Skyrim:Wolfskull Cave

The occupants of this cave vary depending upon whether or not the related quest, The Man Who Cried Wolf, is active. The normal cave occupants are bandits, but the bandits are replaced by necromancers and their companions during the quest. The cave's standard boss chest is also unavailable during the quest. The second half of the dungeon, including all of the Wolfskull Ruins zone, is only accessible if the quest has been started.

 
Related Quests

 

Walkthrough

Exterior
The path leads from the road to a rock face behind several bushes, including snowberry bushes. The cave entrance cannot be seen from the road. During the related quest, there are two skeletons guarding the entrance.

Above and just to the east of the entrance by two trees, there is a dead bandit, a large sack, and two random potions. To the right of the entrance, go up the slope and jump up the rocks to access the body, or climb down from the nearby Steed Stone.

One quicksilver ore vein is located outside, 200 feet west-northwest of the cave.

Wolfskull Cave
The entrance leads into a natural tunnel lit by lanterns and torches. A few paces in, an iron battleaxe lies on the ground. The first area has an empty cart, some bone chimes, and a pickaxe on the ground. There is a ledge high up on the right that will serve as your shortcut exit after completing the related quest.

Farther along, there is a second pickaxe, a bottle of alto wine, and several empty wine bottles next to a patch of blisterwort fungus. Shortly after, the path splits. The left-hand path descends, and is patrolled by a bandit (or a draugr during the quest). Taking the ascending right-hand path leads over the left-hand path and onto a ledge above a chamber. By a campfire in the chamber below to the left, there is another bandit (or two necromancers during the quest) that you can snipe. The chamber has a closed door.

Backtracking and taking the lower, left-hand path and following it into the same chamber, there are two more blisterwort and four fly amanita fungi along the passage and in the chamber. In front of the closed door, among both human and animal bones, is a woodcutter's axe and a pickaxe. Around the campfire are many more empty wine bottles, a rabbit haunch, two raw rabbit legs, a portion of grilled leeks, and a medium coin purse. There is also an empty metal kettle sitting in the fire.

Through the door is a flight of stairs leading down into another chamber containing two more bandits: one you can see to the right, while the other is farther to the right and out of sight. One of these is the boss. Off to the left is the boss chest.

During the quest, the boss chest has been removed. Instead, the chamber past the door contains a leveled necromancer to the right, and a draugr magic-user and either an atronach or a skeleton to the left, on the far side of a sinkhole. There is a hanging moss growing from the lip of the hole. The only way to continue is to drop into the hole. If you drop from the northwest side of the hole, it is possible to land partway down on a ledge with two burial urns. At the bottom of the sinkhole is some rubble, with a growth of imp stool fungus near the start of a passage heading down to the northwest into the ruins.

Wolfskull Ruins
There is a bleeding crown fungus at the start of this initial passage, and another on a wide ledge to the right overlooking a large cavern. A fort tower on the other side of the cavern has mystical energy weaving around it. The top of a shorter tower with a chest and potions is also visible from here. Many necromancers and draugr can be seen patrolling the fort and on the path beneath the ledge.

The passage continues downward, with more bleeding crown and fly amanita fungi, passing a pickaxe, then opening into a ruined chamber with two oil slicks on the ground and several oil lanterns hanging above. A necromancer patrols the area. This chamber contains another pickaxe, two blisterwort fungi, an iron ore vein, and a moonstone ore vein. At the bottom of the chamber, the exit doorway has bone chimes and chains hanging down. A hanging moss is growing down the wall to the right.

Three flights of stairs lead down, where a difficult draugr and necromancer are patrolling. There are five loose septims and a woodcutter's axe on the landing of the first flight of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs is a doorway entering the base of a tower.

A spiraling stone staircase in the tower leads up to a circular room guarded by a draugr. An oil slick covers the floor, and an oil lantern hangs from the ceiling above. An iron battleaxe is on the ground by a candlelit stand. Beside this is some masonry with a satchel under it, and a random poison of Aversion to Shock on it (although setting the oil on fire may cause the poison to scatter).

A doorway leads out of the tower onto a walkway, with stairs on the right leading down to another blisterwort fungus. Another draugr patrols the stairway leading upward.

Although difficult, it is possible to use the rocks on the left to jump onto the lip that runs around the battlements, and from there onto the tower you have just exited (seen from the initial ledge). An unlocked chest, a leveled potion of Healing, and a random poison of Aversion to Shock are on top of the tower. 

Ahead is a large arch with a highly leveled draugr and a necromancer standing guard on top of the wall. Beneath the arch, stairs on the far side lead upward. Several more hanging moss in this area hang from the walls.

The path turns left and climbs more stairs. At the top is another leveled necromancer and a draugr. There are some patches of Namira's rot growing on the ground. The path turns to the south, where there is another woodcutter's axe on the ground among human bones. The path leads out onto a platform level with the original ledge where you entered. Two draugr patrol this area.

The path continues to another doorway at the bottom of another tower. Two necromancers stand partway up the next flight of spiral stone stairs, and three more are at the top, including one named Ritual Master. Once they are all dealt with, there is a copy of the Light Armor skill book The Refugees on the ritual pentagram at the top of this tower. With Necromantic Grimoire Creation installed, a pedestal with a Necromancer's Ritual spell tome can be found here.

To the southeast, a lever to the left of a raised wooden bridge will lower it. Across the bridge is an unlocked boss chest at the top of yet another tower, with stairs leading down to a passage into a room with a random scroll in the corner. A wooden door takes you back to Wolfskull Cave and the shortcut previously mentioned above the empty cart near the entrance.

Notes
Shooting arrows over the summoning circle and over the large arch to the right of the highest tower can cause several of the necromancers and draugr to attack each other (but see Bugs below). Sometimes one or more of them will also converge on you, normally led by a highly leveled draugr who is initially standing on the wall over the large arch. 

Bugs
 
 
 
 The cave can be reverted to its clearable form after The Man Who Cried Wolf quest has been completed by opening the console and entering the code  .
  If you want to manually apply the "cleared" status, enter the following command in the console:  

Maps