Skyrim:Morvunskar

It is currently occupied by leveled warlocks. Its tactical position is evidenced by its view of Windhelm to the northeast and Kynesgrove to the southeast, and also by the large number of main roads that can be seen from its towers. Misty Grove is accessed here during the quest A Night To Remember.
 

Related Quests
 
 
 
 

Walkthrough
Exterior
The entrance tunnel through the southern wall has a pressure plate near the beginning that activates four different flame spouts, starting from the far end and moving towards the plate. Upstairs in a small courtyard are three bed rolls beneath wooden shelters around a campfire. The door to the interior of the fort is to the west of the fire, and there is a chest by the bed roll to the north.

There are five mages guarding the exterior of the fort. The first can be seen in a wooden guard tower above the entrance tunnel, while two others patrol the first courtyard. The fourth patrols the stairs up to the camp, and the fifth is sitting in a chair by the fire. The warlocks have a high detection level, making a stealthy approach difficult, though the fort can be accessed from the western side due to landslides that have made the ground level with the height of the walls.

Morvunskar
thumb|left|The forge
thumb|right|The kitchen
thumb|left|Looking across to the throne
thumb|right|Looking down to Naris the Wicked
thumb|right|The Statue of Dibella
There are unusually large numbers of alto wine, empty wine, and wine bottles in the fort.

If you go silently to your right after entering, you will overhear two mages having a conversation in a room to the northwest:

Mage #1: "They drink all day and night and what do I do?" 
Mage #2: "You work the forge." 
Mage #1: "I work the forge."  
Mage #1: ''"Why do they need me to do this? We use magic, not weapons. I swear they make me do this for a laugh. At least I'm not dealing with the prisoners down below." 
Mage #2: "Yeah, I don't know how I feel about what goes on down there." 
Mage #1: "I bet Naris gets a kick  . Nasty fella he is." 
Mage #2: "You better quiet down before you end up there. Then I'd have to work the forge."

The room the mages are in contains a forge, a workbench, a bed, and on the table, three iron ingots, two pieces of iron ore, a piece of silver ore, and a copy of the Smithing skill book Cherim's Heart''. The door beside this room is barred from the other side. The room opposite the main entrance is the kitchen, and contains a cooking pot over a campfire, a tanning rack, and a woodcutter's axe; hanging from several racks are a bunch of dried frost mirriam, a bunch of dried elves ear, two garlic braids, three rabbits, three pheasants, and four salmon.

In the middle of the entrance room are two fire braziers that mark the onward path, which is down some steps and through an unlocked door. There is a hanging moss growing on the left of the stairs. Beyond the door is a narrow passage that turns twice before ending at another wooden door. Through the door is a wide passage, with a small wooden table on the left holding a medium coin purse, a bottle of wine, and six loose gold coins. Opposite the table is a small end table with a small mead barrel on top.

At the end of the passage are stairs leading down into a large chamber with several hostile mages. To the left before a pile of rubble ahead to the north is a pressure plate that activates flame spouts from the left wall. The chamber is in two sections, with several pillars throughout. A wide flight of double stairs on the right leads up to the boss mage and another mage. There are four troll skulls between the double flight of stairs, and at the top two chairs on raised sections with more stairs leading up to them act as improvised thrones. Beside the higher of the two chairs is a small end table, and to the left is an unlocked chest. (Note: A portal to Misty Grove appears to the right of the thrones if you are on the quest A Night To Remember. The area affected by the portal to Misty Grove is larger than its physical appearance, and may extend even to the small storeroom below the throne area. If the portal is active, you will therefore need to hug the left wall and proceed slowly towards the end table and chest to avoid being transported.) Near the bottom of the double stairs is a set of shelves that have been knocked over leaning against the side of the stairs by a pillar; the shelves hold many empty wine bottles and bottles of wine.

The left-hand side of the chamber has several small tables and chairs, quite a few of which have been overturned. Another mage patrols this area. Against the west wall is a set of shelves holding six common books, a random potion of healing, and a food sack. To the north is an opening leading into another passage, with a doorway under the stairs nearby to the east leading into a small storeroom containing a novice-locked chest, an adept-locked strongbox, and two food barrels. The passage to the north has a pressure plate that triggers a spiked gate from the right. Just after this trap is a T-junction, with passages leading to the right and straight ahead. Ahead are two bedrooms. The bedroom on the left contains a long wooden table against the south wall with an arcane enchanter built in, an unowned double bed against the north wall with an end table to the right, and a set of shelves to the left holding twelve common books and a random filled soul gem. The bedroom on the right contains two unowned single beds and a small square wooden table. Taking the passage to the right brings you past several stacks of unusable barrels; around the corner, a mage is sitting at a table on the left. Beside the table is a sideboard holding four more common books, and a second table and chairs.

The passage then turns to the west, with a novice-locked door on the east wall, and another room ahead containing three unowned bed rolls, a Shrine of Dibella, two end tables, and a round wooden table holding two bottles of alto wine. On the end tables are two leather strips and a leveled potion of invisibility, respectively. Through the novice-locked door is a flight of stairs leading down to Naris the Wicked and the results of his "experiments". You may even overhear some of his comments about his experiments, such as the "...sweet smell of burnt flesh." He is standing in front of a wooden gated cell, with six burnt corpses among some burning coals inside. The lever to open the gate is on the wall to the left. Also to the left is an unlocked chest, and to the right is a set of shelves and a round wooden table holding a copy of the Destruction skill book Mystery of Talara, v3 and a leveled poison.

The passage turns to the west, passing a table covered in blood holding a small coin purse and an iron dagger. Opposite the table is a set of shelves holding eight common books. From here the passage climbs and turns south. At the top is the barred door, providing a shortcut to the exit.

Notes
An iron ore vein can be found to the west of the path up to the fort.
A gold ore vein and a corundum ore vein are located to the west. To reach them, go west around the rocks from the bottom of the path to the fort, then head north until directly west of the Morvunskar map marker.
A Shrine of Talos is to the east of the main road towards Windhelm, with an assortment of weapons and items at its base.
There are 105 empty wine bottles scattered throughout the complex.
Poetic Justice can be served on Naris. If you activate the lever before he detects you, he will back into the torture room to give himself space to cast his spells. You can then close the gate and kill him at your leisure, or just leave him trapped there.
Morvunskar also appears in ESO.

Bugs
 
 
 On the PC, you can open the console and type   to toggle collision, then fly under the map just below where you enter Misty Grove to find a door that will take you back to Morvunskar.