Oblivion:Sideways Cave

Notes
thumb|right|An Ayleid tablet
In all three zones of the cave you will find remains of previous, unlucky, explorers. 
In the ruin and around the lake you'll find Ayleid tablets which suggest that the city was destroyed by a "child of Meridia", probably by the flooding and extraordinary plant growth in and around the city. At the end, in the Abagarlas throne room, is the recently deceased body of a wealthy Altmer scholar who was most likely responsible for the tablets.
Picking up each tablet causes a message to pop up stating that "A hasty translation is scrawled here".  The three translations are:
"Stone-Settlers (builders?) not rest (wake?) Meridia.  Terror of the Most Terror. Haste to safehome."
"Fourth Star Hour (time?) Terror-of-the-Most-Terror of Meridia come (came?)."
"Meridia-child, Earth root power, sea wave like (earth like a flood?).  People-out (escape? present tense? imperative?)."
A half-collapsed shrine to Meridia can be found in the Ayleid Ruins.
The official Prima guide lists Sideways Cave in its Freeform Quests section as one of the more interesting dungeons and has this to say about the tablets:  "''Can you put it all together? The big picture is that, long ago, Ayleid settlers stumbled onto this grotto. They made it their own--in the end, too much their own. In doing so, they uncovered a forgotten shrine to the Daedra lord Meridia. Meridia's vengeance for this violation was swift: She crushed   with her stone roots and, incensed that some survivors escaped, buried the grotto almost entirely."
This cave contains 3 Cairn Bolete plants and 19 Wisp Stalk plants.
"Abagarlas" translates as "Forbidden Cavern" in Ayleidoon.
Abagarlas also appears in ESO''.

 

Exterior

The exterior is located at coordinates: Tamriel 12, 19
This location's map marker (M on map) is named Sideways Cave (editor name SidewaysCaveMapMarker).  The entrance door is SSE of the marker, 50 feet away.
0-1 Monster is near the entrance
0-2 Mud Crabs are near the entrance
1 Wilderness Creature (Plains variety) is near the entrance
The following plants can be found near the entrance: 1 Foxglove plant

 
Zone 1:
thumb|right|201px|Sideways Cave thumb|right|Sideways Cave
Sideways Cave resembles any other cave for its first section, with the corridor leading to a room with a large chasm. The plateau across the room can be reached by descending into the chasm (either by jumping below or walking down a formation of rocks). From there, a corridor leads to a room with a cave-in trap to the west and an opening to the east, which leads to two paths. The path on the northern side of the room leads to a dead deer, while the path to the east splits into two more corridors; one leading to the second plateau and the other to Sideways Cave - Hidden Lake. Follow the path to the plateau and you will find a corpse of a treasure hunter. Continue on to the plateau where a chest to the south lies buried underneath a heap of skeletons. Once done here, head on to Hidden Lake.

Occupants:
2 Imps
3-6 Monster Enemies (each 80% probability Monster, 20% Rat)
Treasure:
1 Chest 04
The following armor will always be found: 1 Fur Shield, 1 Iron Shield, and 1 Leather Shield
The following potions will always be found: 1 Potion of Healing
The following plants will always be found: 3 Cairn Bolete plants and 8 Wisp Stalk plants
Traps:
2 Cave In traps at location T on map
Doors and Gates:
There are two doors in/out of this zone
1 door (at Out) leads outside
1 door (at C) leads to the zone Sideways Cave - Hidden Lake
4 Rock Walls (opened remotely) at F, G, H, and I
Other:
1 Dead Treasure Hunter (carries light armor, one weapon, unenchanted loot) at location J on map

 

Zone 2:
thumb|right|270px|Sideways Cave - Hidden Lake thumb|right|Meridia's shrine thumb|right|Abagarlas entrance
While the previous section is unremarkable, Hidden Lake opens up into a fairly linear narrow chasm filled with shallow water. Broken boats and remnants of an Ayleid ruin litter the flooded chasm. The chasm soon becomes less narrow as it opens up into a large cavern with Ayleid arches and more ruins. On a large stone ring on the southern wall of the cavern is a cask and two skeletons (one of them underwater). Another cask lies in the middle of the cavern and another in the far northwestern corner of the cavern (mostly hidden by water; an Ayleid tablet lies a short way from the cask). Near this cask is a rock-covered statue of Meridia. The plateaus above are not meant to be reached and contain nothing of interest, but it is possible to get up there by way of a long root near the southwestern door to Sideways Cave - Lost Abagarlas (though high acrobatics might be necessary). A door leading from Lost Abagarlas is on a ledge overlooking the middle section of the chasm.

Occupants:
1 boss-level Monster at location A on map
3 Monsters
Treasure:
1 boss-level Ayleid Reliquary (Monster variety) at location B on map
1 Ayleid Cask 01
1 Ayleid Cask 02
The following plants will always be found: 11 Wisp Stalk plants
Doors and Gates:
There are three doors in/out of this zone
1 door (at C) leads to the zone Sideways Cave
2 doors (at D and E) both lead to the zone Sideways Cave - Lost Abagarlas
Other:
First Ayleid Tablet at location F on map: "[A hasty translation is scrawled here...] Meridia-child, Earth root power, sea wave like (earth like a flood?).  People-out (escape? present tense? imperative?)."

 

Zone 3:
thumb|right|274px|Sideways Cave - Lost Abagarlas thumb|right|Lost Abagarlas
The southwestern door from Hidden Lake opens into a partly destroyed corridor, where a second Ayleid tablet lies on the ground near a skeleton. The corridor then splits into two. The room to the south holds a few potions, but a cave-in trap prevents one with low Acrobatics from going up the stairs. The room to the north holds enemies and goes on downstairs to a pathway destroyed by roots. The pathway goes on, with stairs going up to a room which continues to the room with the cave-in trap. The last corridor, guarded by gates that open as you approach, leads to the last room, where a few casks, another Ayleid tablet, and a dead scholar can be found. A short corridor at the back of the room leads to a door which takes you back to a ledge in Hidden Lake.

Occupants:
1 boss-level Monster at location A on map
2 Imps
2-5 Monster Enemies (each 80% probability Monster, 20% Rat)
Treasure:
1 boss-level Ayleid Coffer (Monster variety) at location B on map
1 Ayleid Cask 02
The following potions will always be found: 2 Weak Potions of Healing
Traps:
1 Cave In trap at location T on map
Doors and Gates:
There are two doors (at E and D) in/out of this zone, both leading to the zone Sideways Cave - Hidden Lake
4 Iron Gates (opened remotely) at F, G, H, and I
Other:
Second Ayleid Tablet at location J on map: "[A hasty translation is scrawled here...] Fourth Star Hour (time?) Terror-of-the-Most-Terror of Meridia come (came?)."
Third Ayleid Tablet at L on map: "[A hasty translation is scrawled here...] Stone-Settlers (builders?) not rest (wake?) Meridia.  Terror of the Most Terror.  Haste to safehome."
1 Dead Scholar at K
5 bedrolls at b