• If you fast travel to Sky Haven Temple, you will arrive inside The Karthspire in front of the blood seal and the door to the temple.
• With the Unofficial Skyrim Patch v2.0.2 (or later) installed, the Forsworn in the camp will no longer respawn (details).

Gallery

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  The forge

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  The camp

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  The cave entrance