Skyrim:Highpoint Tower

Military Fort: Highpoint Tower (view on map)
# of Zones	1
Clearable	Yes
Dungeon	Yes
Respawn Time	Never (storage is safe)
Level	Min: 20
Occupants
Albino Spiders, Ash Spawn, Ash Guardian, Ildari Sarothril
Console Location Code(s)
DLC2HighpointTowerExterior01, DLC2HighpointTowerExterior02, DLC2HighpointTower01
Region
Solstheim
Location
East of Raven Rock North of Fort Frostmoth
Special Features
# of Alchemy Labs	1
# of Arcane Enchanters	2
# of Wood Chopping Blocks	2
# of Amethyst Geodes	1
# of Emerald Geodes	1
# of Ruby Geodes	2
# of Sapphire Geodes	4
Ore Veins
# of Orichalcum	3
# of Gold	1

Highpoint Tower

Highpoint Tower is a small fort east of Raven Rock containing albino spiders, ash spawn, and Neloth's former apprentice Ildari Sarothril. It contains only one zone, Highpoint Tower.

The fort will be inaccessible until after starting the quest Old Friends; before starting the quest, ash blocks the entrance.

Related Quests

• Old Friends: Find the source of attacks on Tel Mithryn.

Walkthrough

Exterior

Highpoint Tower chest

The fort is mostly buried under a mound of rock and ash, with only the broken tower still visible. Several scathecraw plants and trama roots grow in the area. Southwest of the tower is a heart stone deposit, with a large rock to the north that can be used to jump onto the top of the tower to access a chest. Northwest of the tower at the base of the hill is a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs is a tunnel guarded by two ash spawn leading to the entrance to the interior of the fort.

Highpoint Tower

The entrance leads into a circular room partly filled with ash, debris, and skeletal remains. On the ground is a steel dagger, a pair of iron gauntlets, three pieces of firewood, and a woodcutter's axe, with three food barrels partly buried in the ash to the west and southeast. To the south is a caved-in room containing four bottles of Nord mead, two fly amanita, and two empty barrels. To the southwest is a spiral stairwell descending to a landing featuring two chairs, a deer pelt, an open box containing a bottle of wine, a metal basin containing two pieces of firewood, a bucket containing four potatoes and a carrot, and an open chest containing a large coin purse, two small coin purses, and an empty common soul gem. Farther down the stairs, on the next landing is a chair and a table holding a random potion of stamina, another random potion, and Ildari's Journal, vol. I, in which she promises to exact revenge on her former master, Neloth.

At the bottom of the stairwell is a table holding two steel ingots, two food barrels, and two sacks, with a fish barrel, an empty barrel, another sack, and a cow hide near and beneath the table. To the northwest is a broken archery target, with two steel arrows embedded in the target and a quiver of steel arrows next to the target. To the southwest is a corridor leading deeper into the fort.

Exploding spider eggs

The corridor opens into a cave with several spider eggs on the southwest wall, one of which is an albino spider egg which can be looted for albino spider pods and damaged albino spider pods, and three of which are exploding spider eggs that will burst open to release flame spiders as you approach. On the ground is a pair of iron gauntlets to the right of the entry corridor, a steel sword in the middle of the cave, and a steel plate helmet next to a pillar to the west. To the southwest among the spider eggs are two tunnels from which two flame cloaked spiders and two albino spiders will emerge. To the north is a short set of stairs ascending to a spellcaster trap and another corridor from which two ash spawn will emerge.

More spider eggs

The two tunnels to the southwest both lead to a passage with a web sac, two albino spider eggs, and two ruby geodes along the walls, with a bottle of ale on the ground in the tunnel to the right. The passage is patrolled by an albino spider, and leads northwest past some clearable spiderwebs to another cave. To the northwest is a natural ramp descending to a lower level, with a pair of iron gauntlets, a steel dagger, and a small coin purse on the ground at the top of the ramp. To the left of the ramp are two sapphire geodes, and to the right of the ramp is an imp stool and an amethyst geode (the only such geode in the game). To the west at the back of the cave is a set of small antlers, an albino spider egg, an imp stool, an emerald geode, and another natural ramp descending to the lower level. On the lower level are two exploding spider eggs which will release jumping frost spiders, an albino spider egg, a piece of iron armor, a pair of iron boots, and a steel battleaxe.

Returning to the first cave, the corridor to the north with the spellcaster trap leads past a food barrel and two sacks among some rubble to a doorway on the left. Beyond the doorway is a circular room. In the middle of the room is a sack next to some scaffolding. To the southwest is a naturally lit alcove beneath a hole to the outside, with a birds' nest containing a pine thrush egg on the rocks. To the northwest are some ash piles from which two ash spawn will rise, with an open chest containing a strong box partly buried in the ash. To the northeast is a set of shelves holding two leather strips, a drum, and a deer pelt, with a sack and four iron ingots in front of the shelves and an unusable anvil to the left of the shelves.

