Skyrim:Side Quests

Side quests are standard-length quests that are not part of a questline and are not Daedric quests. Completing side quests generally increases the "Side Quests Completed" statistic in your journal and counts toward the Sideways achievement.

Side quests are listed separately in your journal. Unlike miscellaneous quests, they are not subcategorized, and are logged in your journal after completion. Side quests can be identified by the side quest knotwork (pictured above left) displayed next to the quest title in your journal and on each quest's page on this wiki.

Quests are sorted below by their usual starting location.

Cities

Markarth

• No One Escapes Cidhna Mine: Escape from Cidhna Mine!
• The Forsworn Conspiracy: Investigate a murder in Markarth to discover a sinister plot surrounding the Forsworn.
• The Heart of Dibella: Find a new Sybil for the Temple of Dibella.
• The Lost Expedition: Recover the journals from the expedition in Nchuand-Zel.

Morthal

• Laid to Rest: Investigate a tragic house fire, and discover an insidious plot against the town.
• Rising at Dawn: Track down Falion to rid yourself of vampirism.

Raven Rock^(DB)

• A New Debt^DB: Help Drovas Relvi with his debt to Mogrul.
• Black Book: The Winds of Change^DB: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.
• March of the Dead^DB: Stop the ash spawn attacks on Raven Rock.
• Served Cold^DB: Save Councilor Morvayn from an assassination plot.
• The Final Descent^DB: Find out what happened to the great-grandfather of Crescius Caerellius.

Riften

• Promises to Keep: Help Louis Letrush get Frost from Sibbi Black-Briar.
• The Book of Love: Help the Temple of Mara spread the cause of love throughout Skyrim.
• Unfathomable Depths: Uncover the memories of the Dwemer.

Solitude

• Lights Out!: Help run a cargo ship aground.
• Tending the Flames: Unveil the truth about a deceitful King and become a member of the Bards College.
• The Man Who Cried Wolf: Investigate reports of strange happenings in Wolfskull Cave.
• The Wolf Queen Awakened: Potema must be stopped.

Whiterun

• In My Time Of Need: Find a Redguard woman who is on the run from Hammerfell.
• Missing In Action: Rescue a missing Stormcloak supporter from the Thalmor.
• The Blessings of Nature: Restore the Gildergreen for Danica Pure-Spring.

Windhelm

• Blood on the Ice: Windhelm is plagued by a shadowy killer.
• Repairing the Phial: Acquire the materials necessary to repair the White Phial.
• Rise in the East: Help the East Empire Company take care of some pirates.
• The White Phial: Retrieve a legendary artifact to fulfill an old alchemist's wish in Windhelm.

Towns and Settlements

Riverwood

• The Golden Claw: A shopkeeper wants you to retrieve his family heirloom from a bandit.

Skaal Village^(DB)

• A New Source of Stalhrim^DB: Find a blacksmith missing from Skaal Village.
• Filial Bonds^DB: Find Wulf Wild-Blood's brother, Torkild, who may have become a werebear.
• Lost Legacy^DB: Travel to Vahlok's Tomb and defeat Vahlok the Jailor.

Tel Mithryn^(DB)

• Azra's Staffs^DB: Retrieve a staff made by Azra Nightwielder for Master Neloth.
• Black Book: The Hidden Twilight^DB: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.
• Briarheart Necropsy^DB: Examine a Briarheart for Neloth.
• Experimental Subject (A)^DB: Help Neloth by being a test subject in his experiment.
• From the Ashes^DB: Help Talvas Fathryon by killing an ash guardian.
• Healing a House^DB: Help Elynea Mothren repair the tower of Tel Mithryn.
• Heart Stones^DB: Find a heart stone for Neloth.
• Lost Knowledge^DB: Retrieve the Black Books for Neloth.
• Old Friends^DB: Find the source of attacks on Tel Mithryn.
• Reluctant Steward^DB: Find a new steward for Neloth in Raven Rock.
• Telvanni Research^DB: Extract a sample from an ash spawn for Neloth's research.
• Wind and Sand^DB: Retrieve a copy of Wind and Sand for Neloth.