Returning to the corridor, the path continues northeast past an empty barrel, a spellcaster trap, and a bottle of wine to a doorway flanked by four pieces of firewood and a sack on a pair of crates. Beyond the doorway is a circular room rigged with a tripwire that triggers a falling boulders trap, with an elemental rune trap in the middle of the room. A wooden bridge crosses above from southwest to northeast, with a cage containing a lootable skeleton hanging from the bridge. To the north is a torture rack and an arcane enchanter holding three empty soul gems, with a basket containing a pair of leather boots beneath the enchanter. To the southeast is a bloody wooden block with a woodcutter's axe on top. To the east is another corridor which continues past an open box containing a pickaxe, a food barrel, and two sacks and a cow hide among a pair of crates to a junction. An elemental rune trap is on the wall ahead, and the path branches to the north and south.

Niyya

To the south is a doorway and a crate with a salt pile, a charred skeever hide, and a random book on top, with a sample of wheat in front of the crate. Beyond the doorway is a small room containing three prison cells. In the middle of the room is a chair and a small round table holding Ildari's Journal, vol. II, which chronicles her plans to experiment on the miners. On the ground next to the table is a lootable skeleton. The cells to the south and east are novice-locked and contain only skeletal remains, while the cell to the west is adept-locked and contains a hay pile and a prisoner named Niyya. If you release her, she will briefly describe recent events before running to escape.

Chest on the ceiling

Returning to the junction, to the north among some rubble is a candlestick, a steel war axe, a medium coin purse, a Namira's rot, and a set of fine clothes. Above the rubble is an open chest embedded upside-down in the ceiling containing a large coin purse, a small coin purse, and a flawless diamond; the chest's contents can be obtained by careful use of Telekinesis or an explosive spell to scatter them. The path turns east to a wooden ramp descending to a wooden walkway above a natural passage. To the right on the walkway is a crate with a leg of goat and a bottle of Nord mead on top, with an open box containing another bottle of Nord mead next to the crate. The walkway continues to two orichalcum ore veins on the east and west walls.

At the bottom of the ramp, the passage turns north and leads past a broken cart containing a knapsack and then leads into a cave. In the middle of the cave is a pillar surrounded by scaffolding and a ramp, with a gold ore vein at the base of the pillar, a sapphire geode at the top of the pillar, and a broken cart containing two pieces of firewood and a woodcutter's axe beneath the ramp. To the east is an orichalcum ore vein. To the west is another sapphire geode. To the northwest is an opening leading to a larger cave.

Ash guardian device

The large cave features a platform surrounded by three pillars capped with white lights, with scaffolding and ramps ascending to a pair of damaged towers. As you enter the cave, Ildari will appear at the top of the tower to the northwest and criticize Neloth for sending a "low life" to finish her off. The pillars will then spark to life and cause an ash guardian to appear on the platform. A couple more steps into the room will cause five ash spawn to rise.

To the northwest behind the platform is a ledge with a Namira's rot. To the west is an archway, the top of which can be accessed by climbing the nearby rubble or with a single word of Whirlwind Sprint from the wooden platforms. On the archway is an empty cart, a wood chopping block, a woodcutter's axe, five pieces of firewood, a wood pile, a philter of strength, and an open box containing a sample of lavender, a filled black soul gem, and a copy of Souls, Black and White.

Beyond the archway is a small cave containing four white caps, three imp stools, two blisterwort, two Namira's rot, and a fly amanita, with a pair of iron boots on the ground to the east. In the middle of the small cave is some scaffolding. At the base of the scaffolding is a sample of bleeding crown and a sample of imp stool on a crate, an open box containing four random hats, a wedding wreath (one of only two in the game), a gold jeweled necklace, a silver emerald necklace, and a small coin purse, and a cart containing two goat cheese wheels, two loaves of bread, a red apple, two bottles of alto wine, and a bottle of wine.

Returning to the large cave, near the bottom of the ramp southwest of the ash guardian platform is a basket containing six blue mountain flowers and three rock warbler eggs. The ramp ascends to the top of the first tower, with a barrel of fish to the left and an open chest under the next section of the ramp to the right containing a random potion of invisibility, a set of small antlers, a thistle branch, a bowl of spriggan sap, and two bowls of bone meal. To the south partly buried in ash is a food barrel, an empty barrel, an empty open chest, a basket containing a pair of leather boots, and a crate with an apothecary's satchel and a random book on top. The ramp continues to ascend past an open box containing a deer pelt to a walkway crossing to the top of the other tower.

On top of the other tower, to the east is an alchemy lab holding two bowls of bone meal, with a bowl containing a giant's toe to the left of the lab and a bowl containing two samples of hawk feathers and a hawk beak to the right of the lab. To the left of the alchemy lab is a chair and a small round table holding a strong box and Ildari's Journal, vol. III, in which she describes her plans for Neloth. To the southwest are three sets of shelves holding a snow fox pelt, a beehive husk, a sample of frost mirriam, four soul gem fragments, two empty petty soul gems, a torchbug thorax, two bulbs of garlic, a sample of snowberries, a sample of tundra cottom, a random potion of healing, a random potion of magicka, a random potion of stamina, a bowl of glow dust, a loaf of bread, an Eidar cheese wheel, a flawless sapphire, a ruby, three blue mountain flowers, a red apple, two bowls of fire salts, two empty common soul gems, two chaurus eggs, and a copy of Ahzidal's Descent. To the northwest is another ramp. Beneath the ramp is a narrow table holding a bottle of alto wine and a random book, a goat hide, a food barrel, a fish barrel with a piece of bread and an Eidar cheese wedge on top, a crate with a wolf pelt on top, and a basket containing a gourd.

Ash spawn

The ramp connects to a natural passage leading southwest past two sacks and three turns to a ledge along the wall to the right, where an ash spawn will attack and three more will rise from the ground. At the top of the ledge is a lootable skeleton, a Skaal coat, a Skaal hat, a pair of Skaal boots, a pair of Skaal gloves, and a strong box. The passage continues to a hole in the wall of the fort, with a bleeding crown to the left.

Ildari

Beyond the hole is a northeast-southwest corridor. To the northeast is an empty barrel and a cave-in, with an open chest among the rubble containing two random poisons, an iron helmet, and an imp stool. To the southwest is the wooden bridge crossing over the tripwire room to a twisting corridor leading past a sack and a crate with a leather strip on top. The corridor continues to the lower level of a room, with Ildari and two spellcaster traps on the upper level opposite the entry. She is a powerful mage armed with a staff of lightning bolts. Deplete her health until she kneels and cannot be damaged further; this is your opportunity to rip the heart stone from her chest. Once the heart stone is removed, she will drop dead.

On the lower level of the room, in the north corner opposite the entry is a wood chopping block, a crate with a woodcutter's axe and two pieces of firewood on top, and a wood pile. Along the southeast wall is a raised platform with an open box containing a sample of elves ear, a bowl of fire salts, and a bowl of bone meal, a crate with a troll skull on top, an open chest containing a deer pelt, an arcane enchanter, a sack, an open box containing an empty common soul gem, a food barrel with a set of small antlers and a sample of juniper berries on top, and an ingredient barrel. Next to the pillar on the platform is an empty lesser soul gem, a crate with a random book on top, and an ingredient barrel with a bowl of bone meal on top. Southwest of the platform is a doorway leading to the stairs ascending to the upper level.

Still on the lower level of the room, along the northwest wall under Ildari's area is a kettle containing an iron helmet and a pair of iron boots, two crates, one of which has a deer pelt on top, and a bleeding crown growing between the crates. Along the southwest wall is a sideboard holding two sacks, a leather strip, and a cow hide, with three more sacks to the left of the sideboard. Next to the pillar near the sideboard is a crate with a leg of goat on top, four sacks, and two food barrels, one of which has a bowl of frost salts on top. Near the pillar is a wooden block, two pieces of firewood, and an open box containing an iron sword, a silver ring, and a small coin purse, with a cage containing a lootable skeleton hanging from the ceiling.

On the upper level of the room, along the southeast wall is a balcony with a dead rabbit and a bunch of dried frost mirriam hanging from a rack, a fireplace, with a chair, a bottle of wine, and two pieces of firewood in front of the fireplace, two pheasants and a garlic braid hanging from a rack, a crate with a deer pelt on top, and a doorway blocked by spears. A stone bridge crosses to the northwest to Ildari's area. In the west corner is a raised platform with a small table holding a dragon's tongue flower and a bowl of glow dust, a boss chest, a set of shelves holding a fox pelt, a random potion of healing, a diamond, an emerald, a garnet, a sample of hawk feathers, and a random potion of magicka, and an orange dartwing on a short stone pillar at the edge of the platform. Along the northwest wall is a sack and a basket containing four samples of wheat. In the north corner is another raised platform with a small round table, a wall shelf holding an empty greater soul gem, a single bed, a bottle of wine, an Eidar cheese wedge, and a rabbit haunch next to and beneath the bed, and two nightshade flowers and a deathbell flower on two short stone pillars at the edge of the platform.

The lever to lower the spears to the southeast is next to the bridge. Beyond the previously blocked doorway is a stairwell ascending past a candlestick and an empty open chest to a concealed door with a pull chain to the left. Beyond the door is the caved-in room near the entrance.

Notes

• If you trigger the falling boulders in the circular room and release Niyya without clearing all the boulders from her path, she is likely to die from damage caused by coming into contact with the boulders and not escape from the tower.
• When attacked in melee, one of the ash spawn in the final group may attempt to retreat, running all the way to Ildari. If the two spellcaster traps near Ildari have not been disabled, the explosions triggered by the ash spawn will dislodge the soul gems on the traps, disabling them.
• The rare Telvanni robes can be looted from Ildari Sarothril. Neloth wears a set as well, but you can only obtain Ildari's.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch, version 2.0.9, fixes this bug.

Gallery

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  Elemental rune trap

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  Gold ore vein and sapphire geodes