Thirsk Mead Hall^(DB)

• Retaking Thirsk^DB: Help Bujold the Unworthy retake Thirsk Mead Hall.
• The Chief of Thirsk Hall^DB: Help out a Riekling Chief at Thirsk Mead Hall.

Other

• Delayed Burial: Convince an unwilling farmer to help fix a stranded jester's broken wagon wheel.
  • This quest is categorized as a Dark Brotherhood quest for most purposes; see details in the achievements section below.
• Kyne's Sacred Trials: Participate in Kyne's Sacred Trials by hunting the guardian beasts of Skyrim.

Dungeons

These quests generally start when you approach or explore the associated dungeons and progress to completion within each dungeon. Only dungeon quests that are counted as side quests are listed here. The Dungeon Quests page provides a list of all dungeon quests, including both the below side quests and several additional miscellaneous quests.

• A Scroll For Anska: Help Anska trace her roots in High Gate Ruins.
• Ancestral Worship: Help Golldir save his aunt and stop a necromancer from defiling his ancestral barrow.
• Evil in Waiting: Seal away an ancient evil.
• Infiltration: Help Stalleo take back Treva's Watch.
• Repentance: Help Illia prevent her mother Silvia from transforming into a hagraven.
• Siege on the Dragon Cult: Enter the ruins of Forelhost and defeat Rahgot to recover his mask for Captain Valmir.
• Silenced Tongues: Unlock the burial chamber of the Tongue Chieftain Kvenel.
• The Lost Expedition: Recover the journals from the expedition in Nchuand-Zel.
  • This quest is also listed as a Markarth city quest as the associated dungeon is within Markarth.
• The Pale Lady: Find out what happened in Frostmere Crypt.

Other

• A Return To Your Roots: Go where a famous alchemist could not in order to aid ground-breaking research.
• Black Book: Filament and Filigree^DB: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.
• Black Book: The Sallow Regent^DB: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.
• Black Book: Untold Legends^DB: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.
• Deathbrand^DB: Find the treasure of Haknir Death-Brand.
• Forbidden Legend: Investigate the forgotten Gauldur Legend.
  • This quest is unique among side quests in that there are multiple places from which it can be "normally started".
• Impatience of a Saint^DG: Collect the ten missing pages of Saint Jiub's Opus.
• Lost to the Ages^DG: Search for the Dwemer's Aetherium Forge.
• The Ebony Warrior^DB: Locate and defeat the Ebony Warrior.
• Unearthed^DB: Assist Ralis Sedarys in his search for the relics of Ahzidal in Kolbjorn Barrow.

Achievements

One achievement is obtained by completing side quests:

• Sideways (20 points/Bronze) — Complete 10 side quests
  • Completing any 10 qualifying side quests will unlock this achievement. Any quest that uses the side quest knotwork in your journal generally counts toward the achievement, but there are a few unusual cases:
    • The Black Book side quests do not count toward the achievement, but are listed on this page and are treated as side quests in your journal.
    • Blood on the Ice does not count toward the achievement, but is listed on this page and is treated as a side quest in your journal.
    • The Affairs of Hagravens counts toward the achievement, but is not listed on this page and is treated as a miscellaneous quest in your journal.
    • Delayed Burial is listed on this page and counts toward the achievement, but is otherwise categorized as a Dark Brotherhood quest and is marked in your journal with the Dark Brotherhood knotwork.
    • Alteration Ritual Spell is not listed on this page and does not count toward the achievement, but is mistakenly marked in your journal with the side quest knotwork instead of the correct College of Winterhold knotwork.
  • In most cases where a quest has two possible conclusions, either ending will qualify toward the achievement. Exceptions include A Scroll For Anska and The Heart of Dibella. See the individual quest pages for details.
  • You can track your progress toward the achievement using the "Side Quests Completed" statistic on the "Quest" page of your journal's "General Stats".